Orange County Real Estate Market Update

There is an interesting phenomenon taking place in the Orange County market right now. Due to a disconnect between what buyers and sellers want, we are starting to see a market shift.

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How is the real estate market doing?

If you have been watching my videos, you have probably heard me use the term ‘buyer fatigue’ many times. The market has gone up so high so fast (many areas have seen prices skyrocket past the market peak in 2005) that many buyers are getting frustrated and saying, “Enough’s enough!” These buyers are pulling back and waiting to see what will happen in the market.

Meanwhile, many sellers have not yet had that change in mindset. Unfortunately, a lot of sellers and agents are still operating under the assumption that the market is hot, inventory is low, and it’s still a seller’s market. They are pricing homes high to see if they can sell for a record price.

In other words, there is a huge disconnect between what sellers want and what buyers want. Sellers want top dollar, but buyers want to pull back and wait. As a result, we are starting to see a shift in the market. Homes are taking longer to sell and selling for lower prices.

That said, homes priced at or below $500,000 are still selling very quickly. That portion of the market hasn’t caught up to the shift yet. On the other hand, homes priced at $1 million or higher are experiencing a market shift. Inventory is growing and sales prices are going down.

Ultimately, the market is still healthy; the market is just stabilizing and prices are adjusting accordingly.

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Prices are stabilizing and our market 
is still healthy.

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If you are a buyer, now might still be a good time to purchase a home due to the low interest rates. You can wait a few months for home prices to go down, but if you do, interest rates may go up, which means you would be spending more money each month for a home that you thought you paid less money for.

As for sellers, now is still a great time to sell. Of course, your decision ultimately depends on your goals, strategies, and timelines, but if you want to sell for top dollar, now may be the time to do so. You may think that as prices start to stabilize, you won’t be able to sell for as much money. However, since interest rates are still so low, there are more buyers out there who can afford your property than there will be when interest rates go up. The larger your buyer pool is, the more likely it is that you will sell for top dollar, so you may want to list sooner rather than later.

If you have any other questions about our current market or about your own specific situation, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Why Your Home Didn’t Sell

In my experience, there are a lot of different reasons why homes don’t sell. However, it usually comes down to one of three things: price, exposure, and lack of emotional connection by the seller. If you’ve gone through a failed home sale, you’re in luck. I will explain each of these in detail and show you how to avoid them in the future.

Let’s start with price. It doesn’t matter how nicely your home shows or how many upgrades it has when coming up with a price. We are in a price-driven market where most buyers are looking for a great deal. When you’re in an area where homes are going for $800,000, you can’t price your home at $900,000. It won’t sell. You want to price it according to the market.

If your home just didn’t receive the right exposure, you’re not alone. Real estate is global and buyers are coming to this market from all over the world. If you don’t get the word out about your home, you’re not going to get the level of activity you want. You’ve got to use a combination of traditional marketing (direct mail, flyers) and digital marketing (pay-per-click ads, social media targeting) to get your listing out to the widest audience possible.

If buyers don’t have an emotional connection with a home, they’re unlikely to buy it. If they don’t feel like they’re at home, they won’t even submit an offer. When preparing your home for sale, don’t focus so much on price and exposure. You want to have it show well, too. Declutter your home, keep the color scheme nice, and highlight your outdoor spaces and curb appeal to create that emotional connection.

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A great Realtor will be able to assist
you in all three areas.

”

By working with a great Realtor, they can help you reach these goals. If you’ve been struggling to sell your home or have failed to sell it in the past, we would love to speak with you. We can talk about what went wrong the first time, and how we can help you remedy that problem in order to get your home sold for top dollar.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

The Downside of Buying a Home

Buying a home can be a very exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming. There are a lot of inconvenient things that you as a buyer are going to have to do to get the job done. Today I want to make clear the four main things that suck so you can mentally prepare yourself for the process.

1. Getting pre-approved. The process only takes 24 to 48 hours, but the documentation and preparation can be very time-consuming because lenders nowadays require a lot of information to make sure that you qualify for a loan.
2. The search process. Sometimes people can get excited about the search process, but it can drag out for many months and become inconvenient to have to be continually making the time to look at properties.
3. The escrow process. After you’ve found the right home, the real work starts. You have to start doing things like inspections and signing a multitude of complex documents and contracts. This period can last anywhere from 30 to 60 days, and a lot of stuff has to happen before you can actually close escrow.
4. Moving. Getting ready to move is the epitome of inconvenience. You have to put everything into boxes, make arrangements to move it, and then find new places for it. We’ve all been there before. It sucks.

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Nothing worthwhile is ever going
to be easy.

”

Now that we’ve got that over with, here’s the good news - nothing worthwhile is ever going to be easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it. If you focus on your goals and your motivation for buying a home, you’ll make it through these hoops. After that, of course, you’ll be sitting inside your new home.

If you have any questions or have something in mind you’d like to discuss with us, please feel free and reach out by phone or email. Until then, happy selling!

4 Factors to Consider When Selling Your Home

Here are the four factors you need to consider when selling your home:

1. Price: This one’s obvious, but I bring it up because I often find that many homeowners and agents feel that price is the only factor to consider when selling a home. This is a mistake. It’s important to look at the data to know what the market is supporting.

2. Marketing and exposure: Real estate is very local, but it’s also very global. Here in Orange County, buyers are coming from both out of state and out of country looking to make our area their final destination. If you’re not working with an agent who has the ability to get the word out both online and offline, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

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Real estate is very local, but it’s
also very global.

”

3. The agent incentive: In the current market, 35% of homes are sold to buyers who are already working with an agent. If you’re not offering that agent a reasonable commission, it’s likely they’ll either overlook your property or not fight very hard to sell it.

4. The emotional connection: Most buyers, if not all of them, will buy a home based on emotional and visual triggers. If your home doesn’t look great because you’ve neglected to do a proper staging, you’re not going to get top dollar.

If you have any questions about listing your property or about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!