The weather is warmer; the bees are buzzing, and the housing market is very hot!
I love this time of year! The days are warm and the nights
are still cool and pleasant. People are planting and upgrading their yards. I
have tomato plants that are full of fruit that will be ripe in a few
weeks. Life is good!
I also like this time of year for real estate. Currently,
there are 16,591 properties listed for sale (including Condos and Townhouses). Of those, only 9385 do not currently have an offer,
and of those only 7600 are SFR – Single Family Residences. Last month we sold 2881 SFRs. So we have approximately 2.6 months of
inventory. So what does that mean?
The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) tells us that any
market that has less than 90 days of inventory based on current trends is a hot
market. What this means for you if you are
thinking of selling your house is that now is the time to list. If you are a buyer, be prepared for multiple
offers and make your offers as attractive as possible. While all this seems to
be somewhat diametrically opposed, the
truth is the market is telling you to act.
For Sellers: If you want to sell or have to sell, get your
house ready. Just because the market is hot does not mean that you can expect
top dollar if your property does not warrant it. It is a double edged
sword. There are a lot of buyers, but
the competition for them is steep. Fix and repair anything that needs it.
If a buyer senses that you have deferred maintenance
or have not repaired items correctly, it will deter them from making a better
offer. Those items may also come up on a home inspection,
and your will either have to repair the items or grant an allowance. Be sure to make the house available for
showings.
For Buyers: Get a solid preapproval. Know your price range
and payment. Sometimes it is not always
about the rate, but about the payment you can afford and how that translate to
the price of the property. Be flexible on your wish list. There are always tradeoffs in real estate. Decide
what are your non-negotiables and what you may be willing to compromise on to get
your new home. If you are asking for concessions from the seller,
you may have to pay more than what you thought to get those. Listen to your lender and follow their advice
and that of your REALTOR®.
This is a great time
to buy or sell. Let me show you how I can
help.