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GARLAND COUNTY MARKET UPDATE for 1st Quarter of 2012

the Kennedy Crew ~ — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:12:00 GMT

The numbers are in for first quarter of the year, and we have prepared the following report for you.
Residential Sales in Garland County, AR
(information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors mls)
Average Days on Market
1/1/11 – 3/31/11: 167
1/1/12 – 3/31/12: 179

Number of Listings Sold
1/1/11 – 3/31/11: 204
1/1/12 – 3/31/12: 220

Average Price of Sold Listings
1/1/11 – 3/31/11: $159,733
1/1/12 – 3/31/12: $138,153

Percentage of listings that Sold
1/1/11 – 3/31/11: 28%
1/1/12 – 3/31/12: 33%

MLS Sold Volume
1/1/11 – 3/31/11: $32,585,629
1/1/12 – 3/31/12: $30,393,831
(Click here for a more detailed report of the current market in Garland County, AR)
While the numbers are very similar to last year at this same time, we noticed that there were actually more units sold this year, however the total sales volume was a little less than last year’s volume.
While the local average home sales price is a little low, the national statistics are reporting a different story - stating the luxury market is showing signs of improvement.  According to recent reports by the National Association of Realtors - for the first time, the $500,000 and above market segment represented 10% of all home sales in 2011. Both the anecdotal and statistical information indicate that although the luxury niche is small, it is outperforming the market in general.
We have also experienced a significant increase in activity in the luxury market, with more showings of our listings priced above $500,000.  In fact, Jeff Kennedy with our team recently closed the largest residential sale in Arkansas this year.  The transaction all started from our internet marketing of a stunning waterfront estate in Hot Springs, custom-built and owned by Rick Ferguson and his wife, Deanna.  This unique property caught the attention of another savvy businessman, Jeremy Carroll, who also owned some really unique properties throughout the state.  After about 10 months of negotiations between both parties, and several trips to all parts of Arkansas to view the various properties owned by each party, another deal was made which involved the trade of a state park in South Arkansas along with a large amount of cash in exchange for a 13,828 square foot manor in West Little Rock and approximately 26 acres of land behind the home.  Contrary to the news report in February of this year by the Arkansas Business Journal, there were no donkeys or peacocks involved in the trade and the home was much larger than 8,900 square feet.
Even Warren Buffet believes the housing market is on the verge of improvement, and says along with equities, single-family homes are a very attractive investment right now. Appearing live on CNBC's Squawk Box, Buffett tells Becky Quick he'd buy up "a couple hundred thousand" single family homes if it were practical to do so. If held for a long period of time and purchased at low rates, Buffett says houses are even better than stocks.
With rates still at historic lows, real estate is a wise investment.

2012 Market Predictions

the Kennedy Crew ~ — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:00:00 GMT

The numbers are in for January, and we have prepared the following report for you.

Residential Sales in Garland County, AR

(information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors mls)

Average Days on Market

1/1/11 – 1/31/11: 174

1/1/12 – 1/31/12: 172

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/11 – 1/31/11: 63

1/1/12 – 1/31/12: 68

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/11 – 1/31/11: $160,223

1/1/12 – 1/31/12: $122,824

Percentage of listings that Sold

1/1/11 – 1/31/11: 27%

1/1/12 – 1/31/12: 28%

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/11 – 1/31/11: $10,094,089

1/1/12 – 1/31/12: $ 8,352,040

(Click here for a more detailed report of the current market in Garland County, AR)

While the numbers reflect a little slower start as compared to last year for the Hot Springs area, we are seeing many positive signs indicative of a growing economy in Hot Springs. The infrastructure of Hot Springs is still on the move with the expansion of the highways, i.e. the Highway 70 West expansion and the south leg of Higdon Ferry expansion are both now complete and are attracting new commercial and residential building sites. Other local projects are on the rise and stirring a lot of interest and growth with the north leg of Higdon Ferry, the south end of Highway 7, and the north leg of Highway 270 all under construction, and Highway 70 East just met state planning approval for expansion as reported by the Arkansas Democrat earlier this week. These are all great signs of growth in our area.

We think this year might be the one in which the housing market starts to strengthen, according to the 2012 predictions of several housing industry observers and experts across the U.S.

Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia.com, a real estate search and research website, says he sees rising rents, a humble recovery in housing prices and even some unexpected "hot" spots where he thinks price increases will exceed the average this year.

Kolko said his predictions are based on 14 months of U.S. job gains and the assumption that "there's no big crisis in 2012."

He also sees shrinking mortgage delinquencies in 2012, though foreclosures will rise as old delinquencies exit the paperwork pipeline.

Increasing demand for rental properties should mean higher rents, he added, but should also spark new construction to keep up with demand.

Mortgage rates should rise a bit, too, said Kolko; calling that a sign of economic strengthening. "Higher rates for a reason we can cheer," he said.

Rich Arzaga, founder and CEO of Cornerstone Wealth Management in San Ramon, California and an adjunct professor in personal finance at the University of California at Berkeley also agrees with Kolko about the rentals. "This was going to happen even without foreclosures. If you look at the statistics on homeownership, it shows that people are buying homes later in life, and that the echo boomers will drive rentals for a longer period of time."

Jeffrey Rogers, president of Integra Realty Resources, a New York-based real estate valuation and consulting firm, also agreed with Kolko's assessment of the rental market: Multifamily units - that is, building with five or more units - "are one of the property types that still received funding for new projects throughout the downturn." (See full article here)

Putting the market recovery in terms of graph curves … It doesn’t seem to be a U-shaped recovery and it’s definitely not V-shaped. We believe it’s more of a 'Nike swoosh recovery,' where it goes down fast and then goes up very gradually.

What are your predictions for 2012?

Market Update on Garland County Residential Sales

the Kennedy Crew ~ — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 02:17:00 GMT

In comparing the residential sales reports for Garland County, it appears that residential sales in Garland County for the first eight months of the year is down as compared to the same period last year. The first quarter of 2011 started out holding steady and appeared to be a mirror image of the same period in 2010. However, the second quarter of 2011 was the down period – whereas we did not see the spike in sales in our area as we normally do with vacation home sales in the summer months. May and June of this year limped along in summer sales, then we had a nice spike in July with an increase in the number of units sold up 24% over June, however it wasn’t enough to increase our year-to-date figures.

Take a look at the below statistics on residential sales in Hot Springs (information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors®mls). Click here for more detailed information on the Hot Springs market.

Average Days on Market

1/1/10 – 8/31/10: 172

1/1/11 – 8/31/11: 160

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/10 – 8/31/10: 863

1/1/11 – 8/31/11: 832

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/10 – 8/31/10: $150,863

1/1/11 – 8/31/11: $148,988

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/10 – 8/31/10: $130,195,229

1/1/11 – 8/31/11: $123,958,794

While this is one of the toughest markets we have seen, our team is still getting the job done. Did you know that the Kennedy Team is currently ranked as the number ONE listing team in sales for 2011? In addition, the Kennedy Team is holding the number ONE position for total residential sales for the combined 4 year (2008 – Aug 2011) recession in our area, selling more than any other Real Estate Agent or Team in Garland County during one of the toughest markets in recent history. While many might say “Gosh, I bet you really took advantage of the foreclosure market with those sales” … It’s not at all true! In fact, very few of those sales were foreclosures – as the Kennedy Team has never sold a “short-sale” and does not specialize in foreclosures.

If you are thinking about selling a home in the Hot Springs area, or know someone interested in selling, we would be glad to help! Please feel free to give us a call anytime 501.655.6247.

Residential Sales in Hot Springs are Running Neck & Neck with Last Year

the Kennedy Crew ~ — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:09:00 GMT

Looks like residential sales in Hot Springs are running a close race with last year at this point. We just compared the recent market statistics to the same period as last year, and the first quarter of 2011 is looking very similar to last year’s first quarter, with a slight increase in the average price of sold listings, and a slight drop in the number of days that it takes to sell a home – actually both positive signs of some improvement. Take a look at the below statistics on residential sales in Hot Springs (information obtained from the Hot Springs Board of Realtors® mls) .

