Should you be waiting for this real estate market to pass, or should you be ready to seize an opportunity? This will apply to you whether you are a buyer, seller, or investor. Our goal here is to give you an actionable plan that you can walk away with and say, “I am not ready to move tomorrow, but over the next couple of years, I plan on making a move,” and how to start making these adjustments now. I have three different things—one is neutral, one is for a buyer, and one is for a seller—and they all really overlap because every deal has a buyer and a seller at the end of the day.
#1: Be Ready
You must have a game plan in place for the following:
-Prices rising
-Prices falling
-Prices remaining constant
If you’re a buyer, you may be on the fence, while if you’re a seller, you may be unsure whether you should sell now or wait a year. What we must remember is that the market will follow interest rates from now on. When interest rates dropped to 2.5%, the housing market went insane, and when rates rose to 7% this year, the housing market pulled back dramatically, and we sometimes forget that both of those events occurred very quickly.
Our team of agents advises their clients to plan for all three scenarios, but to focus on current prices and rates because interest rates have been relatively stable in the 6% to 7% range for the last three to four months.If interest rates rise above 7% and approach 8% or higher, there is a very good chance we will see another dramatic drop in pricing.
If interest rates go down sooner rather than later, the real estate market will get more competitive. We predict that if interest rates fall to 4.5 or 5% this summer, a flood of buyers will return to the market who missed out on low interest rates in 2021 to mid-2022. We constantly hear from consumers that they are waiting for interest rates to fall.
#2 As a Seller, You Must Strategize
First, consider a sale from the buyer’s (your) point of view.
Which of the following office chairs would you choose from an endless number of options if you were buying an office chair from Amazon?
A) Office chair with poor photo quality
B) Office chair with excellent photo quality but high price and/or lack of details
C) Office chair with high-quality photos, competitive pricing, and complete details
We believe the majority of people would answer C.
What does this have to do with purchasing a home?
Consider searching for homes for sale in Orange County on a website such as our home site search, Zillow, or Redfin. Let’s look at three houses in your price range.
Which home do you want to not only click on but also schedule a showing for or visit an open house for?
A) A standard-priced home with one exterior photo and little to no description
B) Expensive home with multiple photos and a lack of details
C) A reasonably priced home with high-quality photos, a clear description, and complete details.
Again, we assume that the majority, if not all, of you will vote for C.
When looking for an agent to sell your home, it is critical to discuss their marketing strategy and their plan to list your property. Every property we list will have a video on the MLS and home search website, as our goal is for the buyer to get a sense of walking through the property, but you’d be surprised how few agents do that for their listings, despite the fact that affordable, talented videographers are more accessible than ever. High-quality photos and video, as well as descriptive details, save buyers and agents time and help alleviate some of the stress and disappointment that come with looking for a home to buy.
As a seller, you should be ready for the following:
If you intend to do the bare minimum to sell your home, price it below average.
If you intend to do the basic repairs and marketing, price your home fairly.
If you intend to go above and beyond when listing your home – maintenance, upgrades, staging, and high-quality video and photos – expect to get top dollar.
#3 Think outside of the box like an investor
We recently met with a savvy investor looking for their own primary residence, and he sent me a list of properties he wanted to see. While we were scheduling tours, we noticed a strategic trend: every single house he wanted to see had been on the market for 90+ days and had fewer than 15 or 20 pictures on it, but they were pretty nice houses.
So, why was it on the market for so long? They were poorly marketed.
So, what piqued our client’s interest in these properties? He knows that the sellers and listing agent are begging for offers right now, which gives our client more power as a buyer in the negotiations.
We’d like to hear your thoughts on what you think will happen in the housing market in 2023. Please respond to this email or leave a comment on our YouTube channel to let us know what you think will happen in the 2023 market.
If you need advice on your game plan for buying or selling in the next few years, we would be delighted to connect you with an agent who is the best fit for you.