Rising Property Evaluations in Bannock County

If you live in Bannock County I am sure you are aware of all the buzz about increased property evaluations.  Across the county many people are upset about the new increases by the Assessors office which translate into higher taxes;  taxes that are already the highest in the state.  Frustratingly these assessments seem to lack parity and fairness.  Maybe the hardest hit are investors with rental properties who are now in a position of having to raise rents to make up for the increase in taxes.  In one case I know of personally the new evaluation increased by 250%!  In these cases rents can’t even be raised high enough to overcome the tax increase.

Check out taxpayersofbannockcountyunite.com for more examples and information of what you can do.  Right now the best course of action is to appeal your assessment, more information is found at the above link.

Current Days on Market & Absorption Rates.

The average time a home is on the market in Pocatello before it sells really stretched out in May,  jumping from just over 100 days in April to nearly 120 in May.  This may have been caused by a jump in inventory we saw in April.  I also think there may still be some buyer reluctance despite the fact this is an incredible time to buy a home.  The Real Estate absorption rate has stayed fairly healthy and steady, my latest calculations indicate our current home inventory would last 3.6 months.

See updated graphs at PocatelloRealEstateMarket.com

Real Estate Markets Are Local!

As I listened to the news throughout the day one of the top news stories was a press release by S&P about the national housing market.  In the report we are told that the national housing market is down 14.1% and nationally markets are dealing with an 11 month supply of homes on the market.  There is one major lesson we can learn from this press release that applies to all of the national media’s coverage on the housing market; By watching or listening to the national media’s coverage of the housing market you will learn absolutely nothing about your local market.  Learning that Sacramento’s market is down over 29% or that Yakima, Washington is up 9% tells you nothing of what is happening in our local market here in Pocatello.   Take the national statistics for exactly what they are, averages and medians of several select large metropolitan markets.   Here is a great article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal about how one of the big hurdles as a Real Estate professional right now is correcting the public perception about their own local markets.

Talk to a local Real Estate professional to get the real pulse of the local market and even visit  www.pocatellorealestatemarket.com for some basic statistics.  If you can’t find what you are looking for let me know,  I would be happy to post any data you would find useful.  You have a much better resource in your local Real Estate professionals than the national medial to help you make smart Real Estate decisions, please give them a call to get the real story.

Pocatello Ranked Last!

I was happy to post when Pocatello was ranked 22nd by Forbes for business and in the top 5 places for the outdoorsman in Outdoor Life.   To be fair I thought I had better disclose an area where Pocatello ranked dead last;

In 2004 The North American Vexillological Association ranked 150 city flags from across the nation.  Pocatello has the distinct honor of being ranked last of the 150.  After looking at the other 150 flags and reading the associations criteria for “good” and “bad” flags its clear to see why Pocatello was last.  Its a terrible design.  After looking at the ranking on-line I drove to city hall to see if the flag is still being flown, and as yet I have yet to see it on the flag pole.  This is probably for the better.  Personally I think Pocatello should make another attempt.  Study the criteria from the Vexillological Association then host a design contest then have a public vote.  Then maybe we could have a banner we can be proud of.  I can’t help but think there is some better symbol or symbols we can use that will artistically and acurately represent Pocatello than the phrase “Proud to be Pocatello” in 3D text generated on Microsoft Word.

Too add insult to injury a couple of years previous the same association rated the State Flags of the United States.  Idaho was in the bottom 10.  I have always been a bit irritated with all the state flags that look the same; state seal on blue background.  It defeats the entire purpose of a flag, to be a unique identifier.  Many of the state flags are indistinguishable from the top of a flag pole.  Utah’s flag is similar, yet a bit better than Idaho.  There was a push a few years back to replace it with a more unique and simple design.  The entries were impressive and colorful, yet looking on the State of Utah’s website the same blue background flag is featured.  The change must not have had enough support.

I know its not the most pressing issue but It doesn’t feel so good to be dead last.  I would guess the number of people who choose where to live based on the appealing nature of the city’s flag is very very small but it still might be worth the effort to change ours, if just to pull us off the bottom of the list.

150 City Flags Ranked

State Flags Ranked

Credit Score Information

Whatever happens in the mortgage lending world effects my work directly, so I try to keep up.  Mike Shore has some great information on credit scores.  Go to Mike’s Mortgage Blog to read more about how your credit score effects your approval and the rates on a mortgage loan.

Average Pocatello Sale Price; Last Five Years.

I think to most people the following graph will come as quite a surprise.  We have been fed so much negative material about the economy and the housing market we assume or exaggerate the national housing crisis on our own local market.  Now I know we are not without econimic concerns, but by all appearances our own local Real Estate market is healthy.  We have had consistant growth over the last five years in the average sales price of Real Estate in Pocatello. This particular graph takes only into account single family dwellings.

