real estate listings

Shhhhh….Don’t tell anybody this

by John Rice

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

The market has slowed down in much of the Bluegrass.  I don’t mean that it is dangerously slow or anything.  It is still a hot market with too few houses for sale.  It just isn’t the crazy frenzy it was earlier this year.  That is to be expected since it does slow down a little after school starts, then a little more the closer you get to Thanksgiving, then a little more the closer you get to Christmas.

How much?

In Fayette County, sales are down 6% when comparing August 2016 to August 2017.

I put two new listings on the market last week.  I try to put my listings on late Friday afternoon so we get lots of showings on Saturday.  That way everybody is off work and they can all see each other come and go from the house….it makes it feel more like an auction.

I knew it had slowed down some, so I was expecting only 4-5 showings at each house, and probably at least two offers on each.

House A did not get any showings the first day on the market and only one showing was scheduled for the second day on the market.

House B had only one showing scheduled the first day on the market.

Fortunately both sold to the first buyers who saw them, but I imagine they and their agents would be surprised to know this.

Both houses were priced right, presented well and in the most popular price range.

I sold another house this week too.  This time I was working with a buyer.  We saw a very affordable house the very first day it was on the market.  Throughout most of this year, I have shown a house and had another agent showing it before and/or after my showing.  Sometimes there has been a line, prompting me to consider a side hustle of selling snacks and drinks while I am there waiting.  I was at this house for an hour.  No agent was there before me.  No agent was waiting for me to leave.

I am noticing home inspectors have been able to get to jobs in fewer days too.

When I scroll through the pending sales every day, I am seeing fewer and fewer 1 day on the market sales.  Most are still selling in less than a couple weeks, but that is a big change from earlier this year when almost every house sold the first day.

All of this makes me think it is a great time to buy.  Probably the best time all year.

 

 

 

How to pick a winner of a house

by John Rice

Okay…..You are buying a house in Lexington Ky.  You are concerned about resale potential because prices keep going up and up.  You don’t want to lose your shirt if you ever need to sell in a cooler market.  What are you to do?

First off, congratulations for thinking of the exit plan.  Any time you make a big financial decision, it is always good to have an exit plan.  Right now with so few listings, people are most concerned about finding a house and often don’t think about this step.

So, here are some things that will help ensure you will be okay in the future.  Be sure to do them in this order too….by the time you have gone through all of these, you should have a house that will be any buyer’s top pick regardless of the market:

1)  Stick with an established neighborhood.  Brand new neighborhoods are nice, but you never know what they will be like once they go through their first round of resales.

2)  Stick to a good location.  Location can really mean a lot of things in real estate.  Pick something that is convenient to somewhere.  Neighborhoods close to Hamburg, UK, downtown, the interstate, parks, big employers,, etc, all have appeal to a variety of people.

3)  Pick a neighborhood with at least average performing schools.  Sure, a lot of buyers really want excellent schools, but most of them seem to be just fine with decent ones.

Now that we have narrowed down the location, lets take a look at what to look for in the house itself:

4)  Pick a house that fits in with other houses in the neighborhood.  You don’t want that split foyer that looks like a half-timbered English cottage in the middle of traditional homes.

5.  Pick a house that is similar in size to most in the neighborhood.  You don’t want that 5000 square foot McMansion surrounded by 1200 square foot starter homes any more than you want to be the smallest house surrounded by bigger ones.

6.  Stick around the middle of the price range for the neighborhood.  The cheapest house in the neighborhood may be disappointing to a buyer who is expecting more.  The most expensive house in the neighborhood will leave a buyer feeling like the neighborhood is a let down.

7.  Go for a lot that is typical for the neighborhood.  It is okay to have a sloping yard if every other house does too.  Remember….nobody ever complains that a yard or driveway is too flat.

8.  As you look at the house, keep in mind that anything that is a big negative to you will also be a big negative to the next buyer.  Half bath riiiight off the kitchen bug you?  Backyard have no privacy?  These are things we called “Deal Breakers” in a slow market.  They will keep somebody from wanting your house when they have a choice of more than a handful of houses.

9.  If the house made it this far, buy it!

 

Why NOW is the scariest market ever

by John Rice

I think right now is the scariest real estate market we have seen in a long time, for buyer’s at least.

I know, it seems crazy when prices are going up and there is a frenzy to buy any house as soon as it comes on the market……but that is what makes it scary.

When the market was so bad years ago, a buyer had their pick of dozens of houses.  They were able to make a good choice.  If the market dropped even further, you knew it would eventually come up.  You don’t have that luxury when you are at the top of the market.  You just hope it continues to go up more and more and more.  You never know where the peak is until it starts going down the other side of the hill.

I cut my teeth in real estate in the bad market.  Many people who did not use me as their buyer’s agent contacted me to sell their homes when times were tough.  Many of them had bought in the early 2000s when the market was hot.  They would tell me how they had lost several houses and they didn’t want to lose again so they bought the house they now wanted me to sell.  They’d say the market was booming so they didn’t think they could go wrong with a full price offer because that was the only way to get a house.  They were thankful to have even gotten their house.  The very house that at the time they were saying all this, had become a noose around their neck, preventing them from relocating for a better job, dividing families because one spouse had to start a new job while the other stayed behind praying the house would eventually sell.

