Des Moines House Selling Specialists

Real Estate Consultants in Central Iowa

Selling a Home instead of a House

Many people think that now is a bad time to sell. Number one, the number disprove that. As of December 7th, 2016 there are currently 3,253 houses for sale on the Des Moines Multiple Listing Service. There are 1,610 houses under contract to be sold. That means that almost exactly one third of the market is under contract right now. To put that in perspective, the under contract period typically lasts 30-45 days. That means that one-third of the market has sold in the last two months. Buyers are out there in force!

The second thing to think about is how beautiful, festive, and homey most houses feel right now. Having Christmas decorations, Hanukkah decorations, or any decorations up gives people the feels. Walking into a house that is beautifully made up, and has a feeling of joy and happiness helps sell houses. People buy based off of emotion, and justify with logic. There is quite a bit of emotion in the holiday season. Right now, you are selling something that feels like a home.

The third thing to think about is my very first sentence for this post: Many people think that now is a bad time to sell. Late October (the 26th to be exact) there were 5,501 houses for sale and under contract on the market. Today (December 7th) there are 4,863. That is a 12% drop in inventory in less than 45 days. Right now, on average you have 12% less competition than you did October 26th and inventory has been dropping since July.

All of these things combined mean that selling your house right now is an amazing decision. The bonus here is that if you then turn around and buy, interest rates are still below 4%!!!

If you, or someone you know is looking to buy a home, sell a home, or invest in real estate, I am your guy! You can contact me or give me a call directly at 515.639.0047.

~Ryan Lynch

The Trend is the Key

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) just came out with two reports that say a lot about the market right now: The Pending Home Sales Report and The Existing Home Sales Report. Let’s dig a little into these to see what they are telling us.

The Pending Home Sales Report is stating that pending home sales (homes that have been put under contract and has a party that wants to buy them) are up 2.4% over this time last year. To make that even more impressive, last year at this time the pending home sales were up year over year as well. In fact, pending home sales have increased 22 out of the last 25 months. That means in the last two years, you were much more likely to see more houses being sold than one year prior on almost every single day of the year.

The Existing Home Sales Report is stating that unsold inventory (houses that are active on the market) is down 6.8% from this time last year. And this is the 16th month in a row where inventory has gone down. That means that right now if you put your home on the market, on average you will have the least competition than you have had since July of 2015.

Take those two facts (more homes being sold, and less homes to sell) and add them to the national average mortgage rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage being 3.49% (as of Monday, November 7thh according to Bankrate.com) and you get a pretty solid picture of why now is an excellent time to sell. (Interest rates being that low also paint a solid picture for why it is time to buy.)

If you are interested in selling your house for more money in less time, or buying with historically low interest rates, I am the person who can get those done. You can reach me at 515.639.0047 or Email Me

~Ryan Lynch

More Motivated Buyers Plus Less Competition Means More Money for You!

House Selling Strategy

I have been having a certain conversation over and over again, so I thought it might be on some of your minds as well. I am told: I am just going to wait until the Spring to list my house.

Here is why you might want to reconsider that. Right now mortgage rates are still incredibly low. I feel like I have been saying for years now that they have to go up eventually. And yet we are currently at 3.44% as the average national rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage according to www.BankRate.com. The same website puts the 15 year fixed rate mortgage at an average of 2.72%. That is lower than inflation. There are a ton of buyers out there right now who want to take advantage of that.

As of the writing of this (October 26th), there are currently 3384 houses listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service. That is a dramatically low number. Pendings are at 2117 houses that are currently under contract. If you have been reading my previous posts, that means that out total inventory has gone down 6% in the since late July. (5,501 as of today, 5,791 as of July 20th)

So, does it make sense to put your house on the market when you competition is going down (the inventory trend has only ever been downward from now until January 1st in the last ten years) and your buyers are more highly motivated? Or does it make sense to wait until Spring when your competition greatly increases and you have no idea where interest rates will be?

If you, or someone you know, are interested in taking advantage of these facts you can find me at RyanLynch@KW.com or 515.639.0047. I would love to show you what working with an agent who actually pays attention to all of these factors and more can do for you. Call me today.

