Hits: 47

WPCNR THE HOUSING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. Interview with Mike Graessle, Rand Realty. June 25, 2013:

Housing sales in the City of White Plains are up 48% as of Monday according to Mr. Real Estate in White Plains, Mike Graessle of Rand Realty.  

WPCNR  talked with Mr. G Monday afternoon and through Monday, Closings in White Plains for the first six months of 2013 are 83 compared to the first six months of 2012 (5)8—up 43%. Prices have bottomed out and appear slowly on upswing.

The average selling price the first six months of this year  is $583,505 almost even with the first 6 months of 2012, still down 4% from the $601,602 it was in 2011. Mike tells your reporter that there are a number of contracts negotiated the last two months that will be closing in July and August which he feels will sustain this robust White Plains market.

The median price  is another story: It’s even with the $530,000 median price the last three years.

It’s taking longer to sell a house this spring. The average days on the market on closings was  8 months, that is up from  6 months on the market in the first half of 2011. Mike interprets this to mean homeowners are holding  out for higher prices in midst of the demand. 

However  buyers have been selling at just 6% off their first offering price and 3% off their final listing price. Prices are fluctuating up, Mr. Graessle reports. This in contrast to three years ago when the drop from the first offering price final price was 15%.

Another factor in White Plains is appraisers are being cautious, so as not to run afoul of the Dodd Franklin Act. Mike warns sellers they have to not price homes too high and negotiate  too high a selling price that an appraiser working for the mortgaging bank would characterize as too high. Graessle warns sellers they need to make sure that banks have the most up to date information about their house. 

Mike has seen instances where buyers could not get a mortage because the appraiser had appraised the house lower than the agreed-on mortgage. By the same token sellers lost money when mortgages were turned down because the appraisers thought the price at which they agreed to purchase was too high.

Mike’s rosy report:  the White Plains housing inventory is down, meaning good news for homeowners wishing to sell.

 Potential buyers  have to decide if interest rates are going up as the fed indicated this week, should they mortgage now.