Facebook
X
Pinterest
Copy Link
Keeping my focus on my clients is always paramount to me. However, since I can't be in touch with all of you on a daily or weekly basis it seems I should be more diligent on keeping my thoughts coming out here, on my blog, for you to read and share at your leisure. This is one of my goals for 2016. To be a better resource for information for you. I hope you'll forgive my lapses as I try to reach my goal. If you have topics or concerns you'd like me to address, please feel free to speak up, give me feedback or otherwise bring me to my keyboard and website to address them.
Lots of news comes at us daily and I write down, flag, and otherwise place reminders to make some sense or provide some balance or input on these topics but the quantity of news is tough to swim in or against the never ending torrent.
I'd prefer to offer you analysis or reference to the flood of information; as an example when the headlines tell you home sales were off in November from October, that's normal. Often by 20%; sometimes more, sometimes a bit less. In reality, this November's sales were the highest in the area since 2005 and 2004, but the highest in the last 10 years for November, so is the market actually down or up? Frame of reference can make a difference in how you look at an empirical number.
Adding another frame of reference is to look at the quantity of homes for sale; buyer's can't buy homes if they're not for sale. So, yes, sales declined in November, but again, less so than the past 10 years and this is when our inventory is at record low levels, with most areas having less than 1.5 months of availale inventory.
The point being, seeing a number is nice; having some idea how it compares to "what" is better information. This is my goal, both in person and in this blog to offer you perspective from the trenches of the industry to understand how you may be affected by the market conditions.
We've all heard that home prices have risen dramatically this year but what does this mean? On a recent home I had for sale in Redmond, I provided many buyers with welcome relief that the medain price of homes for sale near this home hadn't really risen over the past year. We all know that overall prices have gone up; I wouln't deny or argue against that. However the median price for homes in this area had stayed stable. It's a very nice area of homes, quite desirable by price range and location but the point I was sharing with my open house vistors was that a reasonable supply of homes has continued to be available in this area without significant price appreciation. The median home price had stayed around the $540K mark for homes of similar size and features. Again, this was quite encouraging to the buyers to know that they have not missed the market and more opportunities in their price range should continue to come available.
Knowing your facts and figures is crucial. Having a better perspective on them and their implications can help you make wiser decisions and have more confidence in them. That's my goal, this year and always. To help you make better informed decisions and act with confidence as you take your steps towards your goals.
Talk with you soon.
