Another problem that I see in the Short Sale segment is that the market is appreciating so fast.  Short Sales still make up a large part of closings.  So where is the problem?  I’m betting banks will stop accepting the short sale.  With the appreciation and the time to negotiation the deal with the bank, that when they order the BPO (Broker Price Opinion), the value of the home will have increased.  The systems that tell the banks how much they will make if the property goes into foreclosure will also indicate the offer is too low.

In a very short time, short sales can become a very small segment of the market as agents don’t want to work on them and buyers won’t trust them.

Of course this is just speculation on my part, but I’m watching for the signs now and gonna be prepared to change tactics with my clients as soon as the first red flags start to pop up.

Related posts:

1. Canadian Buyers in the Phoenix Real Estate Market
2. Phoenix Real Estate Buyer Psychology 101 – Price
3. Things to Know when Buying Real Estate

Understand the Neighborhood Market. This is where I look at the data that goes into the Comparative Market Analysis, not only do I look at the sale price but what the original list price was to know if its going up or down. Days on Market, is it short, long and what’s the average. What sort of concessions are being made by the sellers. What agents are doing to sell and make it easy (or hard) to show the property. I consult with Zillow, Trulia, RPR and CloudCMA. This gives me price range and market conditions.

Market Strategy. No two properties are the same when it comes to selling. I try to understand the advantages of the area and the home so I can plan to highlight that. I also want to consider disadvantages so I can either address them or down play them. I want to consider the most likely buyers for this property and the method they are going to use to find the home. Should I market online or in print. Do I want a sign, professional photographer, open house? Do I want to throw a broker party on get on a tour?

Goals of the seller. Do they want a quick sale, high price or just get away from the home? What are their motivations to sell and what is their plan when it is sold?

Conditions of the Home. This is important because it will mean the difference in a lower price in the range or a higher price. I want to see the home to know what potential buyers will think when they walk in the door so I can prepare them to fall in love with and write an offer for the home. This is where I may recruit a home stager or handyman to assist if funds are available.

Take all of this and mix it up and cook for 30 minutes and you’ve got a custom plan to sell a home.

No related posts.

No related posts.

A couple of times it’s come up as to why I left the committee and ARMLS is general.  It wasn’t an easy decision and I’m sure my wife will attest to the many hours of the past couple of years that we talked about it.  For the record, she was a good mitigator looking at all sides.  It came down to 4 things that drove my decision:

Business.  During one of those years, I had the worst year of my career, 1 transaction.  It doesn’t pay the bills with only one transaction.  I had to focus on my business and my clients and I wasn’t doing that.  I’m happy to report my best year last year at 17 transactions (more in line with what I need to do).

Family. I’ve got a wonderful family and I wasn’t spending as much time with them as I wanted to, my little girl was growing up and I didn’t want to miss that.  I choose to have dedicated time with my family now, certain evenings I’m home and a block of time each weekend is dedicated to spending time together.  I don’t want to regret looking back at my life saying I should have spent more time with my family.

Health. In just a short bit I will be celebrating my second birthday of my second chance at life.  Almost 2 years ago I suffered from an Acute myocardial Infarction (Sudden onset Heart Attack).  I was taking on more than I could handle and the alarm in my chest got my attention the only way it knew how.  It’s been a struggle to get the health on track, but today I’m happy to report I run 30 minutes every other day and walk 30 minutes during the off days.  And I’m a happy user of Fitbit (friend me if you are too).  I continue to find new challenges and resolve those as they come up, but for my family I had to get this under control, and I have.

Burnout. During the height of my time with ARMLS, I was making 2 to 3 trips to Tempe as the Chairman of the committee and I was getting burned out trying to juggle of the things I was doing.  And I was feeling guilty that I wasn’t giving everything that I could and should.  I felt it was better to step aside and let someone else take the seat and contribute more than I could at the time.

Today, I can say that I have better balance in my life, my business is running better because I am working with clients that I can help and referring those that I can’t.  I make and dedicate time for family and health, which in turn gives me more strength and focus.  It is an ongoing battle, but I’ve got more help and support and the motivation to continue.

The past two years I’ve faced some hard facts about my life that I couldn’t ignore anymore, I had to reset my life and start simple and focused.  Each month I add more distance to my runs, more healthy foods to my meals (while removing unhealthy ones), better processes for my clients, and more memories with my family.  And someday in the future, I would like to return to giving back to my industry, weather that is at ARMLS or WeMAR or any other group that needs the skills (and challenges) that I will bring.  For now I’m going to add another step to my Fitbit.

