Appreciating Life

We are going through this now in our family, and it’s probably happening to you or someone you know. It’s a reminder that if you’re a senior and have one move left, it’s so much better to move sooner, rather than later (trying to put a real estate spin on this touching video).

Where to Move

Though this graph is from 2019, I think it shows that people don’t move far from home.

Hat tip to Rob Dawg for sending in this link with loads of data:

https://lusk.usc.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/USC_CasdenRealEstateEconomicsReport_Spring.pdf

Here is the map for most of Riverside County – Temecula is a good option for movers because it’s close to SD County and a place where you can buy a newer home for less and still keep your SD job and doctors:

Why Sell Your Home Now

School is back in session and the holidays are right around the corner – it’s the time of year that potential home sellers start looking forward to the next selling season, instead of moving in September/October.

Are you thinking of waiting until 2022? Here are my reasons for selling now, instead of later:

1. The Shine Is Off The Frenzy.  Those who are pulling back on their enthusiasm:

JBREC – Two of three buyer categories are down slightly (above chart).

CoreLogic – they only predicted a gain of +9.1% in San Diego pricing over next 12 months, which is way less than the +23.7% since last July. Don’t be surprised if +9% becomes the new +3% of predictions – it’s a lot higher than the previous safe bets without being double-digit.

Zillow Offers – backtracking 5% on price commitments made 2-3 weeks ago.

Navy Fed – suspended the issuing of home-equity loans ‘temporarily’.

Refi appraisals – heard of several appraisals coming in low as market softness creeps into their minds.

2. Interest rates – They have nowhere to go but up, and it’s just a matter of when. Once they start, home buyers will want something in return from sellers.

3. Boomer liquidations – There probably won’t be a mass exodus, but all you need is 2-3 on your street.

4. Fewer Fix-Ups – The current inventory is so thin, sellers are getting away with murder now. If there was an index that measured how close sellers got to selling ‘as-is’, we’d be setting records today.

5. Safe – You know what you can get today, and let’s admit – it’s a lot higher than it used to be. Cashing out now instead of risking any of the above getting worse in 2022 is the safe bet. How much are you hoping to hold out for next year? Another 2% or 3%?

When is the best time to sell? When everyone else isn’t!

Prop 19 Setting Seniors Free

Prop 19 was sold by the California Association of Realtors as a solution to the low-inventory environment. The intent was to free up seniors over 55 to move anywhere within the state of California, and take their old property-tax basis with them.

The C.A.R. said it was all we needed to create more inventory!

While we don’t have any direct results yet, but with inventory about 10% behind last year’s covid-impacted count, and 21% behind the 2019 count of total listings between Jan 1 and July 30th, it’s safe to say that Prop 19 hasn’t had achieved its goal yet.

Or maybe I just need to do more!

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Do seniors just need more information on transferring their current property-tax basis?

If so, here’s your taxpayer advocate:

As Rob Dawg duly noted, seniors may need to stay in California so they can take their low property-tax basis with them to make it worth moving.

Where can you move within California? Here are some ideas:

Julian is close by, and you can get this 2,808sf one-story for $825,000:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5009-Pine-Ridge-Ave-Julian-CA-92036/16757715_zpid/

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How about Idyllwild? It’s only a two-hour drive and you can buy a 2,713sf single-story for $579,000:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/53680-Toll-Gate-Rd-Idyllwild-CA-92549/18047261_zpid/

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How about Placerville? The elevation is only 1,867 ft. and population is around 12,000.

You can buy this 2,094sf single level for $650,000:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1635-Pheasant-Run-Dr-Placerville-CA-95667/18591209_zpid/

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Ok, ok, you want to stay coastal. How about Cambria? Pick up this 1,875sf one-story for $875,000:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3144-Wood-Dr-Cambria-CA-93428/15410632_zpid/

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We hope to build a referral network with agents in every town, and in the meantime, Donna is excellent at vetting realtors for you. Let us know where you want to move, and we’ll set you up with a top agent!

Retiree Tax-Free Moving Plan

Here’s a two-year moving plan for those long-timers who:

  1. Have substantial equity in their home, but
  2. Don’t want to pay any capital-gains tax, and
  3. Want to move out of town – but not sure where, exactly.

This is an adventurous experience, and good for those who are retired and want/need to travel around looking for a new home while seeing more of the world.

Step 1: Rent your house for a year.

Step 2: Go visit/live in your favorite towns. Spend a month in 12 towns, or four months in three towns, etc.  This will ensure that you get a good feel for these destinations before buying a home there.

Step 3: Sell your rental house here, and buy a home in your new favorite town via a 1031 exchange.

Your CPA will recommend renting the new home for a year too, so you’ll be a vagabond for 24 months or longer.  But you’ve wanted to do more traveling – here’s your chance before setting down for the duration!

To really hit the jackpot, go to an area that is cheap enough that you can buy two – one for a rental too.

Multi-Gen Demand

The new NAR report on the characteristics of homebuyers was released today.

