Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 20, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 13 R E A L E S T A T E F O C U S ATTENTION BUSINESSES: Sign up today and SAVE $100! *Early Bird Special ends January 31 st 2020* Your Booth Includes: • Face to face contact with thousands of potential customers! • A chance to be a part of a community fundraiser with plenty of marketing exposure for your business. • 8ft x 10ft space w/ pipe and drape • 6 ft table, fully skirted • 2 chairs, trash barrel • Free electricity (info reflects single booth) REGISTER ONLINE @ Racereach.com or contact the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce TODAY! Interested in Sponsoring? Opportunities are still available! Blackstonevalley.org administrator@blackstonevalley.org (508) 234-9090 W As of Jan. 13, there were 78 single- family homes for sale in Worcester, according to the MLS Property Information Network, the Shrewsbury listing service. On the same date one decade ago, the number was 359. "at is staggering," Hall said. "When I first got into real estate about 10 years ago, it was a buyers' market. Today, we are in an inventory crisis. More housing production is desperately needed." Kathleen McSweeney, a broker at Collins & Demac Real Estate in Shrewsbury, said homeowner longevity creates problems not just for first-time homebuyers. "It impacts every sector of the real estate market," she said. "e family who has outgrown their starter home is reluctant to list their house for sale because a bigger home is unavailable, and empty nesters seeking to downsize from their four-bedroom Colonials can't find a smaller home to move into." e other factor contributing to homeowners staying put is price. Redfin reported the median price of a Worcester home sold last year was $290,000, up 57% compared to a decade ago when the median was $180,000. Redfin found as housing became more expensive, homeowners saw their home equity swell, making it tough to justify selling when there are few affordable options. In addition, elder homeowners can tap the equity in their home through a reverse mortgage. ese are available to homeowners who are 62 or older who have considerable home equity. It allows the homeowner to borrow against the value of their home and receive cash as a lump sum, fixed monthly payment or line of credit. Unlike a standard mortgage, a reverse mortgage doesn't have loan payments. Instead, the balance is due when the borrower dies, moves, or sells the home. As home prices surged, average salaries have been anemic over the last 10 years, according to the Pew Research Center, a Washington D.C. think tank. Year-over-year income growth has mostly ranged between 2% and 3% nationally since 2013, according to Pew. But in the years before the 2007- 2008 financial collapse, average hourly earnings oen increased by 4% year- over-year, Pew found. Contrast that to the high-inflation years of the 1970s and early 1980s, when average wages jumped 7%, 8% or even 9% year-over- year. More home repairs needed Albert LaValley, president of Sustainable Comfort Inc., a 50-person Worcester firm which renovates three- family homes, said anyone who wanted to sell during the last real estate crash, learned they were under water when the bottom fell out. "ose people have had to wait 10 years to get back to where they were and that shut off many sales," he said. Another shocking figure, LaValley said, is how few Worcester homes are sold. Salt Lake City 23.4 14.7 -59.00% 74.40% Houston 23.2 14.5 -7.10% 58.20% Fort Worth, Texas 22.6 14 -33.20% 78.60% San Antonio 22 13.3 -10.90% 50.60% Dallas 21.9 13.3 -14.00% 76.50% Austin 18.4 9.7 -10.60% 70.90% Boston 17.6 9.5 -47.90% 62.90% Indianapolis 17.3 9 -58.00% 64.20% Los Angeles 16.8 12.3 -40.90% 92.40% WORCESTER 16.7 8.8 -41.10% 56.80% Percent change in median sale price: 2010 to 2019 Percent change in homes for sale: 2010 to 2019 Median years in home in 2010 Median years in home in 2019 Worcester ranks 10th in the nation for the median tenure for homeowners to stay in their residences. Staying put longer Source: Redfin Of the estimated 48,382 multi-family homes in the city, 441 (less than 1%) changed hands last year, according to MLS. In the single-family home market, 1,219 homes (4%) sold of the 29,654 in the city in 2019. "It's clear lots of people are hanging on to their homes," he said. When his firm buys a triple-decker, there's lots of repairs needing to be completed before it can be flipped, he said. "When we do buy one that's been in someone's family for a long time, they need plenty of work," LaValley said. Albert LaValley, president of Sustainable Comfort Inc. A crew from Worcester home rehab firm Sustainable Comfort Inc. fixes up a rundown triple decker. PHOTO COURTESY/SUSTAINABLE COMFORT INC.

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