Homes of the Napa Valley

Serving the North Bay community for over 20 years

707-257-6000
Christine Hannah, Broker /Owner Ca BRE # 01273087

7 Reasons to List Your Napa Home For Sale This Holiday Season

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7 Reasons to List Your House for Sale This Holiday Season | Simplifying The Market

Every year at this time there are many homeowners who decide to wait until after the holidays to list their homes for the first time, while others who already have their homes on the market decide to take them off until after the holidays.

Here are seven great reasons not to wait:

  1. Relocation buyers are out there. Many companies are still hiring throughout the holidays and need their new employees in their new positions as soon as possible.
  2. Purchasers who are looking for homes during the holidays are serious buyers and are ready to buy now.
  3. You can restrict the showings on your home to the times you want it shown. You will remain in control.
  4. Homes show better when decorated for the holidays.
  5. There is minimal competition for you as a seller right now. Inventory of homes for sale traditionally slows in the late fall, early winter. Let’s take a look at listing inventory as compared to the same time last year:

7 Reasons to List Your House for Sale This Holiday Season | Simplifying The Market

  1. The desire to own a home doesn’t stop when the holidays come. Buyers who were unable to find their dream homes during the busy spring and summer months are still searching!
  2. The supply of listings increases substantially after the holidays. Also, in many parts of the country, new construction will continue to surge and reach new heights which will lessen the demand for your house in 2019.

Bottom Line 

Waiting until after the holidays to sell your home probably doesn’t make sense. Christine Hannah, Real Estate Broker, 707.257.6000

Are Napa Homeowners Renovating to Sell or to Stay?

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Are Homeowners Renovating to Sell or to Stay? | Simplifying The Market

Over the past few years, two trends have emerged in the housing market:

  1. Home renovations have shot up
  2. Inventory of homes available for sale on the market has dropped

 

A ‘normal’ housing market is defined by having a 6-month supply of homes for sale. According to the latest Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors, we are currently at a 4.4-month supply.

According to Trulia 'Napa market trends indicate an increase of $2,750 (0%) in median home sales over the past year. The average price per square foot for this same period rose to $426, up from $404'.

This low inventory in Napa environment has many current homeowners worried that they would be unable to find a home to buy if they were to list and sell their current houses, which is causing many homeowners to instead renovate their homes in an attempt to fit their needs.

According to Home Advisor, homeowners spent an average of $6,649 on home improvements over the last 12 months. If that number seems high, it also includes homeowners who recently bought fixer-uppers.

A new study from Zillow asked the question,

“Given a choice between spending a fixed amount of money on a down payment for a new home or fixing up their current home, what would you do?”

Seventy-six percent of those surveyed said that they would rather renovate their current homes than move. The results are broken down by generation below.

Are Homeowners Renovating to Sell or to Stay? | Simplifying The Market

More and more studies are coming out about the intention that many Americans have to ‘age in place’ (or retire in the area in which they live). Among retirees, 91% would prefer to renovate than spend their available funds on a down payment on a new home.

If their current house fits their needs as far as space and accessibility are concerned, then a renovation could make sense. But if renovations will end up changing the identity of the home and impacting resale value, then the renovations may end up costing them more in the long run.

With home prices increasing steadily for the last 6.5 years, homeowners have naturally gained equity that they may not even be aware of. Listing your house for sale in this low-competition environment could net you more money than your renovations otherwise would.

Bottom Line

If you are one of the many homeowners who is thinking about remodeling instead of selling, let’s get together to help you make the right decision for you based on the demand for your house in today’s market. Christine Hannah 707.257.6000

Historic Post Office in Napa has Future

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Downtown Post Office

The downtown Napa post office, closed after being damaged in the August 2014 earthquake, is to be developed as a hotel.

 

Watching other projects debut in downtown is encouraging, he said.

“It’s good to have some new traction on First Street,” such as at First Street Napa next to the Archer hotel.

“This project is going to help that retail too. It’s going to put a lot more heads in beds that then frequent First Street Napa and the overall downtown.”

Read on…

 

 

 

Low Inventory Pushes Napa Home Prices Higher

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Low Inventory Pushes Home Prices Higher | Simplifying The Market According to CoreLogic’s latest Home Price Index, prices appreciated by 6.9% year-over-year from December 2016 to December 2017 on a national level. This marks the fifth month in a row with at least a 6.9% increase. Dr. Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist for CoreLogic, gave insight into the reason behind the large appreciation,
“The number of homes for sale has remained very low. Job growth lowered the unemployment rate to 4.1 percent by year’s end, the lowest level in 17 years. Rising income and consumer confidence has increased the number of prospective homebuyers. The net result of rising demand and limited for-sale inventory is a continued appreciation in home prices.”
This is great news for homeowners who have gained nearly $25,000 in equity (on average) in their homes over the last year! Those homeowners who had been on the fence as to whether or not to sell will be pleasantly surprised to find out that they now have an even larger profit to help cover a down payment on their dream homes. As we near the traditionally busy spring buyers season, there is still hope for buyers as mortgage rates remain low compared to recent decades. The report also predicted that home price appreciation will slow slightly, rising by 4.3% by this time next year.

Bottom Line

Christine Hannah:"If you are looking to enter the housing market, as either a buyer or a seller, let’s get together to go over exactly what’s going on in our Napa neighborhood and discuss your options!"  

Bidding Wars Abound… How Long Will They Continue in Napa Valley?

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Bidding Wars Abound… How Long Will They Continue? | Simplifying The Market Just like with any product or service, the law of supply and demand impacts home prices. Any time that there is less supply than the market demands, prices increase. In many areas of the country, the supply of homes for sale in the starter and trade-up home markets is so low that bidding wars have ensued, and the busy spring-buying season is just around the corner. CoreLogic recently conducted an analysis on national home prices at the time of sale for their January 2018 MarketPulse Report and found that a third of homes sold for at least list price.
“The share selling above list price was almost three times the trough in January 2008 and represented more than one-fifth of total sales.”
Many markets in the western part of the country and around major cities are experiencing higher shares of homes selling above list price.
“San Francisco had the largest share of homes—76 percent—that sold for at least the list price, and Seattle and Los Angeles followed with 63 and 51 percent, respectively. Miami had the lowest share—16 percent—of homes selling at or above the list price.”
Increased demand during the spring and summer months, the traditionally busier seasons for real estate, will no doubt influence how many homes continue to sell over list price. This should not be seen by sellers as permission to overprice their homes, though. Buyers are becoming more and more educated, especially those who have been searching for their dream homes for a while now while waiting for new inventory to come to market. Realtor.com gives this advice:
“Aim to price your property at or just slightly below the going rate. Today’s buyers are highly informed, so if they sense they’re getting a deal, they’re likely to bid up a property that’s slightly underpriced, especially in areas with low inventory.”

Bottom Line

In Napa without a large wave of new listings coming to market, buyers will continue competing with each other for the homes that are available. If you are thinking of selling your home, now may be the time to do so before more competition comes this spring. Let’s get together to determine the demand for your house in our Napa Valley. Call Christine Hannah, Broker, Realtor at 707-257-6000 to find what is selling or who is buying the Napa Valley.

Good business, great testimonials

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Christine was very professional not only did I find a wonderful broker I feel I made a life time friend. I had bids soon after my open house and before I new it I was in escrow. Christine was always easy to reach when I had questions and if she did not know the answer she would find out and get back to me in a timely manner. Once my car was not working and there were papers that needed signing and she went above and beyond by driving me herself. Now she is helping me to buy a home and she has my best interest at heart. I would recommend Christine as a really good professional and knowledgeable real eThank youstate broker.