Monday, June 18, 2012

The Newest "Problem" for the Housing Market? A Shortage of GOOD Homes!

Finally the media is catching on....some headlines in todays Los Angels Times :"Shortage of homes for sale creates fierce competition" ! It goes on to talk about there not being very many really nice, sellable homes on the market....
Well, that is nothing new for me! The fact is there IS a shortage of good homes, properly priced, in good locations, with nice floor plans that are well maintained. Over the years I have noticed that, on an average, Harbor Town keeps about 32 homes for sale at any given moment. Today there are only 21 homes that are for sale (and 7 pending contracts!!!).

I have always thought that the "HOUSING CRISIS" was actually a paradigm shift. People want OUT of the cookie cutter, nondiscript, boring suburbs. They want MORE out of life. They want a community where they can feel they "belong". They want their weekends back to enjoy with friends and family. They don't really want to be stuck to the sofa watching TV or  having to mow the grass. And they want a home that is the right size to actually "live" in, not some monstrous mc-mansion sitting in the middle of an acre field! These are things that I know, deep down, people crave- even if they don't know it themselves. Hey, I have been in this business for 18 years-  and I can't help but notice!

So, that puts Downtown Memphis ahead in the housing market- and it puts Harbor Town clearly way out in front of the Downtown market.

Why? For Harbor Town the answer is simple- good planning. Walkable, friendly, pretty, convenient, fun and wonderful little Harbor Town. With it's shops and their smiling store clerks- the small intimate pubs and restaurants, sunsets over the Mississippi- some people find it hard to ever leave. But when you do leave there is a plethora of other things to do and places to go right across a very short bridge!

 Most of the homes are well designed and sitting on small lots that do not require hours of attention. There are lots of walking trails and parks. There are beautiful vistas to make you smile. There is a marina to connect people with the water. There are friends to meet and things to do! It truly is a complete lifestyle. Harbor Town couldn't be more popular!
And there are a few homes available- if your home is sitting on the market here, you need to look at the price and/or condition of the house.

The South End of town, suddenly with in the last few months, has become VERY popular. But it is hard to find a home there! Not a day goes by that I don't receive an inquiry call about homes in the south end of town for under $300k.  But there are only 6 homes available in South Bluffs and three of those are well over one million dollars! Outside of South Bluffs there is absolutely no single family homes available! There are some condos- but good ones are hard to find! The foreclosures have completely dried up- except some that are poorly designed and/or in bad condition. And as far as the rental market goes- it's running at about 100%!

So- here it is folks- The newest "problem" for the housing market is a lack of shortage of nice places to live! But I am here to tell you, thats nothing new!