Our market is not like some areas of this country. We are dominated by existing home sales, and people can buy a home for under $100K. Our median home sale price in our town is $105K and in our county as a whole is $190K (this includes farms and homes with acreage). I have helped buyers purchase an actual home for as little as $35K, and while it certainly needed work, it was not in tear-down condition.
I know a couple of realtors who scoff at the little sales. They prefer to only work with buyers and sellers for homes over $200K. I have head them say that the little sales are much more trouble then they are worth.
Now I like working the big sale as much as anyone, but each sale is unique. While most have me banging my head against a wall at one point or another, I have never had a sale that did not leave me feeling good in the end. I might work just as hard in the process of selling a $100K home as I do selling a $300K home, but does that mean the lower priced sale was not worth my time? I spent more time with that $35K sale than I have on my last three accepted offers, but it was far from a waste of time. It left me feeling good because I helped someone purchase the home her grandparents lived in decades ago. The couple is rehabbing it, and they have also been in contact with me for their next home and a home for their son. Waste of time? I don't think so.
Those lower sales are often special circumstances like this or they are first time home buyers. First time home buyers do not purchase things at the top of the market today, but by giving them good service, I am planting a seed for the future. I also get to share their joy at finding their first home, see their smiles at the closing table as they receive that special first set of keys. You could not pay me to stop working with the first time home buyer.
Land sales are usually lower priced properties, but I get to meet some of the most interesting people in the process. One couple I worked with last year were fascinating people and a joy to know. Their joy in getting to know this area was contagious, and I hope to bump in to them socially in the future once they build here.
Each sale is different, and I relish in the variety. I love that my transactions may take me from first time home buyers and a cute bungalow to a large farm to new construction to an elegantly refurbished old home on the river. It keeps the job interesting in a way that only working new construction or large property sales never would.
Variety truly is the spice of life.
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