Average Days on Market

1/1/10 – 3/31/10: 175

1/1/11 – 3/31/11: 168

Number of Listings Sold

1/1/10 – 3/31/10: 255

1/1/11 – 3/31/11: 246

Average Price of Sold Listings

1/1/10 – 3/31/10: $134,594

1/1/11 – 3/31/11: $139,139

MLS Sold Volume

1/1/10 – 3/31/10: $34,321,632

1/1/11 – 3/31/11: $34,228,333

Click here for more detailed information on the Hot Springs market, and be sure to call the # 1 real estate team in Hot Springs – the Kennedy Team with Hot Springs 1st Choice Realty at 501.655.6247 or 501.276.4446.

Hot Springs Market Update from the Kennedy Team

the Kennedy Crew ~ — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 02:26:00 GMT

Thought you might be interested in the latest real estate market update, so we would like to share the latest news.

While September is generally the month that we start to see fewer buyers as we face the fall and winter seasons in our market, this September has been a little different this year and sales are holding steady.

Below is an overview as compared to the peak summer season (according to our local mls):

Jun Home Sales: 93

Jul Home Sales: 68
Aug Home Sales: 92
Sep Home Sales: 91

While home sales are holding steady, the better news is that the inventory is dropping – creating less competition for our sellers! Here’s an overview of the inventory (according to our local mls):

Jun 30 Homes on the Market: 1476
Jul 30 Homes on the Market: 1485
Aug 30 Homes on the Market: 1431
Sep 30 Homes on the Market: 1368

For a more detailed report of last month’s activity, please click here.

Another good indication of the buyer activity is the number of web site hits we receive, and again, September was awesome! We received 110,972 hits to our primary website –www.BestofHotSprings.com for the month of September, while we averaged 87,000 hits during the summer months.

Along with the above statistics, the Kennedy Team is also pleased to mention that in spite of this tougher economic state - our team is working hard, performing well, and holding the #4 position in residential sales in our area with $6,365,700 in closed transactions as of this month. So if you or someone you know is thinking about selling a home, we would be happy to help.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on the latest news, and please feel free to call or email us with any thoughts or questions.

Trend Setting in Hot Springs with CARMLS....

the Kennedy Crew ~ — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:36:00 GMT

..... Will the other Firms Copy Us?

Back in April of this year, we announced the news about our added service with First Choice Realty offering a huge benefit for our sellers! In case you missed it, we thought we would re-post the news. We're still so excited about this added benefit for our clients now with First Choice Realty!!!

First Choice Realty has joined “CARMLS” – the Cooperative Arkansas Realtors Multiple Listing Service. You’re probably wondering “what does that mean to me”? It means that we have have broadened our marketing plan for our sellers by increasing the exposure to our sellers’ properties by at least 10 times thru this system. This gives our sellers a huge advantage over the competition homes on the market that are listed with other firms in the area. Our sellers’ properties will now be marketed to about 3,500 Realtors throughout the state of Arkansas versus only about 350 Realtors in the city of Hot Springs with our Hot Springs MLS. Then if you think about how many clients each Realtor has, we may have actually increased the marketing of our sellers’ properties by much more than 10 times!

In keeping with the philosophy of placing our clients first, First Choice Realty realizes that limiting the marketing services for our sellers’ properties to only the Hot Springs Realtors thru the Hot Springs MLS is a trend of the past. In 2009, the Hot Springs MLS data reported that almost $13 million in residential sales in the Hot Springs area were sold by “non-mls residents” – or Realtors who hold Arkansas real estate licenses and are not members of the Hot Springs MLS.

While CARMLS has been a hot topic among the Hot Springs Realtors recently, we have found that many of the other real estate firms in the area have mixed feelings opposing it. Our beliefs lean strongly in favor of CARMLS, as we believe it is a huge benefit for our clients. In fact, we felt so strongly in favor that it was a key factor which prompted our recent move to First Choice Realty.

In addition, you will now be able to list property in another area of Arkansas with us at First Choice Realty and we will be able to market your property to the full state of Arkansas, and the same goes for purchasing homes in other areas of the state.

We’re really excited about this new service for our clients. If you are thinking about selling your home and would like to know more, we would be glad to visit with you and share all the details.

