What Was Your Missing Link When Selling Your Home?


There are three reasons why homes typically fail to sell. Here they are.

If you’ve tried to sell your home in the past and the sale was unsuccessful, this message is for you. It’s not for homeowners who canceled their listing because of personal reasons.

If you follow my blog, you know that I’ve said that pricing plus preparation plus exposure equals a record-price sale. If you've tried to sell in the past and failed, here’s what I want you to do: I want you to audit your experience. First, think about the price that you set for your property. Was it fair? Was it based on your current competition and what they were selling for?

If your price was fine and you still didn’t sell, maybe you didn’t prepare your home well enough to sell. When we take a listing, our goal is to put out the highest quality product. In a perfect world, we’d stage every home to attract buyers and make them fall in love, but we can’t always do that. You have to do what you can within your resources to put out the highest quality product.

I want you to audit your experience.

When you previously listed your home, was it clean? Was it decluttered? That’s another missing link that can turn buyers off even if the price is right.

The final missing link is the exposure that your property had. Maybe you hired an inexperienced agent who didn’t have a strategy in place to sell your property.

If your home came off the market, but you still want to sell it, you have to ask yourself what was the missing link: pricing, condition, or your agent?

If the agent was your problem, it’s time to find a new agent who can help you achieve your goals of selling for a record price. Our team specializes in selling homes like these so if you or someone you know is thinking about relisting any time in the near future, don't hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Location: Irvine, CA, USA

Is Now a Great Time to Upgrade or Downsize From Your Current Home?


Our real estate market is in a unique position right now. This is great news for home sellers who are looking to upgrade or downsize from their current situation.

Today I’m talking to the homeowners out there who either need more or less space than what they currently have in their home. Right now, it’s a fantastic time to consider upgrading or downsizing for a few reasons.

First, interest rates are now below 4%. While it’s obvious why this is good for buyers, it’s also good news for sellers. The more buyers that qualify for a home in your price range, the better the chances are of you selling for a great price. More and more buyers are entering the current market, qualifying for more, and having a lower monthly payment. They're actively and aggressively looking for homes.

Second, inventory for great properties is still really low. As supply goes up, demand falls. Our supply is still extremely low, so demand is still high. When you combine that with the low interest rates, it’s the perfect time for you to get your home sold for top dollar.

Right now, you can sell high and buy low.

Here’s the kicker and why it makes sense to downsize or upgrade right now: Inventory is going to significantly rise in the next few months. Right now, you can sell your home for a record price, then when you’re ready to buy after that, you’re going to be in a position where you have a lot more options and a lot more control in the transaction. You’re probably going to find a great deal.

Everyone likes to sell high and buy low and our real estate market is set up perfectly for doing so right now. If you or someone you know is in a position to make a move, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email today. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Location: Irvine, CA, USA

With Interest Rates Dropping, Is Now the Time to Buy?


Interest rates have dropped below 4% once again. Here’s what that means for you.

Interest rates are actually sub-4% right now. The last few clients we have worked with have been able to lock in rates in the 3% range.

Is it a good time to buy right now? Here’s what I tell everyone that I come across: First of all, you can never time the market perfectly. Second of all, if you’re not an investor, don’t think like one. You’re buying a home to live in and there are so many benefits to doing so. If you want to buy a house and you can afford to buy a house, then you should buy a house.

The great thing about low interest rates is that when you’re buying a property, it’s never about the purchase price. It’s about the monthly payment. Whether you pay $5,000 more or $5,000 less than you wanted to, at the end of the day, what matters is your monthly payment. The lower the interest rate you have, the lower your payment will be. If that number is within your comfort zone with these low rates, then now is the time to buy.

There are plenty of options for buyers in all price ranges.

Inventory is growing right now in the summer months and buyers have opportunities to look at multiple homes before making a decision. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in the $200,000 or $5 million price point—there are plenty of options for you. If you haven’t spoken to a lender yet and are not sure if you qualify, we’d be glad to help you get connected with one. 

If you have any other questions for me about buying a home in this market or real estate in general, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email today. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Location: Irvine, CA, USA

Your June Orange County Market Update


How is the Orange County market doing? You’re about to find out.

Here’s the million-dollar question I’ve been hearing lately: “How is the market doing?”

Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of this question because every homebuyer and seller has a different need and a different goal, and chances are they’re not all looking in the same market. So today I’m bringing you a very general update on the state of the Orange County market as a whole:

1. We’ve seen a year-over-year rise in inventory. Currently, we have 29% more homes available than we did at this time last year. This means more options for buyers and more competition for sellers. When buyers have more options, they have more time to think about want they want to buy. More competition for sellers generally means that demand for any unique or specific property drops a little bit. If you're a seller in the market, make sure that your home is priced appropriately because if it’s not, then the market will probably react in a way that won’t benefit you.
 
2. The average days on market has increased. Last year at this time, it took an average of 63 days to sell a property in Orange County; today we’re looking at 84 days. In addition, 14% fewer homes are selling now compared to last year.
 
3. Expired listings have increased by 64%. An expired listing is a home that was listed on the market that failed to sell for one reason or another. Around 64% more homes are expiring now than they were last year. In our market, we’ve noticed that about 40% of listed homes are failing to sell. However, it’s important to understand that the market is going through a bit of a shift at the moment. Don’t be fooled by media reports of our being in a buyer’s market—we’re still in a very strong seller’s market.

The statistics may seem to spell doom and gloom for sellers, but they need to understand that with the right strategy and the right agent, you can still sell your home for a record price.

4. Sellers need to showcase a high-quality product in order to sell for top dollar. This means that you’ll need to put forth the time, energy, and money to prepare your house to show like a model home—do some minor repairs, make sure the house is clean, and have it staged to get top dollar.

In addition to preparing the home to show in its best light, you also need to price your home to attract the highest number of buyers and work with an agent who can maximize your listing’s exposure to make sure that every buyer in the market for a home knows about your listing.

Overall, the statistics may seem to spell doom and gloom for sellers, but they need to understand that with the right strategy and the right agent, you can still sell your home for a record price.

For buyers, there are many overpriced properties and there’s a lot of stale inventory. With interest rates being as low as they are, you can definitely find a great deal in Orange County.

If you’re interested in buying or selling a home and would like to learn more about how the market relates to your unique situation, don’t hesitate to reach out to me and my team. We’d love to help you.
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Location: Irvine, CA, USA
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