The Housing Market, Clients & an Update

For quite a while I’ve been professing that to properly market someone’s home, we need to show Price & Value. With so much available inventory, you need to be able to stand out in the crowd, otherwise you can be easily overlooked. I still see listings that are wholly overpriced. These people are obviously being unrealistic in regard to the current market conditions - the summer of 2005 is long past!

An article released yesterday by NAR (the National Association of Realtorsâ) reiterates such:

“NAR President Thomas M. Stevens from Vienna, Va., said sellers need to price to current market conditions if they want to sell within a reasonable amount of time. ‘In some areas home sellers are not making sufficient adjustments in their listing price, so their homes are staying on the market and contributing to the build up in inventory.’”

(you can read this article in it’s entirety at http://www.realtor.org/PublicAffairsWeb.nsf/Pages/ehs_aug06_existing_home_sales_holding?OpenDocument)

We have just experienced five years of outstanding growth and the housing market now is going through a period of adjustment and heading towards a more balanced market. Rising mortgage rates, speculative investors pulling back and many first-time buyers being priced out of some markets during those years have contributed to the normalizing of the housing sector. They also note that 2006 is expected to be the third strongest sales year on record.

On another note, I listen to my clients. In this instance, a client asked me if it would be beneficial to place an info tube on the sign riders in front of her home. I had stopped doing this for many reasons and my first inclination is that it would not help procure a sale. Yet, after careful consideration, I do wish to add this because it might help with more interest since this home is the lowest priced home in the subdivision & that is explicitly advertised on the flyer.

I try to look at all issues from all angles. Sometimes you have to remove yourself & try to view the issue from the ‘outside looking in’ as a third-party to the situation so to speak.

Additionally, some people have asked me what happened to the home in the previous blog entry. Well, the deal has fallen apart. My client could have possibly lost over $23K from the builder that they were planning on purchasing from. We did nothing wrong in this situation; whereas the buyer did not disclose that they had a home to sell prior to purchasing this home. Nevertheless, we are hoping that the buyer will honor the contract & release the escrow to the seller. In the meantime, I am personally purchasing their home. I do not see any reason that they should be injured more than they presently are. This is a terrible situation, but thank goodness I am very lucky in that I have the ability to do this. Most realtors probably could not do this & it would be a very sticky situation in which there might be lawsuits, etc. involved.

Don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions & comments. Until next time - Marc It Sold!