Buyers’ Standards Are High—Does Your Home Stack Up?

09/14/18 • -1 min

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My guest Mike is a real estate broker in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C; he and I partnered up a month ago and today we’d like to talk about the importance of your property’s condition when it comes to selling your home.

Three months ago when the market was busier, people couldn’t get away with failing to paint their house, fix the grout in the bathrooms, or other such details, even though they felt they could.

We’re discovering that we have an available pool of buyers who’ve been pre-qualified, but they’re also quite particular about the homes they’re willing to bid on. If the house isn’t in top condition, they won’t pull the trigger.

This is why it’s important to have an agent who knows the area and what buyers are looking for. They can tell you what you’ll need to do in order to make a good impression on the buyers, whether it be hiring a handyman or a contractor to fix your home up.

We all know that we have historically low inventory, but still house aren’t selling. Sellers wonder why, but we’re here to say that your home’s condition could very well be a factor.

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Buyers don’t have to race to put offers on a property; rather, they can hold out until the house is in their definition of move-in condition.

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Buyers understand that our market isn’t undergoing a kind of gold rush. They don’t have to race to put offers on a property; rather, they can hold out until the house is in their definition of move-in condition. These buyers are ready to purchase, but they won’t move until it’s just right for them.

We’re still in a strong seller’s market. We have about two months of supply, though in D.C., inventory is starting to grow. We'll have to wait and see what will happen over the next month or so, but we’ll continue monitoring the market and updating you with valuable information.

If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be glad to help.

Selling a home? Get a free home value report

Buying a home? Search all homes for sale

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Buyers don’t have to race to put offers on a property; rather, they can hold out until the house is in their definition of move-in condition.

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Previous Episode

What the Upcoming Recession Means for Real Estate

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Buying a home? Search all homes for sale

Many of my investors ask me when the next recession is going to happen. The truth is that I don’t know. All I can do is look for answers. Many smart economists predict that the recession might start in 2020.

Our economy has been expanding since 2009 and we have seen almost a decade of growth. All signs point toward a recession soon. However, to my friends that invest in real estate, there’s no need to panic. With the exception of the 2008 recession, real estate has done really well in the past five economic recessions. A recession doesn’t equate to trouble in the real estate market.

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I wouldn’t be concerned about falling home prices in an upcoming recession.

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This recession will occur when the GDP begins to shrink for multiple quarters in a row. It’s more complex than that, but that’s what it is on a basic level. We don’t have any data to indicate that the real estate market will cause another recession, which is the only way a recession would really affect real estate.

So, I’m not concerned about dropping house prices during the upcoming recession. You shouldn’t be either. If you have any questions about the recession or about anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Next Episode

The National Market Is Shifting, but Are We Shifting Along With It?

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Buying a home? Search all homes for sale
If you’ve been paying attention to the latest nationwide market statistics, you might’ve noticed that in many areas around the country, we’re shifting from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market.

In our Northern Virginia/D.C./Maryland area, however, we’re still in a seller’s market.

Let’s recap some year-over-year statistics from this past September. In Virginia, the average days on market was 39 days, which was a slight drop compared to September 2017 (41 days). In D.C., the year-over-year average days on market rose from 36 to 37 days. The total number of closed sales for detached units from all three areas dropped 12% to 15%.

This means there are fewer buyers out there, and what’s going to start happening in the next several months because of this is that inventory will climb. In fact, I think we’ll have more inventory next spring than we’ve had in the past three or four years.

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I think we’ll have more inventory next spring than we’ve had in the past three or four years.

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If you’re thinking about selling, now is the best time to do it—don’t wait until next spring. If you’re a buyer, you should also think about buying now as well. Although inventory is down about 45% overall in our area, you can lock in a lower interest rate if you buy now. Currently, the average interest rate is 4.6%, which is almost a full point higher than where it was at this time last year. If you’ve been paying attention to the latest nationwide market statistics, you might’ve noticed that in many areas around the country, we’re shifting from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market.

In the meantime, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home or you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.