January 2019 real estate update

Are you thinking of moving in 2019 this article may help you.  Whether you are selling or buying in Oakland County you may want to know what is happening.  The metro Detroit real estate market has changed.  Every since September real estate agents have notice that the market has slowed down.  The average metro Detroit consumer many of them would say that is normal for this time of year.  They know that our real estate market picks up each spring and slows down in the winter.  Some people just do not like to go out in the cold.  It is true that our market does slow down in the fall and winter in SE Michigan.  But it is slower than normal this winter.  The metro Detroit real estate market has shifted.  It is changing….. the question how much is it changing.

Even good SE Michigan realtors are feeling it this year.  It is making them nervous.  Many of them are slower than ever before.  Is it slower than ever before?  Is it slower than 2008?  That I don’t know.  I just know it is slower.  Here are some of the statistics of how many homes are on the market.  You can  see that over the last few years the number of homes in Oakland County have gone down.  So if you look at the 2nd column (that’s the number of homes for sale in Oakland County) you will notice that we have over 2000 less homes on the market.  That is a 33% drop from just a couple of years ago.    The first column is all the homes in our metro Detroit MLS.  In three years you will notice that there are 14000 less homes on the market. The overall drop for the whole MLS is even bigger.  There is a 38% drop in the number of homes for sale.  It does not matter if it is lake houses in West Bloomfield or Wayne County homes for sale.   I believe this is helping new home builders.  But I have even heard that they are slowing down too.  So what will our Michigan real estate market be like this spring?  What will the Metro Detroit real estate market be like?  Will buyers still be scrambling to find a home?

This is squeezing buyers.  There are just so few homes to chose from.  What is causing this change?  One of the factors is that home owners are staying in their homes longer.  Back in 2005 to 2007 they said the average home owner moved every 7 years.  Now I am betting the average is 20 years.  Less homes turning over.

Now if you look at the chart below for Oakland County homes you will see that the average days on the market has dropped too.  So the homes on the market are selling.

I was out with two young home buyers this weekend and they were repeating what their parents were saying.  The parents were saying that the real estate market was slowing down and that the home prices were going to fall.  I don’t believe that will be the case.  In order for that to happen we need more inventory.  I don’t see many people moving.  I just don’t see the numbers changing.  What will have to happen is that we have more homes on the market than buyers.

Metro Detroit home inventory has to go up.  Or the economy has to take such a drastic change that it scares the buyers out of the market. More home owners have to become sellers.  So what will cause that?  I myself don’t know.  I do not have that crystal ball.  Even the number of months supply is down.  All of this shows Oakland County is still a buyers market.  So if you are a buyer you will still have to get out there and see the home as soon as it hits the market.  You will need to make decisions quickly and put your best offer in the first time.

Metro Detroit home sellers still can price their homes near the top of the market.  The key is not to over price your home.  You don’t want to be sitting on the market because then home buyers will low ball you.  It is smarter to price it right from the beginning and get it sold.  I hope this January 2019 real estate update helps you.  Click here to search lake homes for sale or click here for all SE Michigan homes for sale.