Real Estate Trends: Short and Long Term Trends in Home Prices: Part 4 of 8 - How To Effectively Price Your Home For Sale

Graph 1 - Median Homes Prices in Contra Costa Counter over the last 10 years. (Quarterly)

"How Do Pricing Trends (Market Pricing Trends) Affect Home Prices?"

If you get nothing else from this post, get this: Market pricing is NEVER a function of only one variable.  While looking at trends, remember what happened with pricing and what might happen with pricing is not the only data to look at in order to establish a realistic price to list your property.

Market Pricing Trends:

What is a trend, and why do trends matter,...or do they?
A trend is "A general direction in which something is developing or changing." An analysis of trends gives buyers, sellers, and their respective agents an idea of where the market is heading. A Comparative Market Analysis is completed with the understanding that based on what happened in the past we an excellent indicator of what will happen in the future.

Graph 2 - Median Homes Prices in Contra Costa Counter over the last one year. (Monthly)

How long is a trend? A trend might be a two year period, or a two week period depending on the market.  Looking at graph 1, you can see that the last four bars; 1 year (the previous 4 quarters) is relatively stable as compared to the 9 previous years.  However, broken down into months graph 2, we see that there's been a 27% increase in median home prices: Hardly stable. Looking at one without the other could cost you!  Why the big increase in prices, then a big drop, then a rise again?  There are several reasons....OK TRILLIONS of reasons.  And the end of the day, however, simply be aware of trends and price your home accordingly.  

How to price your home if home prices are dropping?

Don't price your home at the top of the market.  This often results in what we call "Chasing the market" as the sellers is forced to drop their asking price over and over and over in order to find a buyer.  Simply pricing the home realistically would have prevented that.  I personally know of a homeowner who was offended by a particular offer...only to accept an offer 15% lower less than a year later.  That's money on the table in my book!  

How to price your home if home prices are increasing?

If trends are looking up, don't base your price on dated transactions or you'll again be leaving money on the table.  Determine your motivating factor for moving.  Do you have to sell now?  Could you list the property realistically at the top of the market and see if you get an eager buyer?  Sure!  But be realistic.  "Can't I just pull it off the market if it doesn't sell...then put it back on again later?"  Yep!  But I don't recommend it.  Multiple Listing Services show a property's listing history, and some might look back (as the market continues to change) and think, "Hmmm...why didn't this sell back then?  The price looked right."  leaving doubt in their mind.

Ultimately, be realistic.  Follow the ideas in this post and the expertise of your local area expert...and you'll do phenomenally well.

Part 3 of 8 to come!

As always, I'll leave you with this tip:

There are countless Real Estate websites online now with dozens more on the way.  These sites DO serve a purpose.  They are a wealth of data.  However, "Zestimates" and the like are solely based on just that...data, which can be close to accurate...or way, way off.  No...that house up the street didn't sell for 30% of market value!  It was probably public record of a 2nd lien that was defaulted on. These sites pull data from various sources and do a very good job at combining that data and provide a free service to it's users.  That said, their not vested.  Use your Realtor.  Use a Realtor you can trust.  If you have questions about how to find one...call me...  or just read this post.

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises, and THANK YOU SO MUCH all the referrals.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com
Click here to reach Macky Hensel.

Please Follow me on Twitter and Re-Tweet these blogs.
Please Add me as a friend on Facebook 
Finally, please comment or ask questions.  Other readers may be wondering the same thing.  I love the feedback, critical or otherwise, and love the interaction: I love this job.

Thank you always for your support.

Brentwood Real Estate Trends: Available homes in Brentwood and Oakley

G'day friends!  This is a simple post, sharing links to "available"  Homes for sale in Brentwood and Oakley as of 10:45AM, September 20th, 2012.  I wrote "available" in quotes in an effort to reiterate how complicated our market is right now.

Click here to see HOMES FOR SALE IN BRENTWOOD

Click here to see HOMES FOR SALE IN OAKLEY

Featured Brentwood Property 

Our stunning Tahoe Cabin styled home on 1.41 acres in the heart of Brentwood is located at 530 Saddle Creek, Ct., in Brentwood.  Offered at $399,900

I can't stress enough the hurdles that buyers face in today's market.  Here are a few key points to help you rise above them. 