~Ryan Lynch

How to Pick a Comparable Property

Choosing Your Comps

A couple of posts ago, I spoke about finding out if you are in a Buyer’s Market or a Seller’s Market. I had positive responses to that, so I thought I would go into other indicators for pricing your house for sale. The prime one that people know is comparable sales. Meaning houses that are very similar to yours that have sold recently. Here are the primary criteria that I use:

  1. Within one-half mile of the subject property
  2. Within 100 square feet of the subject property
  3. Number of Bedrooms/Bathrooms
  4. Style of House (Ranch, Two Story, Etc)
  5. How long ago it Sold (up to 6 months preferably)
  6. Number of Garage Stalls
  7. Age Range from the subject property

From there, you can go deeper. You could look at is it a brick house or does it have siding. You could look at size of the lot. You could look at basement finished square footage.

All of these are ideal. In order to find enough comparables, sometimes you need to extend. Where I tend to primarily extend is up to a mile from the subject property, and up to 200 square feet from the subject property.

When you can find enough comparables to get some solid data, you are at a very good starting point for pricing the house. After that, you can look at what type of market you are in, what is your current competition, how quickly are your competitors and comparables selling, and much more.

Knowing how to price your property correctly helps me get your home sold faster, for more money, and with you in more control. By that I mean, who has a stronger negotiating position: the person whose house sells in days, or the person whose house sells in months?

If you want to be in the best position possible when selling, or you know someone who does, contact me.

~ Ryan Lynch

Everyone Wants a House

Our year continues to go strong. As of today (9/8/2016), the 30 year fixed mortgage rate nationally is 3.56% (according to www.BankRate.com). The 52 week average has been 3.84% (also according to BankRate.com). That means that rates are still at some of the lowest points they have been in the last year. Buyers are out in force still. Houses are moving. If you are thinking about buying, you are getting some of the cheapest money in the last 30 years, and that is really saying something.

If you are thinking of selling, right now is when people start to self-eliminate themselves. They think that nothing sells during the Fall and Winter, and so they will wait until next Spring. So let me ask you: what sort of a position does it put you in if you have buyers out there hunting for homes in record numbers, and less sellers to compete with?

I have been talking with several people lately that were considering putting their house on the market for $5,000, $10,000, and even $20,000 less than the market would bare. If you would like to know the true value of your house, I am happy to help. You can reach me here.

~Ryan Lynch

A Basic Way to Know Your Market

Des Moines Housing Market

I aim to give my clients as much information as possible to help them make the most informed decisions possible. I have received A TON of training and coaching in my field, and I believe that passing that information along is a value add to my clients. I don’t tell them every single factor I put into finding the market value of a home, because some things would just not be worth taking the time to explain unless they themselves wanted to be a realtor.

One of the things that I always do though, is find out what type of market their micro market is. Every time that I evaluate a house, I look at the micro market of that house. By that I mean I look at a mile radius around that house. This is standard for most appraisers when they are working to find value, so it is the measurement that I use. Within that mile radius, I look at the number of houses that are pending and sold, and the number of houses that are active.

Here is an example:

Let’s say you have a house that has 18 houses currently active within one mile of it. In the last year, 97 houses have sold within that one mile radius. The first thing that I need to find is how many houses sold per month on average. 97 (total sales) divided by 12 (months) is 8.08 houses sold per month on average.

With 18 houses currently for sale, I can divide that number by 8.08 (monthly average) to find that there are currently 2.23 months of active inventory. This means that if no other houses came on the market, and the average (8.08 houses sold per month) stayed the same, then all of these houses should be sold in 2.23 months.

Then I just need to know:

0-4 months equals a Seller’s Market

4-6 months equals a Balanced Market

6+ months equals a Buyer’s Market

Now I can look at this house and say that they are in a strong Seller’s Market and that their competition right now is relatively low. That adjusts how I price them. This is just one factor in pricing. If you are interested in knowing the price of your home, reach out any time.

~Ryan Lynch

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House Selling Specialists
Keller Williams Greater Des Moines
4001 Westown Parkway
West Des Moines, IA 50266

We Help You Sell Your House and Find Your Dream Home

Our goal is to help you get your current house sold in less time, for more money, and without all the hassles. This will allow you to get into your next home as soon as possible.