Attitudes are Improving

I just came from the Hutchinson Home Landscape and Garden  show that is being held at the McLeod County Fairgrounds here in Hutchinson, MN. The show ends at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 21, 2010.

It was encouraging to visit with all the people who came to the show this year. Almost everyone that I visited with seemed to be much more upbeat about our economy. This is completely different than it was a year ago at the same show.

In talking to many of the vendors who have booths there this year, almost all of them told me that they had done a lot more business this year than in the past.

All of these things are good signs that people are beginning to regain confidence in our economy.

At Hometown Realty our first two months of 2010 has shown good improvement over 2009 for the real estate market here in Hutchinson, MN.

All of this seems to tell me that things are getting better and let’s hope that this momentum will continue throughout 2010!

Cancelling the Listing

Late last week we got a call from one of our sellers who said they needed to cancel their listing. Now, we are usually concerned when sellers want to cancel, but this time we were all celebrating!

Why? The reason they wanted to cancel their listing for their home here in Hutchinson, MN was that they were rehired at Hutchinson Technology. Now they don’t have to move!

This was wonderful news for them and for our entire community. The fact that one of our major employers is once again hiring some of the people who had lost their jobs earlier is a good sign that the worst of times may be behind us.

So, this time when the seller called to cancel their listing, it was a good thing!

A Glut of Rentals?

All you have to do is drive around Hutchinson, MN to see that there are many rental units available right now.  The last time I remember this many vacant units was back in 1999 when Hutchinson Technology had a significant layoff of employees.  I suspect that is the same reason we are now seeing so many for rent signs and incentives being offered by landlords.  The good news is that the tenants will be the ones who enjoy the benefits of this glut of rental units.  As you drive around you will also notice many SOLD signs up on homes that have been for sale.  The real estate market continues to be healthy here in Hutchinson, MN.  This is good for both buyers and sellers who are taking advantage of very low interest rates and a good inventory to chose from.

How Will The HTI Layoff Affect Housing In Hutchinson?

Back in the fall of 1999, Hutchinson Technology had a significant layoff (about 700 employees if I remember right), and so I went back to my records to see how the housing market in Hutchinson was affected. The first thing I found was that the vacancy rate of rentals increased significantly. Many of the laid off employees were renters who moved to new locations for new jobs.

What we saw in the sale of homes was that the number of sales dropped 15% from 1999 to the end of 2000. However, the average sale price from 1999 to 2000 increased about 3%. The general economy is different now than it was in 1999. So it might not be as easy for the HTI employees that were just laid off to find other employment as it was in 1999. So, I believe that we will find the real estate market in Hutchinson during 2009 to be challenging. If history repeats itsef, we may very well see the number of home sales drop from 2008 to 2009.

That being said, it’s important for those people who find themselves unable to meet their mortgage payments to know that there are other choices than just letting the home go back to the bank. Loan modifications and short sales are common place with the mortgage lenders today and they will work with homeowners to help them out during difficult times. We will be happy to explain the difference between short sales and foreclosures to you. Or call your lender and see what choices you have.

HTI’s Layoff

Tomorrow one of Hutchinson’s major employers will be laying off a significant number of employees. In a way, I’m sure that most will be glad when tomorrow is over. The employees were told about a month ago that there would be a large layoff starting Jan. 12. I haven’t spoken to a single employee during this last month who wasn’t sure that they would be one of them to lose their jobs. At least when tomorrow is over, the 75-80% who aren’t losing their jobs will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. I have terrific faith in Hutchinson as a community and know that we will all pull together and see this thing through. We will be thinking about all of the HTI employees and their families.