*** Make sure that your Realtor is YOUR Realtor.  Many, many agents are "double-ending" deals (representing the seller and the buyer at the same time).  If true synergies are leveraged to a truly happy end, fantastic. That's a win-win.  That's just typically not what happens.  Typically, a listing agent holds an open house, buyers walk in.  He/she tells the buyer the asking price and writes it up.  Not a lot of advocating going on on behalf of the buyers!  Negotiation is not about meeting in the middle either.  Anyone with a pulse can do that.  Negotiation is about listening and learning what is truly important to each party.  More often that you'd think price is not the 1st priority, but it's the one hurdle that most deals stumble over.  Is the seller's motivation time? Is it avoiding a foreclosure? Are they being pressured somehow, or are they listing the property just hoping someone will pay top dollar with little or no motivating factor other than that? Ultimately, searching for a Realtor who will advocate solely for you before you look at your first listing ensures that regardless of the seller's status you have someone watching your back...exclusively.  Click here to learn how to find a great agent!

*** Don't be afraid of Short-Sales.  Be afraid of listing agents without experience negotiating short sales!

*** BE READY!  Being almost ready is like being almost pregnant.  In today's market, you're either ready to write a competetive offer and close it...or you're not. Bring your check book, and your "A" game.

*** Ask your Realtor if they're willing to work for you.  By work for you, I mean really work.  For most Realtors a home listed as "Active" actually means that the property is listed as:

• ACTV - Active
• BOMK - Back on Market
• AC - Contingent
• NEW - New
• PCH - Price Change

The list of properties I link to at the top of this blog also include: 

• PSB - Pending, Show for Backup
• PSLA - Pending, Subject to Lender's Approval

If that doesn't get the job done, I turn my Tall coffee into a Venti and get on the phone, calling (not to be confused with pestering) any listing agent that has a property that I KNOW would be a perfect fit for my buyers.  As long as you're agent is courteous, most listing agents aren't going to mind politely responding. 

I recently sold a home in Brentwood to a couple who's agent called me after this listing was "Pending". The agent was polite and professional. The buyers actually wrote a letter to the seller's explaining why it was important for them to get into this house.  We agreed to let his clients see the property and to write a backup offer.  The day we received his offer our buyer in contract cancelled!  We closed with the new buyers less than three weeks later.  The buyers' agent didn't find anything "Active" but was willing to do the legwork to get the job done.  This is uncommon, but in today's market, it's one more way opportunity, slim or otherwise, to get into contract.  

If, as a buyer, you choose to call the number on the sign; the agent who's property you're interested in, PLEASE ask him or her the following: "How are you going to effectively advocate for your sellers and advocate for me as well?"  If he or she stumbles over the answer...walk away...run away and call another Realtor; one who will work solely for you.  Heck...call me.  Even if you're out of the area I can almost guarantee I know a Realtor in your area; a Realtor I respect.  

All for now, but more to come!

I'll leave you with this Taste of Wisdom, 

" Place a higher priority on discovering what a win looks like for the other person." 

 ~ Harvey Robbins

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com
Click here to reach Macky Hensel.

Please Follow me on Twitter and Re-Tweet these blogs.
Please Add me as a friend on Facebook 
Finally, please comment or ask questions.  Other readers may be wondering the same thing.  I love the feedback, critical or otherwise, and love the interaction: I love this job.

Thank you always for your support.

What's the difference between a Short Sale and a Foreclosure from a homeowner's point of view?

Like everything real estate related, this is a complicated question, but the answers don't need to be. 

Let me very, very briefly explain the differences; the practical differences between a short sale and a foreclosure from various points of view. This information comes from several years of practical experience, seminars with title companies and bank executives, and processing short sales.  My clients repeatedly tell me that what they really want most is the truth.  Well, sometimes the truth is hard to hear, but hear it goes. Oh yea.  I know we're a bit litigious so here's my disclaimer... clearly expressed:  If you have a tax question, as a CPA.  I'm a Realtor.  I know home values, marketing strategies, and C.A.R. contracts. I can tell you what your home is worth, and I'm usually right...but I'm not a CPA or an attorney, so when I'm stating my opinion, it's my opinion.

