Navigating the Latest Market Trend

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If a Realtor was sent to the blackboard by a math teacher these days, he or she might write this equation: More buyers + fewer houses = help!

National surveys and HouseHunt’s second-quarter market conditions report show an increase in housing activity and a decrease in inventory in parts of the country. Working through foreclosures and short sales, however, remain a sticking point to more upward movement. While national reports show the nation’s shadow inventory shrinking by about 30 percent since early 2010, HouseHunt agents in parts of Georgia, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Texas and Florida say foreclosures represent from 30 to more than 50 percent of houses in their market.

“If you have a home that is not a short sale or REO, we’re seeing multiple offers in excess of five to 30 on a property. Buyers are jumping on regular sales since they don’t have to wait for a bank to make a decision.” reported Cheryl Lichen-Hooper, a HouseHunt agent in Castaic just north of Los Angeles.

Overall, HouseHunt agents reporting a tight supply of houses rose from 38 percent to 52 from the previous quarter, and 76 percent reported multiple offers being made, an increase of 10 percent from the first three months of the year.

“The inventory is very low. We’re seeing more traditional sales come on the market but not enough to really have an impact on the low numbers.” - Mary L. Hartman, a HouseHunt Realtor in the Phoenix metropolitan area of Surprise.

Hartman said that has put a premium on contacting leads immediately and never giving up on a prospect unless it’s obviously a dead end.

“What I’m finding is that the leads I’m working are more serious in nature, so when I’m contacting them they’re actually proactively contacting me back,” she said. “They’re more receptive to somebody helping them because they’ve been trying to find something and there’s a challenge still with all the short sales on the market.”

After nine years in the real estate game, Hartman says she has learned to adapt to the ebbs and flows of the business. The latest trend is just another stream to navigate.

“My strategy is, don’t be afraid of anything,” she said. “There are a lot of people who don’t want to deal with short sales or don’t want to work with foreclosures or this or that. But every one of those ‘I don’t want to do’s’ – guess what? If you don’t want to do them you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face.”

And since you never know who’s on the other end of the line or initial e-mail message, Hartman said: “You’ve got to treat all of them like they’re the big one.”

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