Let’s note how many homes were bought to accommodate kids moving back home – or who never left.  Past generations never had to worry about kids moving out when everybody could afford a home.

As the prices go sky high, more kids will be faced with either having to move far away if they want/need to buy an affordable home, or live with their parents for the duration – yikes!

One more variable to add to the Reasons-To-Move theories, and help explain why demand is exploding!

Top Markets in 2021

Zillow Survey Predicts Austin will be the Nation’s Hottest Housing Market, Leading a Sunbelt Surge
More affordable metros are replacing expensive coastal areas as top drivers of home value growth
— A panel of economists and real estate experts expect Austin to outperform the national market by the largest margin, followed by Phoenix, Nashville, Tampa and Denver
— Expensive coastal markets New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles are most likely to underperform, though Zillow expects growth in every market
— Key tailwinds include an improved economic outlook underpinned by progress on coronavirus vaccines, while affordability and available supply are potential drags

SEATTLE, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Austin will be America’s hottest housing market in 2021, leading a list of mostly Sun Belt cities expected to continue heating up faster than the nation’s large coastal markets, according to a new Zillow® survey of experts.

The booming Texas destination heads a lineup of sunny and relatively affordable metro areas — PhoenixNashvilleTampa and Denver — that are most likely to outperform the nation in home value growth, according to a panel of economists and real estate experts recently surveyed by Zillow.

The Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, sponsored by Zillow and conducted quarterly by Pulsenomics LLC, asks a large panel of economists, investment strategists and real estate experts for their predictions about the U.S. housing market. The Q4 survey also asked about their expectations for 2021 home value growth in 20 large markets compared to the nation.

An overwhelming 84% of those surveyed said Austin values would out-perform the national average, compared to just 9% who believe it would fare worse. Phoenix came in second with 69%, followed by Nashville (67%), Tampa (60%), and Denver (56%). Page views on Zillow for-sale listings in Austin by out-of-town searchers were up 87% in November compared to 2019. 

The top-five metros are all affordable options compared to expensive coastal areas that have led home appreciation ranks in recent years, providing relative value for Millennials looking to take advantage of low mortgage rates to buy their first home. The top five are also, for the most part, sunny locales. Four of the five counties holding the largest cities in these MSAs all rank in the top-third of counties in the contiguous U.S. for average daily sunlight, according to NASA data analysed in The Washington Post. Davidson County, home to Nashville, ranked just below the midline.

“The pandemic has not upended the housing market so much as accelerated trends we saw coming into 2020,” said Zillow senior economist Jeff Tucker. “These Sun Belt destinations are migration magnets thanks to relatively affordable, family-sized homes, booming economies and sunny weather. Record-low mortgage rates and the increased demand for living space, coupled with a surge of Millennials buying their first homes, will keep the pressure on home prices there for the foreseeable future.”

An improved economic outlook thanks to COVID-19 vaccine roll-outs and better treatments was pegged as the most likely tailwind for the housing market in 2021, followed by sustained strength in first-time home buying among Millennials. It proved a powerful demand driver in 2020 and is expected to persist for years to come.

Link to Zillow Article

‘End of Forbearance To Be A Non-Event’

Health, unemployment, stairs, taxes, finances, politics…….selling your home is becoming the answer for everything!

More than 2.5 million American homeowners have stopped paying their mortgages, taking advantage of penalty-free forbearance periods offered by lenders.

What happens when the free pass fades away next year?

Not much, and certainly nothing approaching the flood of foreclosures that defined the Great Recession, according to the emerging consensus among economists. While some homeowners are sure to feel the pain of forced sales, housing experts increasingly expect the end of forbearance to be a non-event for the gravity-defying housing market.

That’s largely because home prices have risen sharply during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, homeowners who find themselves unable to pay their mortgages when their forbearance periods end likely will be able to sell for a profit, rather than going into foreclosure.

“If they have equity, they can always sell off the house and pay the mortgage,” says Ralph DeFranco, global chief economist at mortgage insurance company Arch Capital Services. “It’s not a great outcome, but it’s less terrible than letting the bank take it and sell it.”

Link to Article

Who Is Moving Where?

Ryan was nice enough to provide the latest data (2019) from the U.S. Census Bureau on where Californians are moving, and where our new residents are coming from – at least before the pandemic.

The big winners on a net basis:

More Californians moved there:

Texas:  +45,172

Arizona: +31,486

Nevada: +20,889

Oregon: +20,662

Washington: +14,909

Colorado: +14,265

Florida: +5,936

N. Carolina: +4,160

More People Moved Here

New York: +13,235

Illinois: +9,085

Virginia: +7,512

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Will Prop 19 Increase Inventory?

The U-T asked their twelve real estate experts about the effects of Prop 19:

Q: Will Prop. 19 substantially increase home inventory in California?

Of the local experts, 11 out of 12 said NO, and the justification for the one YES answer could have been just as easily been reasons to say NO.  Gary’s answer above was the best and most-accurate. See the rest here:

Link to Article

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