Read the blog below:
Anthony Lamacchia :
La La La Land is over, folks, it’s over. Homes are not selling as easily as they were. Granted, we’re in winter, inventory is at the lowest point of the year so it’s better than it was in the fall, but our home’s going to be like the last three years where you look at what something sold for last year, you automatically price it a little bit higher this year, and it definitely will sell because it’s La La Land and everything sells right away.
No. I have news for you. That’s over, folks. Inventory has changed, the market has changed. Now is your opportunity to show your expertise, to show you the source to be the authority. Some of that involves difficult conversations with sellers, some of that involves telling people what they don’t want to hear, in some cases, don’t get me wrong here, I’m not trying to overstate this and act like the whole freaking market’s falling apart because it’s not.
You have to use data. Look at this video I put out the other day. We’re going to put this link in the comments. I talked about Massachusetts, it’s official inventory of homes for sale, it’s higher in all areas, except– We talked about how Western Mass is the only place that inventory of homes for sale is actually lower. Let’s look locally. Guys, if you’re in California, if you’re in Georgia, the same thing applies. Look at Waltham, 146% more homes on the market then there were a year ago. One of our best realtors in the company texted me yesterday and said, “Why are prices falling? Why are their price adjustments all over the place? Why are homes setting?”
I called back, this particular realtor- who’s awesome, by the way, it just happened to not be able to make training the other day when we went over these blogs and reports- and I said, “It’s very simple. Waltham’s inventory’s up 146%. Watertown inventory’s up 150%, guys, over a year ago. Very, very simple.” When you show this to a seller, you do a Market Snapshot report and actually show them, or you print this blog, even if you’re in another company. Who cares, guys? We use things from other companies all the time. We use blogs from third-party sources, we’ll use newspaper articles.
There’s great bloggers out there like Bill Ghassan. One of our blogs on our site connects to a great blog. The point I’m getting at is, use the data. You scroll down there, and look at Woburn. Inventory in Woburn, Mass is up 225%. There were 12 homes on the market a year ago today, right now there’s 39, or a few days ago, same thing. The point I’m getting at is, the sellers have to see this. If you verbally sit at an appointment and you just tell them, “The market’s changed, you have to price more aggressively. That’s just the way the market is now,” they’re not going to believe you because you’re a salesperson. You have to actually show them the data.
The other thing that I would recommend right now is tell your sellers to get on the market as soon as possible. The sooner they list, the better off they are because inventory is lower now, than it’s going to be in two to three months. Don’t get confused. Inventory right now is higher than it was a year ago, but my point is, this time of year is the lowest point of inventory, or a month ago was, but now we’re creeping up as we get closer to spring. As soon as March 1st comes, bang, inventory goes up a great deal.
Once it goes up a lot, market slows down, buyers have more time to look. We have a whole blog on that. The blog we put out last Friday, listing before March equals more money. We put in all the data as to why it makes sellers more money. Guys, we’ll put these blogs in the comments section for you so you can click, use them with your sellers if you’d like. If you don’t want to because it says Lamacchia all over it, fine by me. Use your own, make your own. Sit down, do it on Market Snapshot for your town and the five towns around it, put it on a piece of paper, doesn’t have to be fancy. Go in, bring the actual report so the seller can see it right from MLS.
Don’t make them fancy or pretty, and show it to them. All right, guys? That’s my point. I hope you understand it. I hope it helps you because I have news for you, folks. The market we’re in now is different than it’s been for the last three springs where you can just put something on and it’ll automatically sell. I want to help you get through that and thrive in that. Have a great one. Have a great day, guys. Thanks.