James Y. Kuang Realtor Blog Real Estate San Gabriel Valley Homes For Sale: August 2017

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

2 Major Reasons Why Inventory Is So Low

Inventory of available homes on the market is the lowest it’s been in two decades, but the reasons may surprise you. Two of the likely culprits are baby boomers and homeowners who are simply satisfied with their home, according to realtor.com®’s Housing Shortage Study.

Baby boomers are showing a desire to age in place in their current homes, and their refusal to sell is creating a clog in the market, according to the study. Eighty-five percent of baby boomers surveyed say they are not planning to sell their home in the next year. That means 33 million properties—many of which are urban condos or suburban single-family homes—will stay off the market. Many of those properties would be popular choices for millennials, a generation still largely waiting in the wings to break into home ownership.

“Boomers, indeed, hold the key to those homes the market desperately needs, both in the urban condo and the detached suburban home segment,” says realtor.com® chief economist Danielle Hale. “But with a strong economy and rising home prices, there’s really no reason for established homeowners to sell in the short term. Although downsizing might be on the minds of boomers, they face the same inventory shortages and price increases plaguing millennials.”

Furthermore, 63 percent of respondents to the survey indicate that their current home meets the needs of their family. They cite low interest rates (16 percent), recently purchasing their home (15 percent), and needing to make home improvements and low property taxes (each at 13 percent) as reasons not to sell. “Life events drive real estate transactions,” Hale says. “When the majority of homeowners feel their family’s needs are being met by their current home, there is nothing compelling to them to put their home on the market.”

There may be hope that more starter homes will hit the market soon. Possibly offsetting the low supply of starter homes, which is down 17 percent year over year, 60 percent of respondents to realtor.com®’s survey who did say they plan to sell in the next year are millennials who want to move to a larger home or one with nicer features.

“The housing shortage forced many first-time home buyers to consider smaller homes and condos as a way to literally get their foot in the door,” says Hale. “Our survey data reveals that we may see more of these homes hitting the market in the next year, but whether these owners actually list will depend on whether they can find another home.”

SOURCE: DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS

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Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Walkable Areas Are Getting More Competition

Older Americans are placing a higher value on living in walkable urban centers, according to a new survey of 1,000 respondents nationwide about their living preferences

A majority of respondents surveyed by A Place for Mom, a national referral service, said it was “very important” or “somewhat important” to live in a walkable neighborhood. They also sought neighborhoods with low crime and those that are close to family.

“It’s time to abandon the idea that only millennials and Generation X care about walkability and the services available in dense urban neighborhoods,” says Charlie Severn, head of marketing at A Place for Mom. “These results show a growing set of senior housing consumers also find these neighborhoods desirable. It’s a trend that should be top of mind among developers.”

The survey authors say it’s important for developers to consider creating multigenerational communities in suburban centers that place an emphasis on walkability. Walkability ranked high regardless of income level in the survey. Walkability ranked highest for those under 70 years old who were seeking senior apartments.

The message needs to change, says Bill Pettit, president of R.D. Merrill Co., a parent company of Merrill Gardens, which develops senior living centers. He says many developers had assumed that seniors preferred a more rural or suburban location.

“We were creating these islands of old age where you’re surrounded by your peers and you lose that intergenerational connectivity,” Pettit says. “We found we were spending a disproportionate period of time busing our seniors to other places to generate that intergenerational connectivity.”

Pettit says his company is changing its strategy. It is now focusing on developing senior living centers in urban areas with high walkability scores.

“When you can walk to shopping, or cross the street to a park, and that park is filled with children and families, I think it gives you a kind of lift that sitting and playing bingo during the day doesn’t give you,” he says.