Home Not Selling? What you should keep in mind...

When a home's not selling, there's a reason, and often there's more than one reason why a home continues to sit on the market.  We all know it can be very frustrating to put that For Sale sign in the front yard, expecting a fast sale, only to find that after months you’re still waiting for an offer. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… if you want to sell your home in this market, you have to be competitively priced and your home has to show well.  

Pricing, by far, is the most important thing to consider!  Inaccurate pricing can kill a potential deal.  On the other hand, a home priced at market value peaks the interest of agents and buyers. Overpricing simply chases everyone away. In today’s market, the most serious sellers are pricing their properties slightly below market value to generate excitement and activity.  That in turn can lead to a faster sale, especially with all of the competition out there.

You want to be in the top 2 in your area when it comes to pricing.  And if your home doesn't show as well, then you need to be the best deal out there in your price range.

Another reason why your home could be sitting on the market is insufficient exposure.  For Sale By Owners, I'm talking mostly to you. If you’re attempting to sell your home on your own, or with minimal marketing, you need to reconsider. You may have the best home out there, but if no one knows about it, it won’t help you get your home sold. Hiring a Realtor that develops comprehensive marketing strategies is absolutely key.  Realtors like myself will create a compelling MLS listing, effectively market your home on the  internet and showcase your home to top agents in the Greater Albuquerque Area.

Last, but definitely not least, we need to talk about the condition and appearance of the home.  Buyers may see seven or more homes in a single day. The most memorable home will be the one that seemed the brightest, the most spacious, and the most cheerful.   Remember, clutter can distract a buyer from the beauty of your home.  Remove the clutter and a buyer will be able to better envision themselves living there.  A real estate professional can offer guidance in that department.

It pays to have a Realtor working for you on both sides of the deal! 

Call my team today for more information on how we can help you! 505-923-4730 

Luxury Home Market

In the Greater Albuquerque Area, the luxury real estate market is defined as a home valued at $500,000 and above. Over 4,500 homes are currently for sale in the Greater Albuquerque Areas, and out of that 415 are priced in excess of half a million dollars. This means that the upper end market currently represents just over 9% of the total inventory available. What we report month after month, the 3-5% of all the total sales. The supply and demand in the upper end market, we do still have an over supply.

What does it take to get a home like that sold?

All it takes is a pretty sign, a shiny lockbox, and an MLS listing. Ha ha ha! Just kidding, I only wish it was that easy. Luxury real estate is definitely a niche market. The top 3 things to focus on in the upper end market are as follows:

#1: Work with an experienced luxury home specialist, like myself, of course! Seriously, with over 3,000 Realtors in the area, less than 2% of agents qualify and are invited to be members of an exclusive network of agents that specialize and consistently sell in this price point.

#2: You have to have an aggressive and creative marketing plan, not to mention a sizable investment from the listing agent towards the marketing campaign, to succeed in this competitive price point.

#3: As in all price ranges, but especially in this price point, the price war and beauty contest is absolutely critical and a luxury home specialist can help you determine exactly what the top value is to get your top dollar in this upper end market.

How many have sold over the past year?

Since March 1, 2013, 398 properties have closed above $500,000. A sold sign becomes even more difficult as the price point reaches the million dollar mark. Historically speaking, the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters are the most productive, so if you’re thinking of selling an upper end home, now is the time to do it!

As always, who do you know that needs to buy or sell real estate today? Thanks!!

Showing Feedback

I wanted to ask you about showing feedback. One of my friends has their townhouse for sale and their agent told them that feedback was not important. They’re in another state, or of course I would have had them list with you! You’re the expert, is feedback important or not? 

This is something that I’ve been discussing with our clients. The answer is both, it is and it isn’t important. Let me explain what I mean. The obvious feedback is that if that particular buyer didn’t make an offer on your house, then you didn’t win the price war and beauty contest in their mind. They found something else that they felt was a better value, and they bought a different home. It could have been many reasons, your floor plan, your neighbourhood, your price compared to the competition. The reasons are as varied as the buyers. At the end of the day, if you aren’t the best priced for the best home, you won’t win that price war and beauty contest.

