Frankly Speaking

[Enter Post Title Here] Over the past couple of weeks I have spent a great deal of time exploring why now is the time for you to buy. And, I firmly believe that it is…if, you are able to do so. While I have been espousing the many benefits of homeownership, I have unintentionally ignored a large subset of the current housing market. They are those who are losing their homes because they can no longer carry the weight of their obligations. I bring this up because I met a couple recently who are more typical then they might realize.   Most likely they are in their late twenties to early thirties. They have two adorable children and they are living in the house of their dreams. A massive home by any measure, they got it for a great price and believed that this would be the family home for years to come. It is often very sad how life sometimes makes a mockery out of our best plans and intentions. You see, this family is now another statistic of an economy struggling to r

The power of mindset is truly an amazing thing. By way of illustrating this fact I offer the following for your consideration. This past week, I was in Anaheim for the National Association of REALTORS ® business meetings. And, at those meetings, I had the occasion to hear the President of the California Association of REALTORS ®, The Hawaii Association of REALTORS ® and the Guam Association of REALTORS ® all speak to us about their markets. This is what they said. Properties listed are selling quickly at or near list price. Inventories are low by traditional standards. In all three places, prices have been stable or on the increase for a protracted period of time and yet they are in a buyer’s market. Think about this for a second, demand is higher than supply. Prices are (in many areas) rising and they are in a buyer’s market. For the life of me I cannot remember the last time that this scenario has played out like this. The classic law of supply and demand is that when

Recently I had a transaction where after due consultation the seller agreed to list the home at the price which I suggested. I arrived at this price by doing a in depth analysis of the current activity within a half mile of the subject property. In attempting to arrive at the best possible price point (the point at which someone would offer on the home) I looked at the most recent sales of similar properties including those which were in escrow, but had not yet closed. And, at the active listings (those currently on the market but not yet sold). I look at the recent sales for obvious reasons. These are the homes which had completed the sales process. By studying these properties, I can see where they were priced when listed, how long they were on the market. And, what the final sales price was. All of this is vital information when determining where to price your listing. If a home is on the market for a protracted period of time without selling, it most likely will sell fo