Real Estate Information

Watch this video to see how you can help the economy by buying Made In America!

Follow this conversation between Peggy and her client today:

CLIENT:  I think I want to sell, you have seen the home, what do you think?

PEGGY:   If anyone can get the highest price for your home, it’s us, for sure.  And, on a newsworthy note, residential inventory is lower than at any point in 4 years.  So your timing is good.  …

Add to that the fact that relocation buyers are now entering the market place, starting just after Thanksgiving and continuing through the end of March.  We are entering our busiest period of each year, since for 20 years, my business has been built around a relocation focus.

So, if you do want to sell, let’s put your home on the market now and get it sold!  I believe the best price to list it for is $700k.  I know you would prefer more and we could start at $719k.  If we get no or low showings, then we can adjust the price to $700k. I prefer listing at the right price when it just goes active.  .  You will have a stronger response when the most buyers are notified (see earlier post). I find listings that come on the market priced right, sell for more than those whose sellers  are too bullish, and then lose market time and face a series of price reductions.

It is, of course, your decision. But, if you put me in the driver’s seat, with my primary objective to get the highest price in the least amount of time, I would price it at $700k and get it sold.  Let me know.

CLIENT: I owe $675k and don’t want to be out of pocket.  I don't need to get money back at closing, but I can’t be underwater after the sale.  Now what do you think?

PEGGY:  That is tough, but I'm not surprised knowing this market.  I would be willing to do a lesser commission, for the sake of selling this for you and for the future business between us.  But with $25k, there is not enough equity to cover closing expenses.  If we pay 2.5% selling office commission, which is less than I typically pay, (I incentify buyer's agents, and it works!)  That would leave a listing office commission of $10k,  If we sold it at $700k.  But if we sell it under $700k, that figure drops very fast.  I cannot start up my engines for much under $10k. 

I’ll bet my referral rental company PMC, can get that rented for you. What figure do you need to cover your overhead?

CLIENT: You are a sweetheart and superwoman!  I just spoke to your PMC contact and she is awesome, I am going to make a change to have her manage and rent my house…She is driving by it tomorrow.  thank you…

*PEGGY’S COMMENTS: Our clients need us to be a strong guide and an honest guide, even if it means losing their business in the short term. Because, really it is not losing anything in the short term. If  we take on something we know we cannot complete, it will be terrible for the client and  it will guarantee no future business from this client or from anyone they come in contact with.  I would rather lose current business and gain the clients trust and respect and gain future business from him and those he knows, than take a listing at a price we are unable to sell it at.

Peggy's Remedies at Work! Peggy helped a client sell their condo and buy in Vancouver

Last Wednesday I shared reasons why I was grateful this Thanksgiving. 

I mentioned that the number of listings on the market was down which can be a sign that we are moving toward a more balanced market.

Today, I have numbers to back this up. According to MLS data compiled by Realtor.com, housing inventory shrank in October by 3.5% nationwide compared to September and 21% over last October reaching a 4 year low!

In October, housing inventories declined month to month the most in:

• Portland, Ore.: -6.9%
• Seattle: -5.3%
• Dallas: -5.2%

How does this affect our market place? According to economic theory of supply (listings) and demand (home buyers) if supply decreases and demand remains unchanged, then it leads to higher price and lower quantity.  Or in layman terms, as long as the number of buyers in the market stays constant, lowering the inventory of homes for sale, means there are fewer homes for buyers to choose from, creating greater demand for fewer homes, thus driving the price of homes higher.

Stay Tuned!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Gobble Gobble

I'm in the real estate business, so on top of everything I have to be gratetful for personally,  I am especially grateful that the worst of the real estate economy seems to be behind us.

Here's why I'm grateful this year:

1. Housing, according to the NAR, is projected to gradually improve in 2012.

2. Although FHA loan limits were recently reduced, Congress just reversed that and returned them to their previous limits. You can again use FHA in Portland and Vancouver to purchase a home up to $433,900 and in higher cost of living cities, up to $729,750! The previous reduction was a detriment to recovery.

3.  The number of resale homes sales rose unexpectedly last month while the number of listings declined. Moving in the right direction again.

Have a wonderful, safe and tasty Thanksgiving!

Melting in like butter on hot popcorn, astonishingly high levels of immigrants are projected to learn English, buy homes, acquire citizenship, and attain solid economic footing in the United States by the year 2030, according to a report just published by The Center for American Progress

The center predicts that "by 2030, 70.3 percent of immigrants are projected to own their own homes, on par or slightly higher than the homeownership rate among the native-born".

Rather than hinder the economy, immigrants will increasingly become the future home buyers of America, helping to jump-start our housing market.

The study also found that, unlike some assertions that Hispanics don't assimilate, in fact, Hispanic immigrants are assimilating at the same rate as other immigrants even though they started at a lower economic level.  They predict that by 2030, Hispanic home ownership rates of 67% and Hispanics home purchasing power, like all immigrants, will go a long way to solving our  housing crisis.

The study also predicts that naturaliization rates will grow to 70%.  Read more about this report from The Center for American Progress,