OCTOBER 3, 2022 – As I noted back in July, appraisers of residential subdivisions needed to start forecasting a SIGNIFICANT slowdown in lot and home sales. Now they should add to that a forecast of declining lot and home prices.
For those who have been around to see numerous downturns in the past 35+ years (yes, I am officially old!), the one thing we can be certain of is that all of those builder take-down contracts and letters-of-intent are worth less than the paper they are written on.
I haven’t reviewed a subdivision appraisal in a few months (I guess that is saying something about the market). But, as late as June or July appraisers were still relying on builder takedown contracts. Hopefully, that has totally ceased. Some pertinent info follows.
The Fed’s hurry-up offense is having an equally dramatic effect on the U.S. housing market. In response, home builders are walking away from land deals. In the second quarter, KB Homes abandoned 8,800 previously controlled lots while Lennar walked on 10,000 home sites. More than a fifth of home builders are taking the same action. (Quill Intelligence)
Home buyer cancellations neared 18% in July with Texas being tops at 27%. (John Burns Consulting)
In Western markets, cancellations hit 38% in the week ended September 15th. They’ve been above 30% for 14 straight weeks. Prior to April, the cancellation rate held in a relatively tight 7-12% range for 23 straight months. (Zelman & Associates)
Only one homebuilder has announced layoffs so far. Stanley Black & Decker announced 1,000 jobs in finance are being cut. Job cuts occur about 4 quarters after housing permits peak. 2023 will be ugly for homebuilder employees.
Remember, very slow future absorption and declining lot and house prices. I will post when I see the first appraiser to have the testicular fortitude to do this in an appraisal:)
Shalom,
The Mann