It sounds like you’re saying no offer is the actual feedback and it doesn’t really matter what they thought of the house if they didn’t buy it.

That may sound harsh, but it’s reality. It’s a challenging situation as Realtors often don’t respond to feedback requests, and yet sellers want to know what they thought. As part of our customer service, we attempt to obtain feedback from every showing. We email the other agent three times and often try to chase them down by phone. In real estate, as in other businesses, 5-10% of the agents are doing 95% of the sales. I’m going to try to get that feedback from the other top agents because they are busy in the field every day and know what the competition is, and my clients appreciate it. If the agent doesn’t respond to three emails, it’s a safe bet their client has no interest.

So I’m officially telling my friends and everyone else that no offer is feedback! Ha ha :)

And I’m officially telling you and everyone else that getting feedback never sold a house! Ha ha :) 

Forecast for 2014

I know everyone is wondering about how the real estate market is going to perform in 2014. Can you give us your predicted forecast?

My real estate crystal ball remains cautiously optimistic for 2014! I predict that we will see the Greater Albuquerque areas continue to slowly stabilize. We will continue to be in a price war and a beauty contest with realistically priced homes selling well. I expect inventory will increase dramatically in the first and second quarters, which may create downward pressure on pricing as supply and demand drives home values either up or down. Overall, 2014 should see a higher number of sales than the previous year. I predicted 2013 to increase over 2012, and the final yearend figures should show an increase of over 1,000 sales. I’m optimistic that we may even experience home value appreciation.

Stabilizing sounds good. What about all of these foreclosures we’re hearing about?

As part of the market stabilization, we expect to see a continued decrease in bank controlled sales in 2014. A bank controlled sale is a home that either is bank owned through a foreclosure action or bank controlled through their willingness to accept a short sale whereby they’re accepting less than the homeowner owes on the property. In 2012, 30-35% of sales were bank controlled. As I predicted last January, the 2013 bank controlled sales dropped to approximately 25% of all sales.

Your crystal ball tends to be really clear! Cheryl, tell us a bit about mortgages and interest rates in 2014.

When historically low interest rates are enjoyed for an extended period of time, the only way to go is up. Interest rates will continue to slowly increase. This is a great motivator to buy now, instead of paying more later! Momentum continues to build in the housing market and there are still many opportunities to take advantage of the past few years of lower home prices and unbelievably affordable interest rates. These favourable conditions will not last.

Overall, you’re prediction is positive?    

                     

Again, I’m cautiously optimistic about the Albuquerque real estate market for 2014. For many reasons, New Mexico is a great place to live and own real estate. Whether you are a seller, a first-time buyer, or a move-up buyer, there are great opportunities in this market to take advantage of. Call me today and let’s get started. 

Potent Pricing

It seems like, for the most part, our market seems to be improving, so how important is pricing? 

You know, pricing is one of the hardest issues to deal with as a Realtor, because, quite frankly, every seller feels like their home is better than the competition, and that it’s worth more. Many potential sellers want to believe that their home is an exception to the real estate market downturn we have experienced since 2008. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the reality is that we are still very much in a “price war” and “beauty contest!” Your home has to be priced extremely well in today’s market conditions in order to be the one to have that SOLD sign put in front of your house.

How many homes are currently available?

There are currently almost 5,000 homes available in the greater Albuquerque area. The absorption rate can vary month to month from 10-20%. In other words, 10-20 homes sell per month of the 100 homes available. This means that 80-90 people out of every 100 who would like to sell their home this month are not going to. Supply and demand drive value and I am encouraged by the improvements in our market. Understanding these numbers clearly these indicates that pricing is still critical! I am here to help sellers protect their equity; I’m not trying to beat them up about their price. At the same time, it is my duty to tell my clients the truth, because in pricing the home accurately, it will sell at a higher price in a reasonable amount of time.