The market they bought in was just like it is today.

While I don’t think we will ever see the market crash again any time soon, you know the market will go back and forth from being a seller’s market to a buyer’s market.

That is why I think being a buyer in today’s market must really make a wise decision.

Many buyers today, again, feel lucky to have gotten their house that backs to a business, is on a busy road, has a terrible lot.  They just feel lucky to have even gotten a house.  Period.  Many of them will call me when it isn’t as easy to sell because the agent that sold them the house is no longer in real estate.

I wish they’d call me now instead of using their uncle’s neighbor’s cousin’s babysitter who just got into real estate last month.

Here is what I would tell them:

“This market is tough.  There is no easy way to get a good house.  Yes, you will pay top dollar.  Yes, you may lose some houses.  Yes, you may even have to find temporary housing while we wait for a house that will be a good investment.  This market will cost you something-you can be burdened now and end up with a great house, or you can be burdened when you go to sell.  Whatever house you buy should set you up for your next bigger and better house.  You want to build equity to use as your next down payment.  You don’t want to have this house ruin your life should you have to sell in a buyer’s market.  So, let’s pick a winner that you will enjoy and that will be a solid investment for your future.  It isn’t going to be easy, but I am committed to making this happen for you.”

Driving this car makes me a better listing agent

by John Rice

Here is my latest ride.  It might look familiar to you because I’m standing beside a similar car in the picture on my blog, but they only look alike.  This one has a different engine, transmission and suspension.

My youngest son found it.  It was going to be a project both my boys could work on and then they sell for a little profit.  That plan changed when I drove this broken down 17-year-old car home from western Tennessee last fall.  I knew I wanted to keep it and I knew that I wanted to rescue it from becoming a parts car.  So I bought it from my boys.

I really liked the lighter blue one I use to have, but I LOVE this one.

Why?

M Roadster

Because the way it feels while driving it.

When people ask me why I like it so much, I don’t quote the weight of the car, I say it is very agile.  I don’t mention the steering ratio, I say the steering feels lightening quick.  I don’t tell people about the high flow throttle body and cold air intake, I say the engine sound is intoxicating.

I try to do the same thing when I list a house.

A home is much more than some cold list of features.

When I describe a house, I want to convey the vibe of the place.  I want people to get a feeling about what the house is like as they read my description and see my pictures.

How do I know buyers think like I do about my car?  Because I have never heard anybody describe a house they love by quoting the square footage, bathroom count or other features.  They always tell me how all those things make them feel.

Oh, and like a lot of real estate pictures, my car looks better online that it does in person.

Reading the tea leaves when your house isn’t selling

by John Rice

House not selling? Wondering how to interpret what is going on? Here are a few of my thoughts on some common situations. The following assumes your house is being presented well online with plenty of good pictures and marketing remarks that describe it with more than trendy generic AI generated verbiage.

The house that gets lots of showings but no offers

Assuming that you don’t have some negative that wasn’t obvious like backing to a highway, apartments, or having an Eiffel Tower looking electrical thing in your yard, this situation simply means that the house doesn’t live up to what buyers expected. The good news with this one is that buyers think the price for what they thought the house would be is okay or else they wouldn’t come at all. The solution here is to either lower the price or improve the house so that it meets the expectations buyers have. Whichever is easiest.

I once had a condo that got tons of showings. I kept encouraging the seller to paint. Once we did, it sold. I recently had another listing that was getting tons of showings. It was a nice place, but just felt like a 15 year old house that needed a fresh vibe. The seller did some painting and replaced the flooring in all the bathrooms. As soon as it was done, it sold. Both of these places looked great online, and just needed to match what buyers thought they were getting. Both were improved for far less than the price reduction we would have needed, so both sellers actually came out better by going that route.

The house that gets no showings

This one is easy, but hard for sellers to accept. The price is too high. If a house is presented well on the MLS, and still nobody comes to see it, all you can do is lower the price. Real estate is all about price, location, and condition. You can’t change the location, but the other two you have some control over.

Also something to think about is this: If you have a $400k house and you’re asking $475k for it, buyers are comparing it to other houses that are really worth the asking price. The buyers who are going to spend what your house is really worth aren’t even going to see it since the list price is over their budget.

The house that gets the same bad feedback over and over

This is the least fun thing that can happen to a seller. I mean, they get kicked out of their house for showing after showing with no offers AND get to hear what people hate about their house.

Several years ago I had this really cool older house that had been mostly remodeled. It had the smallest living room I have ever seen……must have been the smallest anybody had ever seen since that is all I kept hearing after the showings. I’d ask for feedback and the buyer’s realtor would go on and on about how beautiful the place was, how unexpected it was to have walk-in closets in such an old house….then they would say their client wasn’t going to buy it since the living room was so small.

We tried putting in smaller scale furniture, but that didn’t help. After that, all we could do was drop the price. A price reduction opens the house up to a larger pool of buyers as well as enticing them to overlook a shortcoming if they are getting a better deal. We got that one sold too.

If you have a situation that doesn’t fit into these scenarios, give me a shout and I’ll let you know what to do.