Related posts:

1. November 2008 ARMLS Committee Meeting Highlights
2. September ARMLS Committee Meeting
3. August ARMLS Committee Meeting

Well, let’s try this again, you list the home just a bit below market value, on top of some really nice pictures and an easy to see property, you drive lots of traffic, in fact it’s just easier to go on a trip for those first couple of days because so many people are going through your home you can’t possibly stay.  Instead of getting one offer, you get 8.  From there you start to do multiple counter offers and allow those that have seen your property and fallen in love with it at a great price tell you how high they are willing to go to beat out those pesky other bidders (think nearing auction close on eBay).  Next thing you know, your home goes for higher than the market value came in at.  With the high demand and low volume of homes, you could do pretty well, just plan to leverage the market to your favor a bit more.

Related posts:

1. Do Agents try to get a Higher Price to get a Higher Commission?
2. February 2012 Phoenix Median Home Price
3. Seller’s are getting 95% of sales price, old news in Phoenix

I’ve got to great lengths to start talking to the previous owners about their plans, their dreams.  I work hard to remind them that they are getting a chance to start over.  Life will get better.  Then I remind them that a new owner also has dreams about their old home, that they picked it out because they like what they did and want to help.  We talk about a plan to move on while still giving them opportunity to mourn for their loss.

So far, I’ve been able to negotiate a plan that both parties can agree to and get the stress behind everyone.  In the event that doesn’t come true, it’s time to pull out the Purchase Contract and step through the remedies if offers in these cases, and trust me, they are not pleasant for anyone involved.

No related posts.

Then Matt Consalvo came to mind.  To be far, when I met Matt over 4 years ago, he was with Supra and I didn’t think much of him.  I considered him to be another vendor giving me lip service.  What I learned was I couldn’t be more wrong about Matt.  Within a few short months he was demonstrating to me one of his core principles, Customer Service.  Matt followed up on everything.  I can remember one Saturday morning having a problem with my ActiveKey when I was supposed to have a marathon of showings.  Matt called me directly, I could hear soccer games in the background, I felt bad that I was taking time away from his family.  Matt didn’t waste anytime, he had made arrangements for me to meet up with our new Saturday service desk to get a new key.  (This was also the first time I met his right arm, Jennifer, which was equally impressive with her desire to make things right).

Matt and I have had several deep conversations about many topics and he has the ability to reframe my thoughts and help to produce better ideas.  He is patient and understanding.  Customer Service is truly ingrained in his DNA, it’s one of his passions in life (as I’ve also learned over the years is his family, another trait that I admire).  When Matt was named the COO of ARMLS®, I nodded my head in agreement, it was a perfect fit, and you could see it throughout the organization, more focus and higher achievements were evident as Matt took on day-to-day operations.  Bob was the visionary, Matt made them a reality.

I have very little to do with ARMLS® as my time on the committee didn’t feel as important as my health, family and clients became the 3 focus areas for me.  I still keep in touch, and do expect that one day I will return.  So this is my opinion, ARMLS could not have a better leader at the helm of the ship than Matt Consalvo.  I respect him and his leadership and I truly believe that employees, stakeholders, members, and vendors do as well.  I do encourage the 4 member boards to look for Bob’s replacement, but don’t stretch too far from home because you have a very qualified candidate right there.

No related posts.

Even in the million dollar price point I’m finding other buyers. It’s officially a seller’s market in the Phoenix area and I’m not just talking about the lower price point, I’m talking about everything. Hang on tight, it’s going to be a wild ride for a few months until we settle into a routine.

Related posts:

1. Trying to buy a house and my Realtor® won’t call me to set up showings
2. Tips for Better Home Showings when Selling

You see, this is an extreme seller’s market, I put an offer in on another property, they had 29 offers already! Twenty nine! Even odds, we had about a 3% chance of winning, but offers are never even odds.

Of course getting an accepted offer isn’t the only challenge, there is the closing, used to be that you had the buyer, seller, their agents and title. And one mortgage agent. Well not anymore, there are more players involved to satisfy a laundry list of requirements from underwriting, who is once again trying to protect a mortgage industry that is still trying to recover from the last lending disaster. My contact list for a transaction is now two pages long, and trying to keep everyone happy is very complex.

If you are thinking of selling, now is a great time to do it, you would be treated like royalty. If you want to buyer, be prepared to be treated like third class passengers during the sinking of the titanic, its a wild ride, but like at the amusement park, it will be over soon enough and we’ll all hope on a new one right at this one.

Related posts:

1. Why would the buyer of a home compliment the home?
2. Phoenix Real Estate Buyer Psychology 101 – Price
3. Tips for pricing your home in a buyer’s market