How's the real estate market doing? With Carol Cangiano

Hello, this is my first blog post with Bethwood Patch, so I hope you can bear with me as I work out the clinks on length and content!  Please share your comments so I can better address the topics that concern YOU! So here goes....

The first thing people ask me when then learn that I am a real estate agent is, "How's the market doing?".  My answer, "It's doing great!".  We all read about the gloom and doom of the real estate market. Buyers looking for a “fire sale”.  Foreclosures.  Short Sales. Distressed Properties. And sure, selling prices are down since the irrational highs of 2005, when a limited supply, relative to the demand led to an over inflation of values.   But the reality is that you can't take a national trend and apply it to a local market. Why? Because changing circumstances require folks to buy or sell, not necessarily what's happening at the national level.  New job? Transfer? Lost job? Empty nest? New love? Lost love? Marriage? Divorce? Passing of loved ones?  These are but some of the reasons why people choose to buy or sell at a particular time.  And right now, it's still a good at time to be either looking for a house or selling one.  
 
Most Sellers who bought before the height of the market, still have equity in their home, should they decide to enter the selling market now.  With housing prices more affordable and interest rates still at historically low levels, Buyers with good credit can make home ownership a reality.

So don't get discouraged! 

The real estate market operates like a commodity market, not a product market. In a product market, the manufacturer sets the price of the product, and invests in advertising, which leads to brand awareness on the part of consumers, and product sales. 
 
In a commodity market, supply, Buyer expectations of future supply and prices, influences on the supply chain, as well as fundamental market perceptions determine the value of the commodity.  The value of the commodity is not determined by the owner of it but by the Buyers for it.  The real estate market functions in a similar fashion with one exception - the additional component of emotionality – the fact that a Buyer  becomes emotionally attached to a home which influences their perception of the homes’ value.
 
In the housing market, supply does influence the value of a home, but it’s the Buyer Pool’s perception of value that determines the selling price.  Armed with information, literally in the palm of their hand, Buyers form opinions based on their own online analysis and investigation of comparable properties.  Most first showings today, are “electronic“; using the site of their choosing (REALTOR.com, TRULIA, ZILLOW, to name just a few), Buyers tour homes, compare features, take a virtual walk through a house. They can see what a house is assessed at, what it last sold for or what houses in the neighborhood sold for. Using Google, a Buyer can take a virtual walk down the street or in the backyard.  It’s extraordinary how much information they can collect about a house.In the housing market, supply influences the value of a home, but it’s the Buyer Pool’s perception of value that determines the selling price.  Armed with information, literally in the palm of their hand, Buyers form opinions based on their own online analysis and investigation of comparable properties.  Most first showings today, are “electronic“; using the site of their choosing (REALTOR.com, TRULIA, ZILLOW, to name just a few), Buyers tour homes, compare features, take a virtual walk through a house. They can see what a house is assessed at, what it last sold for or what houses in the neighborhood sold for. Using Google, a Buyer can take a virtual walk down the street or in the your backyard.  It’s extraordinary how much information can be collected about a house.

If online web hits for a property don’t turn into showing requests, it’s the Buyer Pool voting with their feet – they are sending the message loud and clear that the list price of the home is too high for the value they feel it offers.
 
The implications of pricing your home outside where recent sales define the buyer perception of value often put Sellers in the position of chasing the market down, never a position you want to be in as an agent or Seller.

But there's good news in here - homes priced where the Buyer's see value still get scooped up quickly.  I've personally had several listings recently which went to contract in a month or less.  I also know of others, which finally hit what I like to call the "sweet spot" and went under contract after being on the market for several months.  This was great news for everyone, the Buyer's felt they got a great house and the Sellers were able to move on to their next chapters.  And isn't that what life is all about, collecting as many chapters as you can?

I am busier than offer, which means the market is very active!  Maybe it was the rough winter that pushed some people who were on the fence - off it and into the market by listing their house. Maybe it was snuggling during those cold winter nights which bought a new addition to a family requiring it to upsize. Regardless, there is a lot of activity brewing in both Bethany and Woodbridge and homes priced at the buyers perception of value are moving.
 
For more information visit my website at carolcangiano.com. Please share your comments so that I can tailor my writings to your topic interest!