I was having our usual markets and real estate conversation over coffee with my husband the other day. He being a financial advisor and me a realtor our topics are usually in the same areas. The topic this morning was home pricing and how the market is trending now versus the last couple of years. We had the normal “these markers were showing to predict the markets shift for real estate” and the “This is what I see going on now and it’s crazy” when he used the simplest of analogies to illustrate what I was telling him I am seeing happening and it make total sense. Be the bait don’t chase the fish. He was referring to the bait as pricing and the fish as buyers. Although I had to stop myself from laughing he was %100 accurate. There are two parts as to why really, here is the first.

When we as realtors price a home before listing we run a report called a Comparative Market Analysis. In that report we take into account different factors like zip code, schools, square-footage, improvements or updates etc.. We also most importantly take into account the time period as which it was sold in. That takes into account the conditions for the last month,6,12,18,24 months depending on how long you specify it for. The only challenge with that is the conditions now are not the same and we saw just a few months ago and certainly not the same as year ago.We experienced such a drastic turn in the market with some areas affected more than others. Consumers see $$ and what things sold for sometimes even in their neighborhood without taking into account how much has changed. For some no amount of a real-estate professional explaining will change their minds and others have been over-promised toby professionals not wanting t o have the hard conversations. What we end up with is consumers pricing higher up front based on inaccurate expectations of higher net and continuing to lower the price or add incentives to try and catch up with how the market is trending.

The second part of this is completely based on human behavior and how it affects buying now. Have you ever been shopping online put something in your cart and thought “I’ll come back to it later” or ” I think they have a sale coming up soon so I’ll just watch it until then”. We all have. That my friends is how people are beginning to buy homes. Buyers have noticed the market shift due to interest rates rising, inflation and economic scares. These factors have caused homes to sit on the market a little longer and the longer they sit we start to see price reductions. Like the good deal shoppers we are we start watching neighborhoods or specific areas and watch the price drops until we feel it has hit the “sweet spot” in pricing and move to purchase at that time.

While there is no one size fits all remedy there are a few thing to take into account and discuss with your Realtor before deciding to list a home. The first being what is your timeline? For example do you need to move for a job or be out of your home on a specific timeline? What is your motivation for moving? Have you already found another home you would like to purchase? Are you planning on building? Do you have a specific goal to hit financially and is it realistic? Are there things that need to be done prior to listing to prepare your home to sell in less time and for better pricing? I waited until now to show you the fun little chart I created to lillistae my point in hopes you would actually read this far. If you did you are my people.

Technical Tuesday – February 9^th

On Thursday of last week, you would have found me walking around Costco.  With a household of five teenagers, this isn’t out of the ordinary.   In fact, it’s not uncommon to find me wandering the aisles of Costco multiple times per week.  But then something odd happened while standing in the frozen section surrounded by ready to eat options and wondering if an entire family size bag of dumplings would last more than 30 minutes once three eternally ravenous teenagers set their eyes on the prize.  

I received a call from the Huntsville/ Madison County MLS board  ‘Teresa’ had called to inform me that not one but THREE complaints – back to back – had been registered against me.  

At that moment everything from the gluten free pizzas to the buzz of other shoppers faded into the background.  To me, this was a grievous moment.  I live both my personal and professional life to a very high standard of integrity.  What could have possibly gone wrong?

Why was I reported: My sign was in the yard of a home. Specifically, a home in a very desirable neighborhood with features only available on only a minute percentage of the houses in the Huntsville and Madison county area.  

Who complained:  Other Realtors.  

What was the complaint:  “The house has a sign in the yard but I cant find it listed on the Multiple Listings Service (MLS) and this was clearly not fair”.  

Once ‘Teresa’ and I worked through what had transpired, we were both relived and a bit frustrated.  The complaint was clearly bogus.  We agreed on one important fact.  The other Realtors did not understand a fundamental basic of selling houses.  

As a Realtor with more than 13 years of experience, allow me to drop a bit of knowledge to those in my profession that don’t quite understand the nuances.  

When meeting with clients thinking of listing, I always go over three options:

1. List your property on the MLS – This is what I recommend to most of my clients. This option takes the most effort but often brings a best price for clients and it includes the full gambit.  Just to scratch the surface, there are photographers, staging the house, and being ready at a moment’s notice to evacuate for showings.  All the normal things almost everyone has gone through once or twice in their lives.  

2. Office Exclusive Listing – In an office exclusive, the seller doesn’t want the hassles associated with a full listing. Often, I’ll have a list of buyers – mostly executives – I’ve met with over the past years.  We’ve identified the list of wants and needs and I keep this list in the back of my mind when a property comes across my desk.  I match the buyer and seller with the market value of the property.  This also allows the information to be released to other agents within my office. That way they still get the exposure to over 200 agents in our market. The information would be released to the MLS only after the home was sold. Releasing the sales information to the MLS helps maintain accuracy of home values for our neighborhoods. 

3. Off Market Sale – Realtors can assist with selling a house off market as well.  This option works almost identically to the office exclusive with one very important item – the information is not released to the MLS or other agents. 

Both ‘Teresa’, my office, and the Realtors in my mentor group all came to the same conclusion;  The Realtors that made the complaint were simply unhappy they did not have the listing.  

Interestingly, I discovered all three were from the same office but I’ll keep that bit of information between myself and the fence post.  

As you can guess by now, my clients chose the second option – the office exclusive.  It fit their goals perfectly and both buyer and seller are still very satisfied clients.  And really, isn’t that what matters the most when the dust clears and all is said and done?

Have a question or, even better, an idea for an article?  I’d love to hear from you!