Newsletter

This is not an industry term. There is no official definition for a ‘stabilizing phase’. It happens at the end of every market increase. Asking prices start to exceed buyer’s limits. There are fewer buyers qualified at each price point and they are less aggressive. It’s confusing because there can be hold-over buyers from the aggressive phase, who make big offers, and down the street a property gets a mix of less aggressive buyers. Two similar properties can sell for widely different prices. That is a fact and it causes consumers (and agents) a lot of confusion. It leads to confusion with selecting an asking price and confusion in determining what a buyer should offer based on the asking price. Sometimes it’s a realistic asking price and other times it’s well below expectations.

The take-away is that the market is figuring itself out. It’s changing week by week. Be careful about taking any one story you hear from a friend as a strong indicator of market conditions. The level of competition for buyers and expected sale prices for sellers is constantly changing.

Your plans will need some flexibility. We’re here to start those conversations early so you have options to choose from and time to make all the preparations you can to find the best odds of success. Best of luck to any of you engaging in this very challenging market.

We added a little extra comedy to our latest promotional video. Maybe we went too far. Maybe we’re not great actors. It was fun!

You may have noticed that we’ve been experimenting with
promotional videos that highlight the lifestyle associated with living in New West. They’ve been fun to make and really well received. We hope you like them too!

The stats are confusing and as always they’re out of date by the time we’re talking about them.

The important information right now is that we see consumer confidence improving. That will lead to more sales, and possibly higher prices. We see many situations with multiple offers, however offers rarely go over the asking price. Right now buyers seem to want to pay about the same price as the last sale. There is a segment of buyers who want a “deal” and generally speaking they are missing out to buyers who are more motivated.

We don’t expect any crazy growth. It looks like stability is the theme but we all know that it only takes one bad announcement to change that. For the time being, we’re enjoying price stability.

The uncertainty can be intimidating. If you’re considering a move, it can be done. We have been active in the marketplace and created processes to conduct ourselves safely. We have added more video, and eliminated sharing paper (floor plans, feature sheets, etc.). We just need to talk it through and find the path that works best for you.

We’re to help,
Matt & Jer

Mid-March there was a lot of uncertainty about how to engage with the market. We were given permission to finish the work we started, but to be cautious about taking on new business. Today we understand that we can find ways to get business done while also protecting everyone’s health.

We are taking new listings. We are helping buyers who want to buy. Buyer demand is actually quite strong. Many properties are selling quickly. Prices should remain flat for the next month. Prices will climb when we get to re-engage. Some are hoping that prices will drop but with all the protective measures implemented by government it’s unlikely that the market will be flooded with distressed sales.

Let’s start with market trends. The press release below from our real estate board quotes sales volume. Volume is up and that’s good. The more important stat to us is value. Buyers had been hesitant in the hopes prices would fall a little more. That hasn’t been the cases. Prices have been climbing steadily since December.

Historic trends suggest that growth always continues until April or May. This year could be the exception.

What might happen if the region goes into some form of ‘lock down’?
I’m writing this on March 13th and up until today homes have still been selling aggressively. Even last night I saw a house get 5 offers despite the looming concerns. We have a plan here at The New West Guys to severely limit the transmission of germs. We will continue to facilitate showings while protecting all parties involved.

How will it affect the market?
A segment of the population will withdraw from the process. Volume will go down and it will probably stunt the growth we have been seeing.

How do you succeed?
Buy at the same time you sell. If you are only selling and you can wait, you will probably get more money if you wait it out. If you’re buying and you see something you like, we recommend you go for it. Of course, we will have to discuss value of your home in that moment.

Interest rates are fantastic. Properties will be cheaper. The price gap to move up will be smaller. It could be a good time to make something happen, although the sentiment from the media and the stock markets will be very negative. The net result for a prudent buyer could be very positive.