Slower Than Molasses

Buyers have no urgency!  Houses are not selling quickly.  The lovely, fast, firmed-up prices, spring market came and went, leaving us a sluggish market.  The feds tax credit expired, and while it accelerated sales and stimulated the market, leading us to optimistically believe we had hit bottom and were on our way to recovery, that is yesterday's news.  Today's news is not as optimistic.

Even 4.5% 30 year fixed interest rates are not enough to stimulate sales! 

Of course, there are micro-markets that move faster and in Pleasant Hill homes priced under $600,000 sell more quickly than those over $600,000, those under $500K faster than those over that price, etc., etc., etc..  The lower the price, the more buyers can afford it.  Add in factors such as attractiveness of the property, location, staging, and pricing at or very near recent comparable sales, and a house could sell quickly.  Luck also plays into this!  There are buyers who need to buy because their house finally sold and if you come on the market just as that motivated buyer is "hot to trot", your house might just sell quickly!  We see it time and time again! 

The lesson we teach sellers today is:
1. Price your home at or near recent comparable sales.  This is not the time to test the market at a higher price.  If prices are going down, and you don't like the price we quote you today, you really won't like the price we quote you in a month.
2. Spruce up your house: paint and floor coverings go the farthest.  Cleanliness is essential: woodwork, floors, all surfaces, windows.  Remove clutter.  Remove out-of-fashion, dated curtains. 
3. Stage the house: move furniture around, move some out, pack up things you don't need; make it look like a model home!  You need that edge in this market.
4. Make your curb appeal sparkle as well; cut down bushes hiding windows, plant flowers, add potted plants by the front door.

OR
1. Don't do the above and price it under market value for a quick sale! 

We have a seller now who is emotionally tied to a family home and very resistant to our price recommendations.  We have counseled her time and again to lower the price and sell now because the price could be lower later, but her emotions color her perception and we patiently market the house at each price point she wants to try.  Soon we will be down to the price we suggested last spring and we hope that will be the magic pill that sells this particular house.  But without emotions this house could have been priced correctly and sold months ago, as it should have been. 

You might think we sell houses.  No, we represent real people with real lives and each has their own story and experiece.  We do our best to help them accomplish their goals.  Selling and getting on with life, that is the goal.  Patience plays into our daily work lives as well!

We are happy we just helped one young family move from their Concord starter home to a larger house with a wonderful lot and fenced pool; we wish them years of happiness in the new house!  They are just getting settled in.

We also sold a house for a retired couple who moved to Hawaii a year ago.  After renting their house for that year they found they love the Hawaiin lifestyle, wanted to buy a house there so we got their Pleasant Hill house sold so they can do so.  That closed two weeks ago.

Furthermore a young man just got transferred and promoted to a new job with Chevron in Houston; we sold his house and the new buyer, a young couple, should close escrow on it tomorrow!  He is psyched with the property he can buy in Houston with the proceeds from his Pleasant Hill starter home; it is a lovely home!

Sold! 

Yet, there is more to this story!  I have a motivated buyer now; she wants a condo or townhouse that feeds into her little girls current Martinez elementary school and only a few for sale do.  Believe it or not we lost out on one; another buyer over-bid it.  The next offer we wrote, a short-sale, got countered by the bank way higher than she was willing to pay (it bordered a creek prone to flooding).  Then we made an offer on a condo she loved but the seller had a change of heart, took it off the market and decided to stay put!  A third offer on a similar condo was countered higher than she is willing to pay; it has too much traffic noise and there was nothing emotionally appealing about the property.  A fourth offer is on a townhouse owned by a bank.  Yes it has fresh paint, new carpet, but it is missing baseboards, missing appliances, with very beat up and dated bathrooms, a mediocre kitchen and traffic passing by on a busy street out her front door.  All this factored in, we offered, today, almost 20% less than the bank is asking.  We shall see.....as of now, we are the only offer the bank has.

Another motivated buyer I am working with is a newlywed young couple. They finally decided
which house they wanted to buy, only to have his employer send him out of the country for awhile!  Delayed, for now.

It's a great time to make a good deal on some very nice property!  And not a bad time to sell, if you just follow the advice and wisdom we promise to share with you!  Call 925-676-5859 anytime!