Home values are tricky at this time of the year. 2020 is going to be challenging to both buyers and sellers with a low number of homes for sale and prices going up. If you are planning to buy or sell a home in particular at this time of year you deserve to have an expert Broker helping you and here’s why.
If you are selling a home, you’re at risk of pricing your home too low. Particularly if you sell your home off market. Although our market is not as seasonal as you might expect for certain floor plans that may not sell very often there may be much more demand than supply that has built up a backlog of buyers over the winter. It is important to work with a Broker that won’t just price your home based on what sold almost a year ago. You need to make sure you have a Broker who is selling enough homes to be able to sense which direction the market is going and price appropriately for where the market is today. You should also have a Broker with experience and a system to attract and manage multiple offers since they are more likely at this time of year.
If you are selling a home, you’re at risk of pricing your home too low. Particularly if you sell your home off market. Although our market is not as seasonal as you might expect for certain floor plans that may not sell very often there may be much more demand than supply that has built up a backlog of buyers over the winter. It is important to work with a Broker that won’t just price your home based on what sold almost a year ago. You need to make sure you have a Broker who is selling enough homes to be able to sense which direction the market is going and price appropriately for where the market is today.
You should also have a Broker with experience and a system to attract and manage multiple offers since they are more likely at this time of year.
I tell the story of someone who sold a home in our neighborhood without a Broker. He was pricing his home based on average $/SF from the year before. He sold his home for $440,000 and paid a commission to the buyer’s agent. What he didn’t realize is his floor plan is very popular and would sell for a premium compared to the market as a whole especially since it had been 2 years since a similar plan had sold. A month later we started selling 3 of the exact same floor plans each for over $500,000. In our market you really have to know what you have especially right now.
This may not be what you want to hear but If you are planning to buy a home you should expect to pay more than last year. In most areas we have seen appreciation.
You should have guidance from an experienced Broker to tell you where the market is today or you may wind up losing out on your dream home by making an offer that’s too low. Looking at sales from a year ago to establish value will give you too low of a price. The time to buy a great home is when it’s for sale because once it’s gone it’s gone. With interest rates being so low in my opinion you are better off paying slightly more than you’d like than always talking about the one that got away and wind up paying even more for the next home you love.
The average Realtor sells 2-3 homes per year. That’s not enough experience to guide you in this market. Whenever you are ready to talk about how our experience can help you call or text me directly at 512-791-7473 for a confidential consultation.
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