ONLY THE SERIOUS NEED APPLY!

I think by now, most of you have figured out that today’s real estate market is not for the fainthearted. If, in fact, you are just ‘hoping to sell your home or condo’, but don’t need too, then you are better off not putting up a For-Sale-Sign and going through all the work of preparing your home for the market.

Not only is there an overabundance of homes listed for the few serious buyer’s out there, but the media keeps stirring the pot with ‘bad news’ about the real estate market. Every opportunity they get to quote statistics that are negative then are shouted from the print and radio/ TV channels.

I am a realist. I have been in this business going on 29 years and I have seen the ups and downs of the market. It’s true we are experiencing a down period - that’s why only serious buyers and sellers should be dealing in this market.

Buyers, on the one hand, can still get very favorable interest rates and financing, if they have a good job history and credit scores. There are ‘bargains’ out there - trust me. If a buyer is not buying to ‘flip’ a property, but own it as a personal residence, or a long term investment opportunity, it is a great time to buy. Remember, if you need a larger home, or need to move down, or just want better schools for your kids, this is a great time to consider making a move.But seller’s who are stuck on what my property was worth a year or so ago are in for an ‘expired listing’ experience. I would hazard a guess, based on the latest MLS statistics, that 2 to 3 homes out of each 10 listed actually sell. And, with foreclosed properties now hitting the market (our company has over 33 homes listed that are bank repo’s) priced by the lender to ‘move them’ off their books, a seller has to ask themselves what they need to price their property for so a buyer views their home as the best deal and value.

An analogy would be stock market. So you bought a stock for $1000 and over a few years it goes up to $2000. Then over the next 24 months it’s goes down in value to $1,200 and you decide you want to sell it. What can you sell it for? Of course, $1,200, not what it was worth 24 months ago, or 12 months ago. So your choice is, either sell it for $1,200 or hold onto it and wait and see if the value increases. Then you can sell it for more in the future.

Unlike stock, that can go down to penny’s on the dollar, real estate may decline in value short term, but in the long run it has always recovered and then gone higher. Again, personal experience has shown every homeowner in California this is true. The first home I bought, in 1968, was purchased for $19,700. I thought that was the end of the world. I wasn’t totally convinced I could afford it, or that it would ever be worth more in a few years. Silly, me. Today that same home (or similar homes in the area) now sell for in excess of $600,000 in today’s market.

In this short column, I also want to take my hat off to the sales associates who work in our company. I am proud to report that over the past few months we are closing close to 22% of all the sales taking place in Benicia, Vallejo and American Canyon. They are doing an outstanding job counseling their clients, helping them stage their homes, and advising them every step of the way. Great job, team!