Homebuyers: Now Is Your Chance

If you’re a buyer, our current market conditions provide the perfect opportunity for you to make your move.

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If you’re a homebuyer, now is your chance to take advantage of our market.

Depending on which area you live in our marketplace, inventory is up anywhere from 25% to 40%. Not only that, but homes are also taking a lot longer to sell—sometimes 40 or 50 days longer than they did earlier in the year. This means you have more homes to choose from and more time to make sure you’re making the best decision possible. On top of everything else, fewer homes are selling, which means there’s less demand.

Another important factor you need to be aware of is rising interest rates. I’ve been talking about this for the past few months, but interest rates hit a seven-year high recently and they’re predicted to continue climbing. For every 1% that rates climb, buyers’ purchasing power decreases by 10%.

Despite all this, a lot of my clients are still saying, “Robert, if the market is flattening and prices are dropping, why not just wait a little bit and get a home for a better deal down the road?”

If rates rise by another 1% and homes values drop by 5% (which is a very likely scenario), you’ll actually be spending more money per month for a home that, on paper, you’ll seemingly be getting for a better deal.

I’m here to tell you that doing nothing is a really bad idea.

To be clear, I’m not saying every potential homebuyer should buy right now. I’m simply saying that if you can afford to buy and you actually want to buy, you should consider doing so right now. During the last six years, a lot of buyers I worked with wished they had more time to make a decision and that they weren’t getting caught up in bidding wars as soon as they found a property they liked. Well, now they’ve got their wish.

However, since our market is changing, it’s also creating doubt. That doubt is creating fear, and that’s causing buyer paralysis. Since they’re not sure where the market is going, they’re thinking they might be better off taking a step back and seeing how everything plays out. I’m here to tell you that doing nothing is a really bad idea.

Lastly, keep in mind that just because you meet with a Realtor (or at least someone on our team) it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re buying. When we meet with a buyer and determine their needs, we may decide that they’re ready to buy now, but we also might decide they’re better off waiting a year. That’s why, if you’re considering buying, the best advice I can give you is to get in touch with a local Realtor. If you call us up, we’d love to talk more about your goals and see what your options are.

If you have any other questions about our Orange County market or you’re thinking about selling a home, feel free to reach out to us as well. We look forward to speaking with you.

How to Capitalize on Home Equity

Our market has shifted in Southern California. Here’s how you need to approach today’s market as a home seller.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

If you’re a home seller, there are two things that you need to keep your focus on: timing and strategy. The market has shifted and it should come as no surprise. I’ve been talking about this shift for the last few months and now it is finally here.

Here’s what we’re seeing right now. Home inventory is up, demand for properties is down, interest rates are rising, fewer homes are selling, and homes are taking longer to sell. In fact, 40% of the homes that are listed on the market right now will be canceled or expire. This is why timing is so essential when selling. Every day, every week, and every month that you wait to list, you’re risking a lower net profit on the sale of your property.

Now that we’ve talked about timing, let’s discuss strategy. In the last six-and-a-half years when the market was aggressively appreciating, you could use the wrong strategy and still sell your home. Even if the photos online weren’t great or the home didn’t show great, it didn’t really matter. Inventory was so low that buyers would buy anything. If your home was overpriced to start, the market would eventually catch up.

The market is very unforgiving right now.

That’s not happening anymore. The market is very unforgiving right now, which is why I want to talk about three things that could negatively affect you if you use the wrong home-selling strategy:

1. Your home is going to take much longer to sell than normal, if it even sells at all.
2. You could be potentially leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table by overpricing from the start and reducing your price over time.
3. Your home will ultimately sell for less money.

If you are considering selling your home in today’s market, I recommend that you interview at least two to three agents and really understand what each of them will do for you. You should choose the one who is going to put together the best strategy for you to sell your property in a reasonable amount of time for the maximum price.

If you have any questions for me or would like to know what our team can do to help your home sell quickly and for top dollar with minimal hassle, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Does the Way You’re Presenting Match the Price You Want to Earn?

If you’re listing your home, you must never underestimate the importance of presentation.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

Every single seller I know wants to earn top dollar, but very few sellers are willing to do what it takes to put out a product that’s worthy of that goal.

This disconnect is one of the main reasons a property might sit on the market. To avoid this, there’s one simple rule sellers must follow: Presentation is everything.

Your property shouldn’t look “lived in” when a buyer comes by for a showing. Instead, it should look like a model home. Anything less will make it very hard for you to generate the kinds of offers you want or any offers at all.

Every single room should be neat, well staged, and have a clear purpose. If you have a four-bedroom home you’re looking to sell, then you need to present it as just that: a four-bedroom home. That means if one of these bedrooms is currently acting as a storage closet while you’re preparing for your move, then it’s time to clear it out. Don’t show your home at anything less than its full potential.

It doesn’t matter how much (or how little) you’re selling your listing for; you need to showcase your home in its best light.

I recently toured a property that had an amazing loft. It would’ve been a perfect space for a living room or game room, but instead of utilizing it in an appealing way, the seller had filled it with boxes. This is a perfect example how the quality of a listing can be dragged down by a lack of presentation.

It doesn’t matter how much (or how little) you’re selling your listing for; you need to showcase your home in its best light. A low price doesn’t mean you can get away with offering low quality. The person buying your home is likely scraping together everything they’ve got. Therefore, you’ve got to do your part to make the experience worth their time—and their money.

To earn top dollar for your home, whatever that may be, you and your agent will need to develop a “vision” for your property.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.