RealtyTrac Reports Annual Home Price Appreciation Slows to Single Digits in Most Metros; Short Sales Fall to Pre-Recession Levels; REOs Decrease while Foreclosure Auction Sales Post Slight Increase

Michael Mahon

IRVINE, CA, Dec. 31, 2014 — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the nation’s leading source for comprehensive housing data, today released its November 2014 Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that the median sales price of U.S. single family homes and condos in November was $190,000, flat with the previous month but up 15 percent from a year.

The median sales price of distressed homes — those in the foreclosure process or bank-owned — reached a high of $128,625, the highest since December 2009, 35 percent below the median sales price of non-distressed properties, $199,000.

Distressed home prices increased at a faster pace, up 18 percent from a year ago while non-distressed home prices were up 14 percent during the same time period.

“As the price of distressed properties reaches a new high the pool of investor activity that has been fueling the housing recovery may dry up,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

OB Jacobi

“However, 20 states still saw annual decreases in distressed property prices so we will continue to see a fragmented recovery as investors move from once hot markets such as Phoenix, Atlanta and many California markets and into markets such as Charlotte, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas and Oklahoma City.”

“We are finding many home buyers frustrated as we enter the Holiday Season in Ohio,” said Michael Mahon, executive vice president at HER Realtors, covering the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton markets.  “With a less than seasonally normal available homes inventory to choose from, coupled with a reduction in available foreclosure inventory, many home buyers are finding themselves in multiple offer situations or unable to find their dream home for the Holidays.”

“Seattle home prices started the year at an appreciation rate of about 15 percent, but the pace gradually slowed and we expect prices in 2015 to hover between 4-6 percent. 

Daren Blomquist

"We see that as a good thing because if home prices keep appreciating in the double digits for too long, we could run into the same boom/bust market of years past,” said OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate, covering the Seattle market.

“Buyer demand in Seattle has been incredibly strong this year and we believe this will continue into 2015, but inventory levels, which are at an all-time low right now, should begin to inch up, providing more buyers with a greater selection of homes to choose from.”

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Jennifer von Pohlmann

PR Manager

Office: 949.502.8300 ext 139

jennifer.vonpohlmann@realtytrac.com

Arizona Commercial Brokers Association Recaps 2014 Mid-Market Industrial Activity

Mike Kasulaitis

PHOENIX, AZ (Dec. 30, 2014) – The Arizona Commercial Brokers Association (ACBA) has released its 2014 transaction recap, reporting more than 380 completed industrial sale/lease transactions totaling over 3 million square feet in Phoenix in the past 12 months.

Made up of veteran brokers from independent to regional firms, ACBA provides on-the-ground insight about the group’s major client demographic: the mid-market industrial user.

“ACBA members represent the biggest driver of Phoenix’s industrial 2014 real estate year – the mid-market buyer and tenant,” said ACBA President and Voit Real Estate Services Vice President Mike Kasulaitis. 

“This year we observed an uptick in activity across the board. Taking into account that single-family home sales were negative and foreclosures still loom, we find this encouraging.”

“Among our most active clients, 2014 sales were dominated by end users and institutional money. On the leasing side, the smaller, incubator warehouse tenants occupying 20,000 square feet or less were on a roll,” added ACBA board member and Cutler Commercial broker Todd Hamilton. “Low interest rates, below-replacement pricing and strong local growth will make 2015 an exciting time to be an owner and seller, but it might ring in a ‘sticker-shock’ year for the tenant and buyer.”

Todd Hamilton

Based on market data and trends among his clients, Hamilton expects metro Phoenix’s average 11 percent industrial vacancy rate to fall by 50 or more basis points, to the 10.5 percent range by mid-year 2015.

 He also anticipates 2015 to set the stage for rent growth, which has remained stagnant for the past five years but that Hamilton believes will increase by 3 to 5 percent in 2015.

For 2014, ACBA members experienced the strongest activity among small and mid-size users. Their most active submarkets included Deer Valley, Southwest Phoenix and Central Phoenix.

“Although Arizona has continued to lag most other parts of the country, I do believe we are on the road to recovery, and that 2015 will be more active in all aspects of our economy,” said Carl Johnson, ACBA charter member and Vice President at DAUM Commercial Real Estate.

“It’s a funny market now. Inventory is tight but demand is lukewarm. However, as populations grow, housing demand returns and 30 to 40-year-olds recover from recessionary setbacks, Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties will most certainly pull out of that stagnant holding pattern.”

Carl Johnson

For more than two decades, the Arizona Commercial Brokers Association has been providing a platform for Phoenix industrial real estate brokers to share resources, opportunities and best practices that not only grow their own deal pipeline and expertise, but also advance the success of the Phoenix market at large.

 This member-owned, member-directed organization is composed of brokers ranging from independent to regional commercial real estate firms who actively invest in ACBA-member relationships and focus on a common goal of serving clients to the highest degree.

For more information, visit www.acba.co.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Stacey Hershauer

focusAZ

Marketing & Public Relations

(480) 600-0195

www.focusaz.com

MHA Brokers $21.15 Million Sale of Apartment Community in Macon, GA

Adrian on Riverside Apartments, 5243 Riverside Drive, Macon, GA

  

Robert Stickel

ATLANTA, GA (Dec. 31, 2014) — Multi Housing Advisors (MHA) has arranged the $21.15 million sale of Adrian on Riverside, a 224-unit apartment community located at 5243 Riverside Drive in Macon, Georgia.

Robert Stickel of MHA’s Atlanta office represented the seller, Adrian Park, LLC, which developed the community, in the transaction. PEM Real Estate Group was the buyer.

“Strong and steady economic growth throughout Georgia continues to drive demand for quality apartment communities, especially properties that are appealing to debt and equity capital sources while also providing compelling value-add opportunities,” Stickel said.

Adrian on Riverside was built in 2004 and 2009, and was 95 percent occupied at the time of the sale. 

Amenities include a putting green, theater with surround sound, playground, covered car wash center, fitness center, billiard room, and a pool with a large sundeck and picnic pavilion.

Multi Housing Advisors (MHA) has become known as a solid leader in the multi housing industry. The company, founded in 2002, was established to bring a focused brokerage platform to growing markets throughout the Southeast.

Since that time, MHA has created value for clients in virtually every sector of the multi-housing market. 

The MHA team works hard to build and enhance value by leveraging strong attention to detail, accessing an active investor base and capitalizing on its vast market knowledge in ways that benefit every aspect of the transaction process.

MHA enjoys a total sales transaction volume that has surpassed $3.5 billion, representing more than 100,000 units and more than 600 individual transactions. 

MHA serves local, regional and national clients and has become known for its effective multi-office platform, excellent transaction history and rapid growth.

For more information, visit www.usmha.com.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Stephen Ursery

The Wilbert Group

404-549-7150 (O) 404-405-2354 (C)

sursery@thewilbertgroup.com