I have to re-run this article from early May. I was shocked to see the date I wrote this, that was a summer ago!! Ok, only three months ago, but the market is still ablaze–and CDF is not going to save it now. Having done my best to educate a new buyer client on the state of the market, he still chose to write an offer $5,000 below list price. You know where this is going right?
In June of 2012 there were 1639 homes on the market and 1678 of them closed escrow. Huh? Left over “Pending sales” from May made it seem like more closings than listings. A year ago, in June of 2011 there were 4436 homes on the market and only 1763 closing. We are in a sellers market. Hello!
Here is the re-post-
I was waxing poetic on Facebook yesterday–you know, leaving a “super cute” comment about a picture of a pet, or offering support to a friend lamenting about life (and quoted some uplifting something by Tony Robbins, no doubt), when I ran across an article a friend had posted, about making your home more sell-able in today’s Sacramento real estate market. Now, you can bet this was just a “Facebook Friend”, not a BFF, or even someone I actually spend time with in person, or she would have known better.
The article went on and on about little fixes an owner could do in their home to make it more sell-able: caulk and seal windows, replace the refrigerator with an upgraded model, professionally landscape the front yard. I chimed in Facebook style and typed, ‘In order to sell your home in Sacramento, all you have to do is list it with a Realtor‘! To which I was met with another comment that I was wrong and many homes were “just sitting”.
Turbo engines of market knowledge now in high gear, I retorted. Maybe it’s just perception, or dear responder, you may be partially correct. Severely distressed properties, and those sitting in some zip codes/areas, like portions of 95820, 95815,95838 are sitting. But, by far, most have multiple offers in just days or a week, and they are flying off the shelves! I had 8 offers in 24 hours on a cheap, but distressed condo last week. A listing of mine in Citrus Heights had three offers in one week, and a buyer I just wrote an offer for was one of 9 in the first week on a home in 95826 (no, sigh, we did not win that one).
The tide is turning. A buyer’s market as prices stay at a great value, a seller’s market for receiving an offer and moving on. Short sales remain the largest percentage of transactions in the market, followed by foreclosures, and then regular sales.
Home buyers, be ready to make strong offers. Home sellers, don’t waste money caulking your windows…..realllly.
