We were fortunate to have all our children and their significant others home over the Labor Day weekend. It’s always a treat – catching up, watching Mr. Durango cook bountiful and delicious meals, drinking home brew brought by Patrick, our son-in-law. And since everyone is well-informed, well-read and eventually well-hydrated (see “home brew” reference above) conversations on timely issues usually ensue.

This past weekend, Patrick read through a Time magazine laying around and then asked if I had read the cover article, “Rethinking Homeownership“. I hadn’t yet. But this lead to a discussion of how the recent ‘unpleasantness’ has perhaps changed people’s perceptions on whether owning their own home makes sense.

My position is that things haven’t changed in respect to that question. Owning a home is a strong, deep-seated goal for many. It’s a terrible idea for some. The only thing that changed over the last 3 years or so was that many people who had never considered buying a home because in their hearts they knew they couldn’t afford it had a bunch of seemingly free money shoved at them.

Not everyone should own a home. Or be married. Or have a pet. This has always been the case. And it has also always been that there are marriages that end badly, rotten parents raising messed up kids and shelters full of animals that looked cute but proved too much to handle day in and day out. And it’s always been the case that some folks lost their houses to foreclosure.

The article in Time makes some weird connections – leaps, if you will – about how homeownership has driven the country into a ditch:

In the bubble years, lending standards slipped dramatically, allowing many Americans to put far too much of their income into paying for their housing. And we ignored longer-term phenomena too. Homeownership contributed to the hollowing out of cities and kept renters out of the best neighborhoods. It fed America’s overuse of energy and oil. It made it more difficult for those who had lost a job to find another. Perhaps worst of all, it helped us become casually self-deceiving: by telling ourselves that homeownership was a pathway to wealth and stable communities and better test scores, we avoided dealing with these formidable issues head-on.

Huh?

The first sentence from this excerpt I buy. The rest? Not so much.

Not sure how the increase in homeownership hollowed out cities. And why would renters be kept out of the best neighborhoods, whatever “best” is supposed to mean. Were these so-called best neighborhoods populated by tenants before 5 years ago?

Homeownership increased our use of energy and oil? You mean, homeowners drive more and take longer hot showers than renters?

Test scores? Really?? As a real estate agent I don’t recall ever counseling a prospective buyer that if they owned a home, their kids would test better. Let’s face it, there are some dumb as dirt kids in homes where mortgages are paid rather than rents.

Patrick, being a reliable devils advocate whenever we debate a topic, made the case that when people own their homes and the job market drops through the floor, it’s harder for that person to move to wherever the jobs may be. Technically, perhaps so. But let’s take that to the far end of the spectrum. Migrant workers, by definition, go where the job are. Shall we advocate that these hard-working folks are setting the standard for how communities are built? And I would bet a bottle of Patrick’s India Red Ale that many of those workers would dearly love to put down roots and – dare I write it? – buy a home.

No, when people can’t find work, that’s a jobs issue. Not a homeownership issue.

And at the other end of the spectrum, would if be better if property was owned by an ever shrinking pool of people? Let’s face it, someone is going to own the place you live. We all are paying mortgages. Some of us are just doing for someone else’s benefit.

Except of course, those who actually pay off their mortgages. And, yes, there are those who do so.

No, Time, you blew it with this one. Saying homeownership caused the issues in our economy is wrong. Rotten, greedy, no-oversight-in-sight lending caused it by opening a previously, correctly, shut door to people who were not in a position to handle the situation. It’s like saying that if we allowed anyone who wanted to drive the ladder trucks through the streets, wrecking everything in their path, would be justification for doing away with fire department. Minimum standards exist for a reason.

There used to be pretty strict guidelines in place for lending. There are again. And the same people who should be buying their own home are able to. Those who shouldn’t…. well, there are homes available in some of the best neighborhoods for rent these days.

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The thoughts & opinions are mine. The quips that fall flat are someone else’s. Please feel free to shoot me an email with a question or a good joke.

And remember, real estate agents aren’t bad. We’re just drawn that way.

And they were off.

Today there was a 5K run at the new 3rd runway at Greensboro’s Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI). It was a clear, warm day. Very warm for the 1100 or so runners.

There were shuttles carrying participants and spectators from one of the parking lots to the runway. There were tents and balloons and bright sun.

And there were shiny planes on display. As I’ve written before, Greensboro has become something of an aviation center or so-called aerotropolis. With Fedex opening a hub here and HondaJet choosing Greensboro as it’s home, there’s lot’s of action and anticipation in the air. Literally.