Websites Hits are UP! This Could be a Good Sign of Things to Come!

the Kennedy Crew ~ — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:24:00 GMT

Website hits are up! The Kennedy Team's website, www.BestofHotSprings.com expects more than a 33% increase in site hits by the end of January. Historically, this website averages 35,000 hits per month. As of today, with one week remaining in the month, 42,500 hits have been calculated with an average of 1,635 hit per day! That's 470 more hits per day than the usual 1,166! If this increase in web activity continues, and it is expected that it will, The Kennedy Team should have 52,300 hits by the end of January 2009. What a great way to begin the New Year!

The Broker at the main office at Trademark Real Estate, Inc. also reports a swell in activity with increased showings on all of the office listings.

I asked Paulia Kennedy, real estate marketing guru, if she was advertising her listings any differently. Paulia's reply was, "I recently changed our print ads and focused on a professionally designed general print ad in the homes magazines which is different from the other agents' ads showing just little pictures of houses."

Paulia continued to explain, "Another reason for good hits on the site has been the attention paid to our holiday gifts that we sent out in December. We received lots of thank you's along with good referrals." The gift that keeps on giving!

Paulia and the Kennedy Team have a number of new listings this month. I've been posting virtual tours nearly every week. As a result, there are many more Kennedy Team lawn signs out there as well. Paulia said, "We're also getting more people say they see our signs everywhere... (and we've got more signs out there now)."

Along with these results Paulia is confident that the market is changing for the better. She has seen an increase in buyer confidence, and the Kennedy Team is preparing for a booming real estate market in 2009!

Janine Gregor
Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy

Tough-Love Real Estate Marketing Part 2

the Kennedy Crew ~ — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:10:00 GMT

After posting my initial Tough-Love Real Estate Marketing entry, a number of people asked me to clarify the details of a Paulia Kennedy's 'honesty talk' and what the criteria was for 'being choosey'.

Paulia explained that, "We first determine how motivated they are (if they really want and NEED to sell). If they say, 'We don't really have to sell' -- then we really do not want their listing. If the need is there, then we spend a lot of time during the interview process explaining the complete process. We want to make sure they are ready to work with us - which means we need their full involvement and participation in order for us to be successful. We consider the seller the No. 1 person on our marketing team."

Paulia continues, "In order to sell a home, there are 3 things that the seller has control of -- the home must be priced right, it must be in good condition, it must be easy to show. If the seller sticks their head in the mud and ignores our advice along with all of the ongoing information that we send them after we enter into a listing agreement, such as the showing feedback reports, the ongoing market reports and the competition home reports then we try to amicably exit our listing agreement. It then becomes only a waste of our time and their own. We also consider the other factors of the property (which are out of our control) -- location, the actual property, etc. -- and determine if we think it has a chance of selling."

Resulting in continued, steady sales, Paulia exclaims that many agents are sending their listings to The Kennedy Team knowing that this Tough-Love approach means that the property has a better chance of selling.

I asked Paulia why outside agents would give up their listings to The Kennedy Team. She explained, "Actually, I think the referring agents' biggest problem is that they do not have good follow-up systems with their sellers. The agents do not keep their sellers involved - which then causes the seller to be disgruntled. At that point, the agent has totally lost the relationship which we work so hard to develop and nurture between agent and seller. So by referring the property to us, I think it is the other agents' way to try to hold on to the deal somewhat and at least earn a referral fee. We also hear from those sellers we take on that they are seeing our homes all over the internet, with virtual tours, etc., and they wonder why their agent is not doing the same marketing for them. All of the internet work is standard marketing for us."

Paulia concludes that, "The Realtors have to work much harder now, and it takes a full team to handle all the work involved with a listing. And it seems to be a survival of the fittest mode now. The Kennedy Team saw this coming and we have been fully prepared."

Janine Gregor
Real Estate Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy

Some Buyers and Sellers Become Unrealistic In This Market

the Kennedy Crew ~ — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:24:00 GMT

Paulia and I have been sharing ideas this week for a good blog entry. I have been asking her about behavior changes in buyers and sellers as many have had to rethink housing plans due to a shifting real estate market. I asked Paulia to check her 'send box' to see what types of email questions she has been responding to, as this is a great source of information for the here and now.