From a home owner's point of view:

Foreclosure:

MANY, many people find or have found themselves in a situation that is horrible to be in; unable to make their mortgage payments.  It really is one of the most stressful circumstances I've ever experienced or witnessed as a professional.  What the government doesn't see, and the banks don't care about is the devastation that the mortgage crisis has left in it's wake.  The fallout from these stresses causes problems far beyond and more serious than a poor credit score.  I've seen couples and families fall apart, people lose self respect, resort to drugs and/or alcohol to escape the inescapable.  I've watched business owners walk away from their homes as well as their businesses because they're just spent!  "No matter how hard I work, there's no way out.  Screw it!"   Homeowners were giving the proverbial finger to the banks.

Sadly, even with help and information out there, with laws in place to protect our citizens, some still feel it's easier to simply bury their heads in the sand and deal with the consequences as they come.  The truth is, foreclosing is virtually never the best option.  There are VERY few, if any benefits to foreclosing.  "But my uncle's cousin Jethro stayed in his house for 7 years without making a payment!" Good for him!  That never happened and  ship has sailed.  Banks work much more swiftly now!

When the bubble burst, banks did not have the infrastructure to handle the volume of defaults that were being thrown at them.  Not long after that (and trillions of dollars in bail-out money) banks "merged" and again couldn't handle the load.  Now how long can someone stay in home before being "thrown out"?  Each circumstance is different.  Could be 90 days after your first missed payment that an auction date is scheduled.  After that, you've got 21 days.  Could be more, but when it comes to that pesky little question like, "Where are my loved ones and I going to live?" I tend to lean toward the conservative side.  If you miss a payment, your in default.  If you miss 3 in a row, your property can go to Trustee Sale (auction). At that point it can be purchased on the court house steps.  Then...it is simply somebody else's house!

What about a short sale?
A short sale, although it is a bit more work, is 180% from a foreclosure.  It means that you're going to work with the bank; to provide information; to ask "how high" when they say jump!  It means that you're going to be a part of the solution.  Later, I'll discuss the benefits of your cooperation and how that's seen from others' points of view:

• From a lender's point of view
• From a landlord/employer's point of view
• From a home buyer's point of view

In a short sale, you are almost un-qualifying for your mortgage.  Some circumstance (hardship) has occurred and we simply want to share that with the bank; asking them to allow us to sell you (their) property for a price "SHORT" of what's owed.  You may have a financial hardship (job loss, curtailment of income, etc) or it may be physical (job relocation or transfer, change in family circumstances, change in healthy, etc.) After you provide the needed documents to the bank and secure an offer on the property, the bank determines if they will accept the offer. (it is paramount that you work with an effective Realtor in the process) then your house is sold.

Looking at the bullet list above,  imagine how the 'behavior' of foreclosing versus the "behavior" of working together with a bank to find a solution would be received by each of them.

From a future lender's point of view:
Foreclosure - This new loan applicant already walked away once! What's going to prevent them from doing that again?
Short Sale - It appears as though this applicant has gone through quite a bit. That's unfortunate. Where do they stand now?

From a prospective landlord and/or employer's point of view:
Foreclosure - They gave up.  When things got hard, they gave up rather than trying to work toward a solution.
Short Sale - Seems like today almost everybody has lost a home.  That's unfortunate.

From someone who may be looking to buy your home:
Foreclosure - So this house was foreclosed?  I wonder how well it was cared for?  I wonder if it was maintained the way it was supposed to be?
Short Sale - Short sale?  They're never short!  They take forever, but we may be able to close this one at a price a little below market value.  PLUS...if our offer is accepted and we have to wait 3 or 4 months, in this market it's only going to be worth more!

Now I KNOW that people were foreclosed on when the debt relief act and the senate bills weren't in place. That's a real shame.  I know people that were misguided as well.  I know personally that when banks weren't equipped to handle the volume of defaults...they simply foreclosed without even processing pending short sales.  Ok...yea...Bank of America REALLY dropped the ball a couple years back.  That said, they've gone from zero to hero.  Again, the infrastructure is there!

If you have questions or a unique circumstance to share, please give me a ring.  I haven't seen it all; nobody has.  But I've seen most of it, and continue to work through these deals smoothly and effectively as my clients have stated.

I'll leave you with this Taste of Wisdom, 

" Set your goals so big that you cannot achieve them until you grow into someone who can!" 

 ~ Unknown

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.

DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com
Click here to reach Macky Hensel.

Please Follow me on Twitter and Re-Tweet these blogs.
Please Add me as a friend on Facebook 
Finally, please comment or ask questions.  Other readers may be wondering the same thing.  I love the feedback, critical or otherwise, and love the interaction: I love this job.

Thank you always for your support.