It seems like buyers are still being picky about homes to purchase?

Yes! To see that sold sign in today’s market, you really need to be number one, two, or three in the market in terms of your pricing, as well as how well your home shows. You absolutely have to be the best all-around deal! Buyers are far less emotional in today’s market. For years, a buyer would fall in love with a house that they had to have, and then pay a reasonable price for it. Today’s buyers make a value-based business decision when purchasing a home. An agent like myself, with 27 years of experience and over 3,700 home sales has a different level of insight in understanding both buyers and sellers in today’s market. This is critical in negotiating a win-win home purchase.

Why A Buyer Chooses A Home

I would like to visit with the listeners about why a buyer makes the decision to purchase their next home, the things they desire and missteps by sellers. I think this can be helpful information for both buyers and sellers. If you’re like most people, you probably think that practical issues such as the number of bedrooms or kitchen amenities control the home buying process, correct?

That would make sense, yes!

Nevertheless, this is not the case.  Financial and emotional considerations have taken the lead when buyers view homes. Over 60% of homebuyers say the “feel” of a home is important and 78% place more emphasis on quality rather than square footage. We are seeing that buyers will no longer tolerate purchases of “as-is” properties. In our marketplace, we have recently seen multiple offers  for nice properties simply because buyers don’t want to deal with a lot of “projects.” Remember, we are still in a price war and a beauty contest! Buyers want the best deal on the best house! This doesn’t mean that sellers need to spend a lot to sell their home; there are some tricks to get that necessary first impression on good standing.

What are a few things sellers can do to help showcase their home and make a good first impression?

Every home is unique and with 26 years of experience, I can easily point out the key elements to draw buyers’ attention to the best features of your home. Overall, however, sellers should keep up on curb appeal, even in the winter time. Your yards and driveway free are the first impression they will see upon arrival. De-cluttering your home so that buyers can picture their own belongings in the floorplan as well as keeping dirty laundry and dishes away is definite bonus! If you have time, boiling some cinnamon before a showing is a welcoming scent, and fresh cookies are always appreciated! And last but not least, sellers staying for the showing is a no-no; buyers want to tour the homes with freedom of discussing their options. 

Price War & Beauty Contest

The real estate market is very competitive, so what can people do to set their home apart?

It's important to realize that even with the amazing activity we've been seeing in the market, in today's market, everything is a price war and a beauty contest! It used to be all about location, but these days' it's about price, condition, and location!

Let's talk price first. Lately, we have seen an upswing in home sales and decrease in homes available and this is due in part to homes being more affordable, coupled with low interest rates, has coerced buyers back to the closing table! The good news in our current market is that lower prices and a stabilizing market are shoving 'on the fence' buyers back into buying.

How should sellers price their home to get it sold?

Here's a good rule of thumb: when you list your home, price it to attract serious buyers' interest - don't price it like the neighbors' home that's been on the market too long! Why should you do that? If your home is priced too high, it will just help others to sell, and buyers won't even consider yours. Why would a buyer purchase your home when the house down the street is cheaper and has more amenities? Remember, fair market value has nothing to do with what you or I want for your home, what you put into it, or what your neighbor got for their house two years ago. Fair market value is what a buyer in today's market is willing to pay for your home!

That could be hard for some people to do because selling your home can be a very emotional process.

I agree, it is hard, but you have to take as much emotion out of it as you can, and try to look at your home as an investment and not as the home that you raised your children in. Take the emotion out of your mindset, because today's buyer isn't purchasing at an emotional level. Today's buyer will actually make an offer on their second choice, if they feel it is a better value than their first. It's absolutely necessary to do this because, as I said, today's market truly is a "price war and beauty contest," and you must be competitively priced and in great showing condition.