Lane County overall has a current market inventory of 8.8 months. Days on market has dropped steadily since January, now at 78, an increase of 12 days over a year ago.

The McKenzie Valley average days on market is 132 – properties are taking longer to sell than much of Lane County. 25 sales have closed this year at an average price of $357K. Pending sales are at 26, down 11.1% over a year ago. There are 104 total listings on the market. Prices have not changed dramatically in the valley: down essentially 1% since 2007. Pending sales are down 39.5% over 2007. Those numbers tell a story: sellers are not dropping prices as the current market conditions warrant, so pending sales are down.

This data is from July 2008 – August data isn’t available yet. We’ll post another update as soon as we get the data!

Buyers: properties are available; it’s a buyers market for well-qualified buyers; sellers can’t expect to get full listing price in today’s market unless it is priced right for the market (and most are still priced too high).

Sellers: buyers are looking, and some are ready to buy at the right price. Our buyer traffic is definitely up over a month or two ago. If you want to attract buyers, you have to price for the market and differentiate your listing from everything else out there. Differentiating can be on the basis of condition, concessions, incentives, or terms. The overall rule still holds: price right and it will sell.

Thanks for reading our update - check back in a week or so for the latest market data!

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I’ve been reading lots of pricing discussions on AR lately,  commenting on a few.  So I decided it was time to lay our pricing strategy out there for everyone to read, and see if we can get some good feedback and ideas for AR agents to use in their business.  (If you’re an experienced agent, you’re probably already doing this…)

It is a buyer’s market – haven’t read anything lately to contradict that!  What is it?  The law of supply and demand at work.  Excess inventory puts downward pressure on prices.  Buyers are looking for exceptional values in the current market.

So how do we convince sellers that we are pricing their property at the optimum price to sell today?  Sellers want the highest price; we want a price that we can sell.  The right price is the perfect balance of those two perspectives.

Principle #1.  Know the property.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  We and the seller are going to have to accentuate the good, and the seller is going to have to fix the bad and the ugly.  Anything less won’t stand out in the market.

Principle #2.  Know the market.  What comps have sold and not sold?  Why?  At what price?   How long were the solds on the market and at what price?  What are actives doing?  How long on the market and why, at what price? 

Principle #3.  Establish a price range for the seller, with a specific price point recommendation in the range, backed up by the real market data that you now know.

Principle #4.  Price to attract buyers.  Properties need to stand out to sell.  That includes price, appearance, terms – whatever you and the seller can agree on to make the property stand out in the market – price being #1 in today’s market.

Principle #5.  Describe to attract buyers.  Generic descriptions aren’t good enough to differentiate today. Get really good at writing property headlines and descriptions that stand out, or get some help doing it.

Principle #6.  Establish reduction discussions.  Have the discussion at the listing appointment.  If the property isn’t getting a lot of attention in the first few weeks, have the follow-up discussion on reducing the price.  Even better, have a schedule laid out and agreed upon in writing ahead of time based on market response.

Principle #7.  Market everywhere!  Anyone not marketing extensively on the web is missing the majority of the market.  It’s not expensive, and lots of it is absolutely free!  Read AR to find out how!

Principle #8.  Follow up with your sellers!  Have a weekly conversation with your sellers on what’s happened in the last week: phone calls, viewing stats on your web listings, emails.  End the conversation with a recommendation on how to respond: if market response is good, let’s leave the price where it is.  Not enough happening, let’s drop the price or do something else to energize the market response.

That’s the short version.  It seems to be working for us.  What can we do better?  We would love to hear what works for you – twists, new ideas!  What not to do in pricing might be a good discussion for another blog.

Thank you AR!  We’ve learned a lot in a couple of months on AR, and have been gratified to be able to share some of our hard-learned lessons to help others, as well!  Blessings!

Demographics & Geography

Lane County is the second largest county in western Oregon by area, stretching from the Oregon Coast to the Cascade Mountains. The Eugene/Springfield metro area is the second largest metropolitan area in the state (after the Portland metro area).  State population is near 3.7 million, with just under 10% of that population in Lane County, concentrated in the Eugene/Springfield area.  Eugene, the county seat and largest city, is centrally located, roughly an hour from the Pacific Coast or the Cascade Mountains.

Green on Green

The overwhelming impression one first gets of Lane County is that it is very, very green. More than 75% of county land is forested. About 50% of the forestland is under USFS management.  The rest is metropolitan or, within the Willamette Valley, farmland.  It is also one of the most green-conscious (translate eco-conscious) areas in the US. 

The Coast

The Oregon coast is nothing short of spectacular.  Massive sand dunes, miles of pristine beaches, the majestic Pacific Ocean, numerous lakes, picturesque towns, commercial and sport-fishing fleets, and unforgettable coastal vistas - an hour from Eugene.  Whales migrate annually up and down the Oregon coast, and are easily spotted during peak migrations.  

The Mountains

The white-capped Cascade Mountains lie just over an hour to the east of Eugene, with downhill and cross-country skiing, hundreds of miles of wilderness trails, many lakes, two major rivers, and miles upon miles of wilderness.  Recreation and scenery reign in east Lane County: hiking, backcountry camping, mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, and fishing.  Incomparable views of mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and lava fields abound. Wildlife also abounds, with deer, elk, coyote, bear and cougar populations (bears and cougars rarely seen).

The Rivers

The Willamette river is the centerpiece of the Willamette Valley, flowing through the city of Eugene.  Several large waterfront parks adorn the city. The McKenzie River flows from Clear Lake in the Cascade Mountain into the Willamette river at Eugene.  The McKenzie is a world-famous fly-fishing destination, home of the now world-famous McKenzie Drift Boat.  The McKenzie's water is as pure as can be found anywhere on the planet.  Native redside trout also abound, for catch-and-release fishing only.

The Weather

Now we come to some of the "not so great" about Lane County.  Winters are wet and dreary - not suited for veteran desert-dwellers. Rain and snow in the mountains, rain in the valley, and rain and wind on the coast give meaning to the University of Oregon moniker "ducks".  The rain extends from November into May or June, literally half of the year. It's not raining every day, of course, but there is a LOT of rain in winter and spring.  On the other hand, that's what keeps the place verdant green all year.  Mid-summer through fall are paradise in Lane County (July through October).  Warm, sunny days from the mountains to the coast are a welcome relief from the wet winter and spring. 

Visitor Info

For a more complete pictorial and informational view of Lane, please visit the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County website.

For Real Estate and McKenzie Valley information, please visit us online!

We realtors all do CMA's for our buyers and sellers (I hope all agents are doing due diligence CMA's!).  The typical market analysis focused exclusively on recently sold properties to establish comparative market value. It that's still your perspective, it may be time to rethink your CMA's.

Fewer properties are selling - almost everywhere.  Buyers are wary and picky - and should be!  Focusing on sold properties alone gives you and your clients a limited, and potentially inaccurate, view of the current market.  It is just as important for your clients to see what has NOT sold as it is to see what HAS sold.  We now analyze and present, not just recently sold listings, but also expired and cancelled listings.  It paints a much clearer picture of the market. 

Establishing a realistic market price for your sellers is critical to your success, and theirs, in selling.  Sellers, especially, need to understand what has not sold, and the probable reasons why.  In recommending an offer price to buyers, they too will appreciate knowing what has not sold, not just what has sold, in a given price range.

Maybe you are way ahead of us and are already doing this - I hope so!  If not, consider expanding your CMA thinking!

Blessings to all!

John & Susan Gray, McKenzie River Valley Realtors