You may notice both the Highland area and West Pocatello show a drop for 2008.  Before you become too concerned please recognize that 2008 numbers are very incomplete and only reflect numbers for the first quarter.  Normally the two best quarters for the year will be 2 and 3.  I will publish this graph shortly on PocatelloRealEstateMarket.com as well as a newly designed “Days on Market” graph that is much easier to read.

Pocatello Real Estate Market Site Up

I have been holding off on posting a new website I have been working on until I got it all done.  Even though its not quite done to my satisfaction I have decided to plug my new site that tracks Pocatello Real Estate statistics. 

PocatelloRealEstateMarket.com

I figure I could benefit from some feedback in the early stages.  I thought in addition to this blog, having a fixed site where I could post all the information then comment on it here would be the easiest.  Already I have decided to make a few changes; I will change some of the graphs so they are not so “top heavy” to look at.  I will also go through and probably rerun each statistic and disclose exactly how I pulled the information I am graphing.  For example, right now all my graphs only track single family dwellings, but the statistics don’t say that anywhere.

Please take a look and let me know if you see anything that can be improved upon and if it makes sense, if I understand you and if I have time I may even implement your suggestion!  I think this has some real potentinal as an essential and unique tool for home buyers and sellers in the Pocatello market.

The Status of Pocatello HDTV

I recently began experimenting with local HDTV signals and thought some other residents may benefit from what I found.

Many of you know that in February of 2009 full power television stations will stop broadcasting in analog and go to a dedicated HDTV broadcast. If you have an older TV you will need to get a converter box. The government is offering $40 coupons towards the purchase of an HDTV converter. Go to www.DTV2009.gov. for more information. Check out the FCC’s website on HDTV at www.dtv.gov for much more information on HDTV.

My own experience with HDTV is positive. The picture is beyond impressive. At my home in the Pocatello valley I can currently pick up 6 HDTV stations from the air. KPVI is by far the most impressive with 3 offerings (NBC broadcasting, a weather station, and a Latin music station) and a strong signal. For more information on KPVI’s HDTV broadcast visit the KPVI website. I am unable to pick up anything from KIDK (Channel 3) either analogue or digital. The KIDK website is a bit vague but it doesn’t appear to yet be broadcasting a digital signal. KIFI is my main frustration. I know they are broadcasting in digital but trying several different antennas in different positions I cannot get a signal from KIFI. Perhaps they have yet to broadcast with a full signal strength….I don’t know. Go to KIFI’s website for more information.

Due to my neighborhoods restrictive covenants I have my antenna mounted in my attic which cuts the signals by 50% to 60%. This summer I may test a antenna outside and see if that makes a difference. For more information on HDTV antennas go to AntennaWeb.

Probably most of you won’t even be effected as your television is provided via cable or satellite but for those of us who do only rely on “out of air” stations HDTV offers some great potential with an unbeatable picture and a fantastic price (free).

Pocatello Market Absorption Rates.

The Real Estate absorption rate is a way to quickly calculate a given markets supply and demand.  It calculates how quickly a market would go through its current inventory.  This calculation assumes a couple of things; 1) No new homes will come on the market  2) All pending transaction will close.  We know both of these assumptions to be incorrect but it is a way to get a glimpse of what is happening in the market right now.

As of this writing the Pocatello area market has 437 single family, residential homes for sale.  There are 108 pending transactions and transaction flagged as “under contract”.  This puts the current absorption rate at 4; meaning it will take about 4 months to sell out of our current inventory (again assuming no new homes are listed).  Nationally around 5 months is considered a decent market.

You may struggle to see the usefulness of such a calculation with so many strange assumptions built in to it.  Keep in mind its just a baseline calculation, a snap shot of the supply and demand situation.  If our market had a 1 month supply this would indicate a shortage of home inventory and/or a surge in demand.  Likewise numbers out 8 or 9 months would indicate a market flooded with inventory and/or short on demand.

Pocatello Area Spring Trails Closure.

For those of you anxiously waiting for the local trail system to open for spring and summer riding, you will have to be patient.  According to KPVI.COM the BLM and Forest Service are keeping trails in the Pocatello area closed for another couple of weeks.  The article states the ground is still too wet in many places and opening them up prematurely to ORV’s can cause severe damage to the trails.  I can’t wait to get on the local trails but I have seen first hand the severe damage that trails can sustain if used improperly.  So like the rest of you I will have to be patient.  Waiting a couple of more weeks is a small price to pay to ride on  some of the best trails in the country.

KPVI.COM Article