The #1 question people ask me is “How’s the market?” Real estate statistics mostly tell you where the market has been. It’s like driving while looking through the rear-view mirror. If you want to know where the market is heading and drive while looking through the windshield you will want to follow the 4 most important housing market indicators. These are the statistics I look at when talking with someone about buying or selling a home.

Months Of Inventory

Months of inventory tells you how long it would take for all the homes that are currently on the market to sell if no additional homes were listed. A market with 4-6 months of inventory is generally considered a market balanced between buyers and sellers.

When the months of…

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If you are planning to sell your home you may be approached by a buyer or a Realtor to sell your home off market. An off market sale is where your home is not widely advertised in the Realtor database called the Multiple Listing Service or MLS. Some agents also call off market listings pocket listing or their silent market.

You might be wondering if you should sell your home off market is right for you. Here are some of the pros and cons of selling your home off market.

Pros Of Selling Your Home Off Market

Your Neighbors Don’t Have To Know Your Home Is For Sale

If you would like to sell your home more discretely an off market sale may be a good option for you. Your friends and neighbors don’t have to know you are selling your home…

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Between Covid and all the people relocating to the Austin area we are seeing an increase in offers on our listings from buyers who are making offers sight unseen. First off let me explain when we say sight unseen that means the buyer has not seen the home in person.

Whenever we have an offer on a home from buyers where all the decision makers have not seen the home in person our clients ask me what they should do. Sellers are always worried a buyer will make an offer sight unseen and then back out prior to closing.

When we are giving advice about sight unseen offers there isn’t a simple, one size fits all answer and here are some of the things we talk about with our clients to help make a great decision.

Is Anyone Else…

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99% of the time being a Real Estate Broker specializing in an area is a huge positive. Understanding the different buyer profiles in our area, differences in the types of homes and what buyers are willing to pay for is an advantage to both myself and the clients I represent.

1% of the time it works to my disadvantage because I know something about a home that will be seen as a negative to buyers. I always want to be upfront and honest with our clients. Over the years I have found I attract savvy clients who appreciate being told the truth.

When you are interviewing Brokers to be your listing agent you will be tempted to hire the agent who recommends the highest price. It’s human nature that you will like the agent who tells you the highest…

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Many times I will hear someone say “The Realtor made me price my home for $500,000” and that’s not the way I look at it.

The approach we take when talking about pricing for your home is we are a consultant. Although I certainly can tell you what price I recommend or I can tell you what I would do if I was in your situation my job isn’t to make that decision for you. My job is to give you so much information and advice that together we can arrive at the best decision for your situation.

Most agents only have 1 pricing strategy but in reality there are 3 ways you can price your house.

Aspirational Pricing

The first way to price your home is what we call “Aspirational Pricing.” This is a strategy where we are priced well above the…

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There are several advantages of selling your home in a bidding war. You will get the highest price, you will get the best terms in the original contract and you will have leverage if the buyer tries to negotiate too much after an inspection.

26 of the homes we have sold this year have been sold with multiple offers. That doesn’t happen by accident. Here are some tips that will make it easier for your home to sell in a bidding war.

Appeal To Emotion Not Logic

To get into a bidding war you need the buyers to act quickly. We need the buyers to fall in love with your home and ask how much over asking price they need to pay. We need to remove anything that will keep a buyer from wanting to make a great offer. In marketing this is called…

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The story continues that we need more inventory. Prices are up because the supply of resale homes and “Quick Move In” new homes are down. Experts predict next year we will see a “Spring Wave” of homes hitting the market as sellers who held off due to Covid will decide to sell. If you are on the fence and thinking about moving up it is a great time to secure your move up or downsize home before prices become unaffordable.

On the ground in the areas we serve we are seeing less than 1 months of inventory. There are more homes under contract than homes available for sale. That means if you drive past a For Sale sign there’s a better than 50% chance the home is already under contract. Any market with less than a 3 month inventory is considered a…

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One of the interesting things I have noticed in the real estate market today is homes that otherwise might get passed over in a more balanced market are selling fast. Because buyers have so few homes to choose from, they are overlooking defects that would turn them off if they other options.

What that means for you is if you own one of these 3 types of homes and you plan to sell in the next year you should consider selling now. Here are the 3 types of homes…

Homes that back to a busy road or are on a tiny lot

Two of the features most home buyers are looking for are privacy and space in the back yard. Market research has told us buyers are turned off by homes where you can see cars while inside the house. Homes that overlook busy roads or…

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