Let’s just compare this year vs. 2009.

Simple.

Elegant.

Same seasonality.  Only 12 months of time to account for.  You can ignore the median price due to sample size.

28% fewer homes pending.

38% fewer homes sold.

50% drop from May/June numbers.

Raw Data with Median Prices:

Want to sell?

1. Be motivated.  Have a good reason.

2. Be prepared.  Have a good plan.

3. Be buyer focused.  Have a good price and good terms/condition.

The sales numbers:  GRIM.

I am sure that they will be all over the news.

“Existing-home sales plunged to their lowest level in 15 years in July as inventories soared, painting a grim picture for the housing market absent government support.

“Home resales dropped a record 27.2%—nearly twice as much as analysts had expected—to an annual rate of 3.83 million in July, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. Meanwhile, inventories rose to 12.5 months from 8.9 months in June, pressuring already depressed home prices. Inventories are at their highest level in more than a decade.”

This is not a surprise.

Residential real estate is a game of positioning.  Of immediacy.  Of marketing impact.

Give financial incentives to lots of buyers to hurry up and buy . . .  they will and then prices and sales will crater.

Pull demand forward  . . . and there is a snap back the next quarter.

None of this was unpredicted.

Sellers in Perrysburg today have to have their home in PERFECT condition.  Priced PERFECTLY to the market.   They have to be on the top of their game.

The numbers are grim – but houses that are presented and priced well are selling.

Even in this market.

Next post: Perrysburg sales numbers . . .

Which I rarely do.

Because you can look at the left side of my blog any day to see what new homes are on the market in Perrysburg.

But this one is mine.

This one is special.

This one is very, very hot.

1942 Tecumseh Court is in Crandenbrook.

And Crandenbrook is a FANTASTIC neighborhood.

You can walk to the park.  Your kids can walk to Ft. Meigs Elementary.

Excellent resale.

Excellent lot sizes.

I LOVE Crandenbrook (I have owned 2 houses there in the past . . . and raised my kids there).

But this house – on a quiet cul de sac, with a first floor master suite, and a three car garage is a SUPERLATIVE example of the best of Crandenbrook.  The lot, the layout, the condition – it’s all top shelf.   Priced right – what would you expect from me anyway! – at $280′s.  You can call me if you want a private showing.

Advice I am giving to potential sellers:  don’t sell unless you really need to.

Advice I am giving to sellers that really need to:  make sure you really need to sell.

Advice I am giving to sellers that are sure that they really need to sell: there are too many houses for sale given the buyer activity we have right now – let’s find out how we can work together to sell your house in this environment.

The WSJ has an interesting missive out today - about the glut of houses on the market.

Interesting reading:

“Pending sales, signed contracts on the purchase of new homes tracked by the National Association of Realtors, were down 3% in June compared to May. That month saw a 30% drop in the index, after the April 30 expiration of the home buyer’s tax credit.

The pending sales numbers point to more alarming home sales figures, wrote Credit Suisse analyst Dan Oppenheim in a note Tuesday. Mr. Oppenheim said that given the sales pace, we’re on track to sell 3.7 million homes total this year–-the lowest seasonally adjusted level of single-family existing home sales since the fall of 1996.”

I read elsewhere that a major US builder does not want anymore tax credits or Federal home buyer stimulus.  “Just let the market work” was their plea.

The housing market is tough right now – investors from out of state are buying 100 to 400 houses in a single auction.  You want to compete against that?  In Toledo? “Gird your loins” as they say.

In Perrysburg we are not at that point (and never will be . . . !) but the dynamic pressures just to the north of us still impact this market.   When housing values plummet close by it hurts us.

Great listings are still in demand.

Great buyers are still coming to PBurg.

Enjoy the Glut if you can!

Which I try to rarely do . . .

But this one is COOL.

Formerly remodeled by a prior owner.

Then lost, cruelly, to the bank.

Which has instructed me to find a new family for it.

HUGE.

New addition.

Perrysburg Schools.

Oh, did I mention that it is on East River Road?

In Perrysburg?

With a newer kitchen?  Period woodwork?  Lots of doors and hidden closets and other cool features?

$450,000?

$350,000?

$250,000?

No – that is the old market.

Now, in the new market, we only want $169,900.

Go to www.GoToledoHomes.com and set up your own search.

