By: Derrick Timmons
While there is a shortage of homes for sale in California and the United States as a whole, the story is more complex. The First Time Home Buyer price doesn’t match the pool of buyers; there are too many buyers for only a few homes in their price point therefore a low inventory or shortage occurs. However, in any given market there are different price points that may have less buyers available. For example, in the Las Posas Estates of Camarillo the average sold home price in 2016 as of September 1, is at $1,026,636. There have been a few homes sold in this area in the $600,000s but in general the sold price is much higher. Therefore, the problem in the Las Posas Estates and other higher price communities is that the buyer pool is much smaller thus causing homes to stay on the market for much longer. According to Trend Vision Stats (see below for full graphs) There were 19 homes for sale in the month of July and 2 sold. That creates a 9.5 months of inventory for July which loosely means based on home sales it will take 9.5 months to sell those 19 homes that were available in July. These numbers create what is called a buyer’s market.
So what do you do if you are selling in this type of community, and you want to sell your home without dropping your price just to get an offer? There are two very important things you can do to control and succeed in a buyer’s market like this one. First, you must make your home stand out. From the curb appeal, to the appliances, to the paint job, your home must be set apart from the rest of the homes for sale. This takes time and effort but when you have a smaller pool of buyers who are looking at a few homes in the same price point, ask yourself what makes your home special? Do your best to be detail oriented in preparing your home for sale to maximize the chances of a future buyer will choose your home over the competition.
Finally, after you have spent time and effort to prepare your home for sale, contacting a Real Estate Professional like me to discuss your marketing plan will give you the best chance of FINDING your future buyer. Marketing a home is a business and as such there are specific strategies that must be used to find a buyer and get a contract accepted. A few strategies I use include: networking with agents who know buyers from all over the United States, internet search engine optimization to allow anyone looking in your price range to see the true value in your home, local exposure and most importantly hard work. Every home sale has its own unique challenges that require a professional to understand and tailor a specific marketing plan and business campaign that suits the property’s needs. Call me today to find out what I can do for your property through an individualized plan for your home.
