I'm a broker with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Kansas City Homes. I see a need out there for some good, honest facts for customers and agents.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
….and again…
I hate to sound like a broken record, but sales are up, inventory is down, and we need some great listings to sell to eager buyers. I understand many are holding back on listing their home because of the fact there’s nowhere to move right now. Well, let’s take a look at your timeline and see when you do actually want to move. If it’s this year, you might want to consider a rental in the interim after you sell your home. Look at the numbers! I’m not kidding. Active, active market.
Clay/Ray Counties (chart)
Clay/Ray County sales were down for the month by 24.0% from 2011. Units were at 171 versus 225 last year. Year to date, unit sales are up 12.0% at 3,880 this year vs. 3,465 last year.
The average sales price for the month was up 13.8% from last year, with an average price of $150,792. Year to date, the average price is up 7.5%. The average price is $146,301, versus $136,157 last year.
New listings were down 16 units to 293 or 5.2% from last year’s 309 units. Inventory is down 10.3% from last year and is running at 1,714 units. Inventory is down 150 units from last month.
Platte County
Platte County sales were up for the month by 14.8% from 2011. Units were at 101 versus 88 last year. Year to date, unit sales are up 22.6%, with 1,725 units this year versus 1,407 last year.
The average sales price for the month was up 11.0% from last year, with an average price of $198,734. Year to date, the average price is up 2.4% from last year. The average price is $191,761 versus $187,291 last year.
New listings in Platte County were down 11 units to 129, down 7.9% from last year’s 140 units. Inventory decreased 3.5% from last year and is running at 763 units. Inventory is down 56 units from last month.
Heartland
Sales for the entire Heartland area were at 1,447, down for the month by 10.8%, or 175 units. Year to date, unit sales are up 16.1%, with 29,260 units this year versus 25,212 last year.
The average price was up 18.6%, and averaging $177,429. The average price for the year is running at $168,210, up 7.7% from 2011’s average of $156,207.
As you can see in the Northland, the holidays barely gave us REALTORS time to breathe. We’re back at it in areas 101-108 (Clay/Ray county) and area 109-115 (Platte County) Notice the serious upticks on the chart! Wow. Those are some great showing numbers. Buyers are out, and they’re looking at a lot of homes. Inventory is low and/or undesireable. If you’re thinking of selling your home in these areas—-I’d recommend listing now, before spring. I think you’d have a better chance of selling quickly at a good price.
Driven by 3 Words?
Decide Commit Succeed
Listen Measure Improve
Connect Collaborate Community
A recent trend has caught my attention this week. You may or may not recognize the 3 word combos above, but they’ve become a huge part of my life and helped me become laser focused on the path to success.
The first one, Decide Commit Succeed, comes from P90x, one of the most grueling workout programs I’ve ever encountered. Since March, I’ve almost completed 3 full rounds of P90x and those 3 words are what get me up in the morning and inspire me to work out.
Next we have, Listen Measure Improve from RealSatisfied, an online testimonial site for real estate agents and offices. This tool has quickly gained the attention of agents and brokers alike across the country because it can help them listen to their clients, measure their service and continually improve. This 3 word combo on the RealSatisfied logo helps us remember exactly what it can do for our brand.
And last, but not least, we see a new one…Connect Collaborate Community. For Kristi Ferrara and our Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Kansas City Homes Northland office, this has become a visible mission statement. We have a new brand and a new office is being built. In complete opposition of the ‘fear of change’ we’ve chosen to focus on our new mission.
When you think about your goals and where you’d like to take your business and/or personal life, what 3 words come to mind? What are your marching orders? Your mission statement? What 3 words will get you (energetically) out of bed in the morning?
Just some food for thought today.
Truth in Advertising
As you all know, our house has been on the market for quite a while now. The area where it’s located was hit hard and is taking its time recovering. But, needless to say, it’s still important the house be kept in showing condition. I have personally cleaned the house every day since March which means I’ve had opportunity to test tons of cleaning products. Last night, I was at the store looking for more Windex (glass cleaner) when I saw this:
Look at this can! You would’ve bought it too! World’s Best Glass Cleaner — It’s streakless! The hubby will tell you that I’m a sucker for product packaging and am often disappointed with the product itself. But this glass cleaner is the bomb-diggity! Perfectly awesome. Every inch of glass I could get to last night is now clean and streak free.
But, this post isn’t about an awesome glass cleaner…it’s about truth in advertising. So often, we’re lured in by bright shiny objects and promises of better results to only be disappointed in the long run.
For real estate agents…we learned long ago from Floyd Wickman to ‘under promise and over deliver’ in order to have happy clients/satisfied customers. Are you still doing that? Or are you trying to be the bright shiny (yet disappointing) object in the room? Be your true self and flourish.
For our customers…we like to present a true picture of your home, your transaction and what you can expect. It might not appear bright and shiny at first, but when we deliver results, you’ll understand more about how we operate. We don’t want to disappoint.
Truth in Advertising. Be Real.
Determining Your Offer Price
This is a topic I have a strong opinion on, so bear with me—-I’ll probably rewrite and publish this particular post a couple of times a year.
Here’s the scenario. We’ve looked at your 15 favorite homes and you’ve chosen your favorite. The pick of the litter, if you will. Some of them may have been overpriced and others we saw may have been a great deal. As your buyer’s agent, I’ll have given you a list of comparable homes that have sold in the area once you land on one or two of your favorites.
There’s a couple of things I’d like to point out here:
1. This search has probably taken quite a bit of your time and effort.
2. You’ve chosen the home you love after careful consideration of everything else available in your price range and with your requirements.
3. It’s Decision Time!
Now is not the time to listen to the news stories about how you should offer 20% below asking price on any home you would like to purchase. It is, however, time for ‘us’ (you and your buyer’s agent) to have a conversation about the comparables and values of homes in the area. Once we’ve had this chat, it’s up to the (buyer(s)) ‘you’ to determine what you’d like to offer on the home. The buyers that believe it’s time to play a game and low-ball the sellers often come away disappointed because they lost the home to another party or the seller has completely rejected their offer.
Agents are often asked by the buyer what their offer should be. I don’t believe in giving buyer’s an exact number because, down the road, the buyer may feel like they were coersed into a certain offer price and experience buyer’s remorse. They may even start to distrust their agent and go on the attack via social media or vocally. When the buyers make an informed decision about their offer price, they should feel empowered and be comfortable in the knowledge that they’ve done exactly what THEY wanted.
After all, it’s not MY home, it’s YOURS.
