Learn what is currently going on in the real estate market in Bucks County Pa, Montgomery County Pa, Mercer County NJ, Burlington County NJ, and Philadelphia PA.
May is here! I am sure we are all hoping for warmth and sunshine. Amid the pandemic, buying and selling a home has definitely changed. Yet, I am still listing and selling homes with multiple offers. Expert Realtors have learned to adapt and create new marketing strategies to sell homes. In this market change, you need a realtor who thinks outside the box; a problem solver. It makes a huge difference! Just like before, pictures are your #1 marketing tool, they draw the buyers in. Since we can’t show homes in person, we have begun to do 3D tours. 3D tours are much different than virtual tours. Using a 3D tour, you can walk yourself around the home. It is like using google maps street view. The 3D tour combined with a lot of photos and a floor plan has kept buyers engaged. In fact, I put 3 homes on the market last week. We utilized our exclusive coming soon pre-marketing plan and all 3 homes had multiple offers!
One of the seller’s stories is quite amazing. She put all her trust in me and said you are the expert. Game on! She had previous attended one of my Home Selling Seminars. I put into action one of my favorite marketing strategies: pricing a little below market value. Well it worked, and she ended up getting 13 offers and $25,000 more! You heard me right….25K! But wait it gets better, it was a cash deal with no inspections. What more could you ask for? While this pricing strategy might sound counter-intuitive, if you’re priced at the high end of value your home is going to be sitting and accruing market time especially in a market that’s still moving and you’re going to automatically lose value in your house. On the other hand, going a bit low can draw attention to your home as soon as it hits the market and encourage buyers to make competitive offers so they don’t miss out on a hot deal. Strategy is key here as pricing your home low only has the potential to start a bidding war if it is executed correctly by an expert realtor. Despite the corona virus, it is still a good time to sell. The virus has stopped some sellers from putting their home on the market so there is extremely low inventory and low rates. But, buyers are still out looking. Let’s face it, people still need to buy and sell. It will be interesting to see what happens when homes are allowed to be shown again. I meet virtually with other top agents and I know we are all holding listings until the stay at home order lifts. How many homes will come on the market at once? Is the demand to sell and net the now? We will see.
Let’s take a quick look at 2008 vs. now. Our current corona virus situation is built on a different set of circumstances than 2008. In 2008, not only did we have a weak economy but it was real estate that pushed us into that trouble zone. This time, I see the opposite happening. In 2008, prices were artificially boosted up people were into mortgages that they could not afford. This is the opposite. According to a Harvard study done in 2019, the equity in the home in the US in 2011 was 7 trillion dollars. By 2018 the number had nearly doubled to 15.5 trillion. What does that mean? When you have a lot of equity in the market banks are less afraid of foreclosures. You may see an uptick in foreclosures but not at the level it was before. I believe we are going to see many positive things when we come out of this.
If you are thinking selling and interested to know just how we can net the most for your home in our current market, call me 215.757.7257 – Christina Swain with The Swain Team of Keller Williams