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Can You Handle The Truth?

By
Home Stager with Becky Fields Home Staging and ReDesign

I just received the latest housing stats for San Joaquin county (Northern CA) and they continuing to climb on a weekly basis. 

The market continues to be saturated with inventory as more homeowners are putting their houses on the market. For the following six cities (Stockton, Manteca, Lathrop, Salida, Tracy and Modesto) there are approximately 6,600 houses for sale.

Very few people are attending Open Houses. The hot weather is keeping them inside or at the pool.  Those that are venturing out to Open Houses are mostly neighbors checking out what their potential "competition" looks like. 

Most buyers are looking online to find their next house.  By looking at MLS listings, a lot of houses just aren't showing well and buyers or their agents are writing these houses off as "don't bother showing". 

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "Many buyers now have no sense of urgency and are willing to keep looking, hoping that persistence will yield a better deal.  As a result, houses, especially at the lower end, are languishing on the market, while for sale signs and price cuts are multiplying." This seems to be what's happening in the central valley as well.

Houses are still selling (162 in those six cities so far this month). Why isn't yours?  If you want your house to sell, you must be proactive in your house sale.  You must reevaluate your marketing strategy or reduce your asking price.  By having a home staging consultation, you can find out exactly why your house may not be impressing potential buyers and what to do about it.  By completing the suggested tasks on the Consultation report, your house will show better than houses being shown in an "as you live" state.

If you want to make your house be in its best marketable condition especially for MLS listings, consider a Final Four Staging.  This includes room by room consultation plus staging of the four main areas (living room, master bedroom, kitchen and bathrooms)

There is just too many houses on the market and buyers have the choice to sit and wait.  How long can you wait? Call today.

Becky Fields Home Staging and ReDesign

Comments(6)

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Steven Shewell
Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. - Ephrata, PA
The Mortgage Maverick
With the way the market is changing, people will have to pull out every stop to qget a quick sale.  Good luck with your business.
Jun 16, 2007 01:48 PM
Elizabeth Ruvo
Watson Realty Corp. - Ormond Beach, FL
BA, CRB

We've been going through this kind of market for about a year now.  There are so many factors that all came together at the same time to make our market slide after a few years of extraordinary leaps and bounds. 

Buyers are pickier than ever and are getting a lot of concessions from the sellers.  Even when they get their closing costs paid, free home warranties and rebates they still want a home in move in condition.  You're probably in just the right business now, Becky, as sellers definitely need all the help they can get to make their home the one that will sell when there are so many to choose from.

 

Jun 16, 2007 02:02 PM
Kaushik Sirkar
Call Realty, Inc. - Chandler, AZ
That is one of the most difficult job of an agent, especially in a down market, convincing their clients/prospective clients of the truth....
Jun 16, 2007 02:12 PM
Lynda Eisenmann
Preferred Home Brokers - Brea, CA
Broker Associate ,CRS,GRI,SRES, Brea,CA, Orange Co

Hi Becky,

Great post, If one can't handle the truth, it's time to find new work. A question of the 6,600 for sale, vs. the 162 sold, that's the number of sales for how many days? Just curious.

Thanks!

Jun 16, 2007 02:14 PM
Becky Fields Home Staging and ReDesign
Becky Fields Home Staging and ReDesign - Tracy, CA

Linda,

According to my information, 162 houses have been placed in escrow since June 1st, so I guess technically they haven't really sold :( 

So far this month we have had over 400 houses listed (in our county) and it's just the middle of the month.  I went to a consultation on Thursday for a family in Stockton who is getting ready to place their house on the market July 1st.  They weren't sold on staging until they saw the Today Show segment on staging a few weeks ago.  Now they know to stage before they list if they want to compete with so many sellers.  Presently they are competing with over 3,000 properties. We will have to wait and see what the number is when they actually list. 

Most of my clients already have their house for sale before they call me. Hopefully more will think it's a useful tool.

Becky Fields Home Staging and ReDesign

Jun 16, 2007 02:27 PM
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

The last time we had a buyer's market, I had buyers who waited though they found the perfect house. The day I showed them the house they said it was perfect but would think about it. That evening I called the agent to let me know if some other offer came along and she called me and said that an offer was coming in. the buyers did not believe it.they said the house has been on the market for 3 months etc. They lost the house and it took them 3 more months to finally buy new construction at $40,000 more .They still talk about that house.

Jun 17, 2007 12:04 AM