A quick snapshot of houses on the market in Greensboro show that there’s plenty to choose from, to say the very least.

Looking over the last 6 months, the total number of listings (including ‘active’ and ‘pending’ listings) is 2996*. That’s almost exactly smack-dab in the middle of the highest number of 3091 on May 26th and the lowest of 2892 on March 31st.

And the average list price – $222,900 – is lowest it’s been in that same time period.

This is not particularly welcome news for sellers, but awesome for buyers.

There has been a slight increase in the percentage of foreclosures in these numbers. Four of the nine Greensboro zip codes had a small increase in foreclosure listings: 27405 (+3), 27406(+5), 27410 (+2) and 27455 (+2). 27403 had a reduction (-1)The rest remained the same.

The percentage of overall listings that are foreclosures increased from 189 (6%) to 200 (7%). Nearly all of that gain is in the single-family category.

An example of a listing with an asking price representative of the average is this lovely thing at 1809 Colonial Avenues:

1809 Colonial Ave, Greensboro, NC 27408 $225,000 (MLS#526828)

The average listing price of $222,900 can buy a really nice house in a very nice neighborhood. The example to the left is such a house. With 3 bedrooms and 2 baths this house is representative of the size one would might expect as an “average”.

All in all, the numbers continue to show that Greensboro is following the very general trends of most of the country but without the big ‘ouchies’ some areas are enduring. Good deals are available, nice homes are on the market and a few houses are owned by banks.

Keep watching this space to see what happens next.

And now, the rest of the graphs, please…..

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

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If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

Finally, finally, finally. For the first time since May, the new weekly foreclosure listings in Greensboro have been in the single digits two weeks in a row. For the week ending 9/13/09 there were 7* new listings. The week before, 9.

Too soon to say there’s a trend, but we’ll take it.

Those 7 foreclosures are located in 4 zip codes of Greensboro:

• 27401 – 2 listings
• 27405 – 2 listings
• 27406 – 2 listings
• 27410 – 1 listing

All but one are single-family houses, 1 being a townhouse.

Some data of note: the list price range for the houses is substantially narrower – and lower – than for any week since May.

• highest list price - $89,900
• lowest list price – $24,900
• average list price – $54,314
• median list price – $44,900

AND, for the first time in a goodly while, the number of foreclosure listings over a 12-week rolling period declined. We’ve been on an upward tick for this measure since June. So, again, good news.

The zip codes most impacted by foreclosures continue to be 27405 and 27406, which account for fully 50% (64) of the total number of foreclosures listed (128) in the last 12 weeks

Below are the requisite charts and graphs, but first here are a couple of properties that represent some of the foreclosures available in Greensboro right now:

2400 Peppervine Trail, Greensboro, NC 27455 $239,900 (MLS#530680)

2000 S. Benbow, Greensboro, NC 27406 $33,500 (MLS#525347)

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

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If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

The view from my husband's plane. Somewhere over...somewhere.

I’ve written about this previously, but it’s time for an update on how Greensboro is fast becoming an aerotropolis.

Yes, it’s a word.

Aerotropolis list: Hong Kong, Chicago,  Amsterdam…Greensboro. Why not?

And of all the predictions one could make about what would be a major industry for the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina in general and Greensboro in particular, aviation might not have headed the list. Or made the top 20.

But here we are. A list of just a few of the reasons and companies that are adding up to Greensboro becoming a center for all things winged:

• FedEx Hub (slated to open in October 2009. One of only in the country)
• HondaJet
• TIMCO Aviation Services (Headquarters here as well as 600,000 sq ft maintenance facility)
• HondaJet engine facility (in Burlington, about 20 minutes east of Greensboro)
• Atlantic Aero (highly regarded Fixed Base Operator)
• Aerosphere Aviation Services (supplies parts for commercial & military aircraft)
• GTCC Aviation Maintenance Training (PDF)
• Greensboro Aviation (aircraft component repair & overhaul)

You can even see the plane that is known as Air Force One when the President is on board doing practice maneuvers at PTI as well as the occasional ginormous C5:

So, keep an eye on the skies – and this spot – to see what happens next.

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The thoughts & opinions are mine. The quips that fall flat are someone else’s. Please feel free to shoot me an email with a question or a good joke.

And remember, real estate agents aren’t bad. We’re just drawn that way.