Inventory Watch

by | Apr 20, 2020 | Inventory, Jim's Take on the Market | 2 comments

What a great turnaround – last week we had 17 new pendings, and this week we had 29!  The inventory of active listings has been steady too, with Monday counts of 660, 671, and 669 today.

My CV listing on Winstanley was shown six times over the weekend, and we sold it yesterday!

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity”  Albert Einstein

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Realtors’ Big Game

by | Apr 20, 2020 | Jim's Take on the Market, Realtor, Realtors Talking Shop, Why You Should List With Jim

Hat tip to Rob Dawg for sending in this podcast by a realtor president – an excerpt:

It’s been a strange, and difficult time for us. So, imagine what it’s like if you are trying to buy, or sell a home. Tim Comstock is President of the Ventura County Coastal Association of Realtors, as well as a working Real Estate Agent. He says that if buyers or sellers can wait, they should.

Comstock says about 20% of the homes listed when the crisis started have been taken off the market, but some people still have to move ahead because of factors like a job move or a death in the family.

Comstock says despite the difficulties, some deals are still happening. He admits it isn’t easy.

As for the future, what does the industry expect? Comstock says people will always need housing, but much will depend on whether people keep their jobs, so that they’re in a position to buy in the first place.

Within twenty seconds into this podcast interview, Tim said that buyers and sellers should wait if they don’t have to move, and that he had nine listings currently that he is struggling to sell. This is the guy who is the public face of Ventura County real estate, and the elected leader of the local realtor group.

The listeners are looking to him for guidance, and leadership.

He did them a great disservice.

While we know that being the president of a realtor association is mostly ceremonial, when a crisis develops on your watch, it’s your time to deliver for your people. Agents are counting on you to help them!

This is our Super Bowl, and the ultimate challenge of our career.  This is where realtors get to rise up and demonstrate our value as problem solvers – and then provide solutions!

He threw an interception here – time to get back in the game and throw for a touchdown.

He should get back up to the microphone and apologize – maybe he had some bad pizza the night before?  Then tell us how realtors can serve their clients, and assist them with moving while we’re in this predicament.  It’s what leaders are expected to do.

We may not win every game, but let’s try.

Downtown Penthouse For Sale!

by | Apr 18, 2020 | Bubbleinfo TV, Jim's Take on the Market, Why You Should List With Jim | 5 comments

I teased this new listing in February, but then we decided to do a more-extensive upgrade to get full attention – here are my MLS remarks:

One of only four south-facing panoramic-view penthouses where you enjoy both sunrises and sunsets from the top of the Grande North! Brand new real wide-plank hardwood floors, deluxe new master bath, new paint, sleek and snazzy white kitchen, large storage closet in hallway, and two designated side-by-side parking spaces! Live on the front-row at the Bay with the best views anywhere (Pt. Loma, aircraft carriers at North Island, the USS Midway, etc.) plus HOA has no lawsuits and $15 million in the bank!

1205 Pacific Highway #3603

3 br/2 ba, 1,786sf

LP = $2,195,000


The zestimate before the listing was inputted:

Zestimate is lower now:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1205-Pacific-Hwy-UNIT-3603-San-Diego-CA-92101/63777322_zpid/

Carmel Valley Report

by | Apr 17, 2020 | Carmel Valley, Jim's Take on the Market, Market Conditions, Why You Should List With Jim

Our listing in Carmel Valley is still getting hundreds of views – the chart above are two-day totals.  I love when a new listing hits the market nearby, because it gives buyers some perspective, and in this case we are almost identical in cost per square foot ($507 vs $509) so the analytical buyers will be pleased.

The graph at the top shows the importance of the first few days on the market.

It’s virtually impossible to re-ignite the same buzz later, even with a price reduction, so we try our best to make the first deal stick.  In this case, our first buyer was doing a 1031 exchange with tight timelines, but then the IRS extended everyone to July 15th, so like most buyers he figured he could get a better deal later, and cancelled on us.

The talk about how opening up the country will affect the real estate market seems simple enough to me.  The more-motivated buyers will be the first ones to venture out, and that’s who drives the market anyway.

Weekly Realtor Survey

by | Apr 17, 2020 | Jim's Take on the Market, Realtor, Realtors Talking Shop

This isn’t what buyers and sellers think.  It’s what realtors are thinking that their buyers and sellers are thinking, but we aren’t mind readers so it’s really what realtors think…..who haven’t left their house for a month.

Yes, the markets are showing delays. Sixty percent said their clients are pressing pause for a couple of months. Completely stalled, though? No—they’re simply simmering, responses show. Consumers and the industry are adapting to the changes, awaiting a hopeful return to normalcy.

“Expect second quarter home sales activity to slow down with the broad observance of stay-at-home orders, but sales will pick up when the economy reopens as many potential homebuyers and sellers indicate they’re still in the market or will be in a couple of months,” says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Home prices remain stable as deals continue to happen with the growing use of new technology tools. Remarkably, 10 percent of REALTORS® report the same level or even more business activity now than before the economic lockdown.”

How else are the markets faring? The survey shows 33 percent (a third of REALTORS®) have not experienced closing delays. For those who have reported delays, these road bumps often happen during the financing, appraisal and home inspection portions of the transaction process.

The key to adapting? Technology. To cultivate new client relationships, surveyed respondents say they will leverage live videos (33 percent), social media (59 percent), e-closing tech (42 percent), e-signatures (77 percent), virtual tours (34 percent), messaging apps (38 percent) and WebEx/Zoom (30 percent).

Link to Survey

Many realtors will end up out of the business – look how many are unplugged:

 

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