Author: Londi Sutton

Most of us in the United States are not happy with the current status of…well, anything! The powers that be have gone to the extreme, and peaked with the COVID-19 reactions. Shutting businesses down, isolating society, and running away from a virus that we can’t escape has created a global catastrophe, the repercussions just now being felt. The real estate market in many areas have been especially hard hit. In Oregon, landlords took a back seat to the tenants. Actually that would have been acceptable. Instead, they have been thrown UNDER the bus, ran over, then backed over a few times. Along with horrible “rent control”, housing shortage, and inflation, it is the most difficult market since the bubble popped in 2008.

So here we are facing down 2023, with all the optimism we Oregonians can muster. No matter who won the Governor seat, the losing side is bound to move to friendlier pastures. That should mean an increase in listings, and hopefully soften the market, making it easier for buyer’s agents to find homes for their clients. We shall see.

While much of the country suffers under blankets of snow, sheets of ice and torrents of wind and rain, our Southern Oregon weather has been consistently kind this winter. We have yet to see any snow at all so far on the valley floor, and only short periods of rain.

What does that mean to our Real Estate in early 2019? No real signs of slowing, and likely picking up speed as we push through into February and on into Spring. Expect further inventory issues and no let-up on rising rents, which pushes even more buyers into the cramped market. Regardless of what you may have heard elsewhere in the United States, Southern Oregon is still a Sellers market with a surplus of buyers and not looking to turn the other way any time soon.

If you want your best chance at getting into a home in this difficult market, you will want to work with a professional exclusive buyer agent.

2017 has been quite a year for natural disasters in the United States and abroad, and not in a good way. With all the extreme weather lately, where can you go to avoid tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, mudslides and life-threatening fires? While we’re at it, let’s consider extreme weather such as heat, humidity and ice. The United States is pretty large as we all know, but there are only a handful of areas that are fairly safe from pretty much all natural disasters and extreme weather conditions year-round. One of those precious locations happens to be Southern Oregon. The Rogue Valley (essentially Grants Pass, Medford, Jacksonville and Ashland ) is one of the most naturally benign areas in the entire USA, with some of the mildest year-round temperatures outside of California, and no major natural disasters to be concerned about for the vast majority of home sites. With the extreme weather hitting all corners of our country (especially California lately with droughts, mudslides and fires), Southern Oregon should definitely be on your list of places to consider calling home.

Medford, OR 10/24/2016 — Londi Sutton with Sutton Homes Realty, LLC has earned the nationally recognized Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA) certification. The National Association of REALTORS^® offers the PSA certification to REALTORS^® as determining property values depends more than ever on professional expertise and competence, the best use of technology, and a commitment to approach the pricing assignment from various perspectives.

“The market demands accurate property value assessments, so NAR is excited to provide Realtors with enhanced tools, education and expertise to determine the most accurate value for a home and give their clients a leg up when buying or selling,” said NAR President Tom Salomone, broker-owner of Real Estate II Inc. in Coral Springs, Florida.

“Pricing Strategies: Mastering the CMA” is the required one-day course for the PSA certification that provides REALTORS^® with knowledge and skills to select appropriate comparables and make accurate adjustments, guide sellers and buyers through the details of comparative market analyses and the underlying pricing principles that inform them, and interact effectively with appraisers. In addition to completing the course, participants are required to view two required webinars. Once awarded the certification, REALTORS^® will be equipped to guide clients through the anxieties and misperceptions they often have about home values. For more information about the PSA certification, visit www.pricingstrategyadvisor.org .

The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents recently conducted a survey of its membership to determine the top issues facing today’s home buyers. Exclusive buyer agents across the country were simply asked, “What is the number one issue facing home buyers in your market today?” Two-thirds of the respondents responded with lack of inventory or low inventory.

Regardless of where the agent was located in the U.S., most answers were similar. Tom Coler, a NAEBA member in Florida, responded, “Finding a house they can afford in a market with very low inventory.” Across the country in Las Vegas, NV, NAEBA member Adele Hrovat answered with two words, “Low inventory.” Even the Midwest is facing the issue as NAEBA member Claire Bastien in Minnesota reports, “Good quality inventory is low in some areas of the Twin Cities leading to multiple offers over asking price.”

