Real Estate Blog

• Interest rates eclipsed 7% for some this week.  Lower for others, so check with your lender!

•  The fall market is in full swing, so expect fewer homes coming to the market

• Smart agents are getting inside the heads of buyers when recommending list price

Orange County inventory is down a mere 1% and buyer demand is down 4% (the numbers are more noticeable in the condo market).  However, these numbers are more a product of the seasonal market cycle.  I preach about finding the right list price to all of my clients and every month when I jot down these notes from the field for this update.  It's important to think like a buyer when doing a first walk through of an upcoming listing of mine.  How can the seller and I highlight the positives and overshadow any shortcomings.  The right preparation, de-cluttering and staging are a big part of this highlighting and overshadowing.  Pricing is the next big thing.  It's the elephant in the room.  An over-priced home sits, and buyers are not shy these days.  They'll tell me, or worse yet, they won't come to the open house or set up a private showing to tell me!  

To share a personal example, I have a well-prepared condo in Long Beach under contract now.  After painting, deep cleaning and staging, we priced it right at the model match comparable sales price, which typically brings great traffic and multiple offers.  When we listed in August, we had slow open houses for 3 weekends, including 2 days where no one came!  We'd done everything right, except price it right, and I've learned my lesson.  After 30 days on the market, we lowered the price $25,000, and within a few days got 4 offers!  We ended up just a few thousand below the original list price.  It's strange to think that no one thought to offer this amount until we reduced to the tipping point price.  I have great buyer insight in this immediate current market now, and am applying that to 3 other listings I'm preparing.

If you're considering selling your home, I'll say it over and over, don't immediately hire the agent who gives you the highest value for your home, unless you can clearly see how they arrived at that suggested list price.  Is the agent trying to "buy your listing"?    Has your agent sold a few homes this quarter and have they explained the micro-market you're in and how buyers are acting in recent weeks?  Check their sales stats on a site like Zillow, as Q2 and Q3 this year has been very different from Q1 and most of last year.

Get a few opinions and hire the agent you trust and like.  

Until next time, 

Matt

949 677 3618

Tags

• list price (3)
• micro markets (1)
• staging (1)
• preparation (1)
• fall market (1)
• days on market (1)
• price reduction (1)