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The Latest Trends in Pierce County Real Estate
As we head toward the halfway point of the year, it’s time to take a look at some recent market trends and what they mean for buyers and sellers. Here’s what you need to know.
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We’re nearly halfway through the year already. Can you believe it? Today I thought it would be a good time to give you a quick update on some trends that I’ve been seeing in the Pierce County real estate market so far in 2019.
For your convenience, I’ve provided timestamps below that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:
0:30- A look at the current absorption-based pricing index (aka supply and demand)
1:05- How pricing trends have changed in just the last six months in Pierce County?
3:45- Why it was a good thing for our market to see a decrease in home appreciation
4:10- What’s currently available to buyers in Pierce County?
4:45- The two types of markets for home sellers right now
5:30- A final look at our absorption rate and what that means in this market
If you have any questions for me or would like to see the statistics for your specific neighborhood, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Which Improvements Bring the Best Return on Investment?
If you’re interested in adding value to your home before you sell, today’s message is for you.
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Not all improvements will bring as high a return as you might hope as you prepare to sell your home. When getting your property ready for the market, you need to be strategic in the upgrades and repairs you choose to invest in.
There are a few specific areas that will bring a high return on investment (or ROI).
To begin, make sure to spruce up your curb appeal. First impressions matter, which is why your home’s exterior is so critical to your success as a seller. However, don’t forget that less is more. Simple touches can go a long way in terms of adding value. The most important thing is that your yard is neat, tidy, and leads buyers to expect an equally inviting interior when they set foot indoors.
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Less is more.
”Also, make sure the color of your home’s exterior doesn’t hurt its overall value. Certain colors, like yellow, can decrease what buyers will pay for your home by thousands of dollars. Conversely, having a front door that’s painted the right shade can add thousands to your value. Researching and implementing current design trends can make a world of difference.
Moving on to your home’s interior, bathroom renovations bring some of the highest ROI of any project. Modest bathroom renovations will bring an average of $1.71 for every $1 spent. Making more extravagant renovations, though, is typically a poor choice. Over-improving your bathroom will generally cause you to lose money instead of gaining it. All in all, the key to upgrading your home before you sell is to strike a balance between “enough” and “too much.” Again, less is more.
If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Why the Highest Offer Doesn’t Always Win
1. Not being flexible with the seller’s timeline. If, for instance, their house is vacant and they’re sitting on a hefty mortgage, they probably want to sell as quickly as possible. In this case, how quickly you can accommodate them depends on how much you’ve worked with your lender to prepare the necessary documentation to make your offer.
It’s also possible they haven’t found their next home to move into and they want to know that they’ll have a post-closing grace period to find that next home before they accept any offers. In this situation, it might be advantageous to agree to allow them to stay in the home after closing and rent it back from you until they can move out.
2. Not having your paperwork squared away. If you’re not pre-approved before you make your offer, it won’t hold any weight with the seller, so make sure you get pre-approved. It doesn’t matter how good your offer is if you can’t guarantee your financing will process or not.
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If your offer is rejected once, don’t give up.
”3. Asking for too many concessions and/or contingencies. If the seller wants these kinds of things included in the deal, they’ll probably include them themselves.
4. Requesting too many things to be included with the property. If the seller specifically declares that a certain part of the home is excluded from the sale, I don’t recommend trying to include it.
5. Not expressing your love for the house. We all take pride in our homes, and sharing with the seller how much you appreciate their house and how much you look forward to taking care of it can make a big difference in whether your offer is accepted or not if you find yourself in a multiple-offer situation.
6. Giving up after your offer is rejected. If your offer is rejected once, don’t give up. A home sale is a process that involves some negotiation, so don’t be offended by a counteroffer you don’t like and possibly miss out on a great opportunity. Instead, keep the conversation going with the seller.
If you’d like to know more about making your offer as strong as possible or you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.
A Snapshot of Our Pierce County Real Estate Market
The latest from our Pierce County market.
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Today I’m bringing you the latest numbers from our Pierce County Market.
Appreciation for homes in our area has gone up 9.2% year over year, and the median price is currently at $355,000—a mark that is even with where we were little more than a year ago.
From January to February of this year, the median price jumped by 7.58%.
New home sales reached a seven-month high in December, making it the largest total since May of this past year.
As far as mortgage rates are concerned, we’re currently at 4.37%, which constitutes a 12-month low—rates decreased to 4.33% in February of 2018.
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Don’t confuse homes that are on the market with homes that are in the market.
”Homes that are selling are doing so in 53 days on average, and homes that are struggling to sell are spending about 91 days on market. This is demonstrative of a tale of two markets, so don’t confuse homes that are on the market with homes that are in the market.
842 homes sold this past February. That’s a 12-month low for Pierce County, which can likely be ascribed to a lack of inventory for buyers to purchase from.
How does the current median list price compare to the median sold price? Right now, the median list price is a little shy of $480,000, while the median sold price is $355,000—a 26% disparity. These numbers bear out the fact that there’s a lot of overpricing happening in our market. If you’re selling your home and it’s been on the market for 53 days, in all likelihood, you’ve priced it too high.
Know that we’re here to be a resource for you. If you have any real estate-related questions or you’d like to know more about your neighborhood so you can make an informed decision for your own property, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. I hope to hear from you soon!
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