The Best Way to Choose a Realtor



When selling your home it’s important to choose the right person to work with. You should always interview multiple Realtors.

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Selling your home is a big undertaking—you want to make sure that the person who helps you is qualified to do so.

So, should you interview more than one Realtor as you enter the listing process? The answer is: of course. Your home is usually your most important asset.

Last night I had a meeting with a couple about the sale of their home.

Everything went well and at the end of the night, I asked them if they felt comfortable moving forward. The wife replied with: “Absolutely!” Her husband didn’t look so sure. After looking at his wife for a moment, he spoke up to say that they had two more Realtors lined up to interview.

At that point, I offered to call the two Realtors and let them know that a decision had been reached. Again, the wife seemed enthusiastic—the husband, not so much. I of course told them I was kidding.

At that point I found out they had just had a bad experience with a previous Realtor. I absolutely understand this. As a Realtor, I fully understand the importance of talking to multiple agents before making a decision.

There are four key areas that all sellers should be comfortable with in the sale of their home.

Ultimately, there are four areas that sellers need to be comfortable with before settling on an agent.

The first and most important is price. If someone meets with three different Realtors and receives a vastly different price between the three of them, this is a bad sign. Though the prices will not be identical, there should be a general range within which all the prices fall.

Next is marketing. Finding out what a Realtor’s marketing budget will be is key. You should also ask how, specifically, an agent plans to expose your property to the public.

The third thing to consider is negotiation experience. If you were having chest pains and needed to choose a cardiologist, you would definitely seek out the professional who had spent the most time in their profession.

When something as serious as your home is on the line, you want to make sure you’re working with someone who knows what they’re doing.

A Realtor should have experience in negotiation, too. A home that sits too long on the market is likely not under the supervision of a Realtor who knows how to negotiate the best deals. A quality professional should be able to drive sales forward instead of letting things remain stagnant.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Housing Inventory Is at a 30-Year Low



Housing inventory has hit a 30-year low. How does this shortage impact you as a homebuyer or seller?

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New data from CoreLogic shows that even though buyers turned out en masse in the first quarter of 2017, homeowners did not make the jump to list their properties for sale in the second quarter.

As a result, housing inventory for the second quarter hit a 30-year low!

Sales are slowing down, but it’s not due to lack of affordability—it’s the low inventory levels.  

Unsold inventory in the second quarter was at 1.9%, which is the lowest second quarter reading we’ve had in over 30 years.

The second quarter of 2017 posted the lowest inventory we’ve seen in 30 years!

Thanks to low inventory, home prices are marching even higher, which is good news. Home prices are up 50% since the market dropped. Back when the market was shifting, I had to be very diligent when talking to potential sellers about their equity position because 50% of them—if not more—were upside down. It’s very rare to see that these days, so we are in a better equity position overall.   

Low mortgage rates are keeping the market very affordable. However, affordability will be a challenge in the years ahead until we resolve this inventory shortage.

Inventory across the United States has been down for 25 consecutive months. According to the National Association of Realtors, we now have a 4.3 months supply of inventory, which is pretty much a seller’s market.

That said, real estate is local. Here in Richmond, market conditions for start-up homes or trade-up markets are very hot right now. Homes below $250,000 are selling quickly, and homes below $200,000 are getting multiple offers. That’s great news for sellers.

Here’s the caveat: If you are a luxury or premium homeowner, the market in Richmond is following a similar pattern as the rest of the country. The luxury market is a buyer’s market. There is much less demand, and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon.

If you are a seller in the $250,000 and under price range, you have a great opportunity to sell in a seller’s market and move up to the luxury home market.

So, if you are thinking of selling your home, now is a great time to do so. If you would like to learn more details about your local market or you’re curious about what your home is currently worth, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!