The second most reported issue was affordability of available homes. Twenty percent of the respondents listed affordability or pricing as the top issue in their market. This was especially reported as an issue for first-time home buyers. NAEBA member Ken Reid reports this about the Phoenix market, “(There is a lack of) affordability for the first-time home buyer. The rise in prices have cut a lot of buyers out of the entry level market. Unfortunately, rental prices are also on the rise, thereby reducing housing options for the young and/or low income Americans.”

“This survey shows that we have seen a shift to a seller’s market in most of the country,” states NAEBA President Chris Whitehead. “To navigate these issues, it is more important than ever that buyers have an Exclusive Buyer Agent on their side throughout their home purchase.”

With the drought woes in California, floods in Texas, the brutal winter weather in the mid-west and east, and hurricanes along the gulf and Atlantic, Oregon is looking pretty good to the rest of the country. We have a lot of open space still available in many areas such as the Rogue Valley here in Southern Oregon. With the increasing demand on homes in the area, new construction is likely to see a new surge as prices continue to climb. 2015 is a good time to jump into the Oregon Real Estate Market, especially the Southern Oregon area, which is fueled by the Californians wishing to escape across the border but not get too far from their roots and relatives. Just be ready to jump as the competition is getting fierce for the low inventory available.

The Southern Oregon area Real Estate market (as is much of Oregon) has always been driven primarily by the Californian Real Estate market, but with the problems California faces with the worst drought on record ( California drought https://ca.gov/drought/ ), Southern Oregon may be faced with an unprecedented influx of Real Estate buyers in 2015, looking for wetter ground to stand on. Currently (2nd quarter of 2015) we are already faced with a Seller’s market where inventory cannot keep up with Buyer demand. Especially hit hard by this difficult scenario for Buyers is the acreage property, especially the highly desirable small acreage (2-10 acres).

If you are looking for small acreage property, be prepared to make compromises, or empty your savings, AND do it in a hurry! There is likely going to be more buyer demand and competition as the drought forces buyers North. Prices are already exceeding the appraisal values, causing the appraisers to play catch-up and place more value on active comparables than usual. This can make it very difficult for the financed buyer, as appraisals may come in lower than the offer and require additional cash to make it work (if the lender allows it). In this market, cash is king for the more desirable property types. Regardless, buyers need to consider getting out there and make a sale as early as possible this year.

For the Seller that is looking to purchase again, due consideration is in order if they are planning to upgrade ordowngrade: Upgraders need to consider taking the best offer as soon as possible, as the price difference between their sold property and new upgraded property will be at it’s lowest. If they wait out the market for higher selling prices, the difference will only widen. Downgraders may want to consider waiting out the market as the prices are driven up, as they will gain a bigger profit margin over the lower priced downgrade. This is all considering a similar percentage of price increases of course.

Everyone knows that winter time is the low time in any given year of real estate sales in Southern Oregon…weather, holidays, school and lower curb appeal all add up to lower sales. Fortunately for the buyer, this also opens up opportunity for potential otherwise difficult to find: more motivated sellers, lower number of buyers to compete with, lower loan rates (currently in 2014), and you get a possible benefit of seeing first hand how well the home manages colder weather. So if you are considering buying a home but want to sit on your comfy sofa and wait until Spring, reconsider what you may be missing. Your perfect home or property may be right there, and for a much better price.

In the Southern Oregon real estate market the biggest problem facing Buyers lately (2013/2014) has been a lack of good solid inventory. This makes an Exclusive Buyers Agent job even more difficult, as there are fewer options currently than buyers typically expect. Try to keep in mind that with the competition and low inventory, once you find a satisfactory property at a reasonable price, you need to weigh your needs with your wants to determine your best move. In order to get into the current market buyers often have to make compromises they weren’t originally considering. This is what often happens in a Seller market where there are typically more buyers than inventory can support.