And call me FAST if you want to see this one!

A new upcoming listing on Indiana . . .

An old REO listing on Indiana . . .

And . . . a sharp split level on secluded, hidden, hard to find Carolin Ct.

Which is now a very valid and pertinent question . . . since the town’s biggest builder just recently closed up shop.

And the current level of new construction activity is, oh, about 10% of what it was a few years ago.

Suddenly, getting a nice, neat, clean, modern new(er) house is actually harder . . . but still, if you are transferring into Perrysburg/Northwest Ohio, just as important and vital.

IMO, Perrysburg continues to be the number 1 choice for incoming corporate moves – but whereas in the past I could show such a transferee 10 or 20 new homes from a diverse number of builders – that is simply not possible today.

But – do not despair Mr. and Mrs. Transferee.

We have houses like 780 Little Creek.

Subdivision still open – Forester/Wherle still building and active but only with contract in hand, no more specs/models . . .

Modern, 2 story, center hall design.

Clean.  Livable.  Not beat up.

No glaring design flaws.

Owners have upgraded with a professional build quality finished basement.  They have updated/upgraded the F/W flooring with tile/ceramic/new berber as needed.

They have upgraded the standard level F/W appliances with some new, bright stainless ones.

And, they have even fenced the yard, built a deck, and added a hot tub.

No need to write a building contract and live in a hotel for 5 months . . . this house is ready.

And it is not unique.  There are several similar like it on the market at any given time.

So the move into town from Chicago or Pittsburgh or Dayton, etc. need not be filled with disquiet at the current lack of new builds.

$189,900 as of this date – it is SHARP!

There really is no accurate answer to that question.

There should be – but there is not.

What does “foreclosed” mean?

Is being already run through the Sherrif Sale in Bowling Green . . . . is that foreclosed?

What about homes that the owner has walked away from?

Homes that are foreclosed but no new deed has been prepared/recorded?

Homes that have an owner who has decided not to walk away, but to simply not pay anymore on the mortgage.

“Foreclosed”.  Simple word – many uses.

Right now there are hundreds of “foreclosed” homes in Perrysburg (city and township).

But there are just6 that are for sale on the MLS:

-10760 Avenue Road

-24230 Luckey Road

-7422 Starbright

-7296 Winding Brook

-24918 Fort Meigs

-1802 Whispering Way

-7315 Starlawn

As always, you can find all of the Perrysburg REO (“real estate owned” – aka bank owned) on my bank REO Google maps/MLS mash up at www.ToledoBankOwned.com

6 active MLS listings.

With many, many more to come.

Why?  How?

You might want to read the sad and troubling article in this weekend’s Washington Post about the loss of good jobs in Northwest Ohio, specifically in Perrysburg.   These foreclosures are the result of our jobs and economic policies.

Until those change . . . expect more tears.

Which I only rarely do.

For special Perrysburg properties.

Unique ones.

Different ones.

Like this one at 872 Cherry Street in the heart of Perrysburg.

It has the lot that everyone wants – a “272″.

272 feet deep.  Which gives the owner room to do many, many things.

Farm.  Garden.  Throw a ball.  Add a pool.  Add a pole barn type out building (a BIG shed).  Practice with your 9 iron.  Lots of possibilities.

BUT  -  these “272′s” often come with an old, functionally obsolescent house with an old, old floor plan.

Not here.   A few years ago a builder I know bought one house, sitting on 2 lots.  He knocked it down.  Resplit the lots.  And custom built 2 homes.   This is one of them.

Sideload garage.

$232,500.

Big, bright rooms.  First floor master.  Finished basement.

Even some soft contemporary flair.

All of which makes this house very special.

More photos and details here.

Perrysburg – a great place to live.  And a great place to sell houses!

Avoid the hassles of the city!

Avoid the noises of the city!

But get a big snow blower and a big lawn tractor.

5 acres, 3 beds, new baths, and a bargain price for 4171 Dowling Road.  Perrysburg mailing address with excellent Eastwood Schools.  $150′s.

Did I mention 5 acres?

No pole barn yet, that is the first thing the next buyer will add.

We call them “Toy Boxes” in male real estate lingo.

You will love this home.  So new on the market there are no photos and no brochures or virtual tours yet.

Tell a buyer you know if you don’t love country living.

This house will make some city slicker very, very happy.