It's interesting to me how many people talk real estate. It's everywhere I go, all day long. At swimming lessons, at the coffee house, at school drop offs and pick ups, at church, at parks...Sometimes I'm sure people bring it up because it's what I do, but many times I'm just overhearing bits and pieces of conversations.
What most people are talking about in this area are the number of homes on the market. Currently in the Mt. Horeb School District there are 133 homes on the market. I think that's the highest I've seen it in recent years. I'm trusting that you readers understand that this is a challenge for sellers and those of you thinking of entering the market. The upside is that there are a lot of really GREAT homes on the market right now in every price range. I'm more excited about our inventory here in the Mt. Horeb Area than I have been in awhile. I hope the quality of homes brings buyers into the market.
(FYI, of those 133 homes, 16 currently have accepted offers. Of those 16, 11 of them were listed at $250,000 and below.. That gives you a sense of price range most buyers are in).
Which leads me to price--another hot watercooler topic. People are always talking about what their neighbors sold for, what their appraisal said and what they need to get out of the sale. However, the general rule in real estate is that "a house will only sell for what a ready, willing and able buyer is willing to pay for it". This market is in a state of great flux. Last year, last month--that doesn't really matter. My best general advice these days is that a home needs to be in the top 1/3 for condition and the bottom 1/3 for price to sell quickly ( I have a whole tangent on price that I'll skip here--maybe another blog).
I am often asked point blank: "do you think that house is overpriced?" While I usually dance around that question, I will go on the record here that I think MANY homes (and land parcels) are overpriced. I believe there is currently a stand off of sorts. Buyers are refusing to buy until prices go down, and sellers are refusing to sell at prices buyers will pay. There are many sellers that feel that current state of the market applies to everyone but them. To the sellers that get it--I want you to know I know who you are. I send your listing out to everyone I know because I am so happy you and your real estate team got it right! I am so happy that I will do free advertising for other agents! Not that they need it; because they got it right; their homes fly off the market!
The other question I often get asked around town is "Have you seen that house on X street?" This is my favorite question. And thanks to my buyer clients out there--I can say "yes I have!" I'm not one of those Realtors who complains about taking buyers around because showing homes is one of my favorite parts of this job. I'm not upset if we look and look and my buyers don't find THE one. For me, it's market research. And thanks to my buyer clients, I know my market.
So what real estate topics are floating around your watercooler?
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