One such individual who wrote Paulia was interested in purchasing a condo on prime Lake Hamilton property in Hot Springs, AR and gave Paulia a laundry list of 'wants'; most entirely unrealistic for the $100k he wanted to spend. The list reads:

A 2 or 3 bedroom condo.
In a well run condo complex.
But, a condo that has been neglected, once a rental that had been abused, etc.
Fairly low monthly fees.
On Lake Hamilton.
Price, less than $100K if possible.

It is important to stop here and note that even at today's real estate prices a 3-bedroom condo with a good floor plan, in a well-run condo complex with fairly low monthly fees on prime lakefront lists for, on average, $300k.

So, I had to take a second look at the 'wants' of the buyer versus the 'reality' of the situation and ask myself, why IS this buyer being so very unrealistic? He wishes to pay 1/3 of what a condo in this location is priced. Not half the price… or $25k below the comparable or even $50k below, but 1/3 or approximately $200k less than the listing value. Why, that's 3 condos for the price of one! How much more did he really think the market was going to 'bottom-out'? So I reread his email a bit further to understand this thinking. The potential buyer admits, "I may be unrealistic. That's okay. If something like this does not materialize, that's okay to. I just know my retirement account has declined by 40% in the last month. That has made us alter our thinking quite a bit." He also added, "Don't really have a timeline. I've always been slow on purchases. I drive a truck with 199,000 miles on it. My wife's car is the new one and it has 113,000 miles."

I ask more questions…Why did he add all of this extraneous information about his 401k and his wife's car? I believe this man is suffering and he wanted Paulia to know this. Perhaps he was looking for a sympathetic shoulder. Since his correspondence was in the form of an email, there was little risk involved for a face-to-face potentially embarrassing conversation. I also conclude that this buyer is having grave difficulty adjusting to change. Evidently, he has the same list of 'wants' from the past such as living on a popular lakeside location; one luxury he simply cannot bear to give-up. Rather, he would much rather raise his family in a beat-up condo and succumb to the renovation expense process than to give-up the lake view. I really find this behavior to be fascinating! To me, it is like buying a beat-up 1972 Cadillac, without modern day safety improvements and gas efficiency just for the sake of owning a Cadillac.

I asked Paulia if she's noticed any other changes in buyer behavior. Paulia observes that, "It’s becoming more & more difficult for the folks with a fixed income, and the middle-class folks to purchase a home. And we’re also seeing more people, being unrealistic with their wants– they seem to want to buy cheap and sell high -- and that “ain’t gonna” work."

On the other hand, in the luxury home buying market, Paulia indicated, "We've noticed more of a shark-like tone from the upper clientele – they’re hovering around like vultures ready to pounce and snatch-up bargains from the desperate sellers that are in a financial bind."

Paulia's own responses to those who are inquiring about properties have also been revised. As The Kennedy Team of Trademark Real Estate, Inc. does not participate in property management and rentals, an unusual but practical deal has been worked out with one particular group of developers they work with, for example, who has agreed to offer the properties for lease. Paulia explains, “In the past, we would quickly refer the clients looking for lease options to the property management companies in the area. Now, we’re trying to hold onto them because there are fewer potential buyers out there, so we’re doing whatever it takes to hold on to the clients and help them out until they are in better positions to buy or sell."

For those sellers who have listed with the Kennedy Team, Paulia states, "We’ve had to change the mindset from telling them [sellers] that, It’s not good to have a home sit on the market too long - to - It’s okay to have it on the market a while, as we need to be sitting and ready for when the market shifts back and the buyers pounce.” She adds, "We are keeping our sellers posted of all activity through our online seller reports (which is a great system that most Realtors do not offer) and we are keeping sellers posted on market stats, by reviewing the comparable home sales & active listings with them much more frequently. We are making sure that they are right on-price, as we do not want to miss out on any buyers, especially due to pricing. We have very thorough pre-listing packets with tons of initial information offering the seller lots of helpful tips and information on the selling process. We often spend two hours on our initial appointment, explaining the process."

The beauty of cut-backs, downsizing, price-reductions, slow-downs, etc., is that it does compel those who are optimistic to develop creative strategies that otherwise might not have been pursued. The difficulty is watching buyer behavior change so dramatically that sensibility becomes non-existent.

Janine Gregor
Virtual Assistant
www.YourVirtualAssistant.com