Des Moines House Selling Specialists

Real Estate Consultants in Central Iowa

The Benefit of Using a Professional

You are hearing several people (full disclosure: myself included) who are talking about how great the market is for sellers right now. I know for a fact that this has pushed several people into seeing what happens if they try to sell their house by themselves. I fear for these people.

House Selling

The number one reason is that they do not know what they do not know. And that could cost them so much time and money. They do not know what the five types of buyers are and how to deal with each one. They do not know what the three types of real estate markets are. They do not know what is a normal ask in a purchase agreement, and what is not normal. They do not know the retail pricing strategy versus the auction strategy. They do not have a marketing strategy. They do not have a prospecting strategy. They have little to no experience negotiating offers. They do not know what a normal ask is in the inspection period. They don’t even know what the normal inspection period is. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

For example, I will take a buyer and a seller that I dealt with last week that were my clients, and one of each that were unrepresented.

I had a seller that wanted to price at a specific point and I told them to take advantage of the market and price lower than they wanted to. They let me, and let me negotiate for them. The house got into a bidding war, and went for more money than it was listed, and more money than they had wanted to price at.

I also had an unrepresented seller with a house that one of my buyers wanted. In negotiating with them, they told me that they were willing to take less than asking price and then proceeded to tell me what would make them take less and why. I ended up getting my buyers the house at a significant discount.

On the buyer side, I have buyers who have been looking for a long time to find the perfect home for them. I have kept them calm and logical in what they are doing so that they get what they really want. Last week, we finally found a house that they really wanted. They were ready to give anything to get it, and I talked them into a stronger negotiating position. They put the house under contract for less than asking price with every single concession we asked for.

I also had unrepresented buyers reach out to me (they were represented but their realtor was letting them go look at houses and negotiate on their own) that really wanted a property that I had for sale. They ended up losing the property because a represented buyer’s agent made an offer with much stronger contingencies that protected my clients better, even though they both offered about the same dollar figure.

All of this happened within the last seven days. My clients came out way ahead of where they would have been if they had done what they felt they should have done instead of listening to me and my advice. All of these examples are only around one thing: negotiation. My clients are also getting the benefits of my knowledge of everything else that goes into a real estate transaction. (I won’t list them again.)

If you want to sell for more money in less time, or buy better deals, or know anyone else who does: call me. You can reach me at 515.724.3163 or RyanLynch@KW.com

~Ryan Lynch

Would Your Rather Have Facts or Opinions?

How important is having the facts when you are dealing with one of the largest financial transactions in your life? I have recently had several people reach out to me asking me a variation of the same question:

How accurate is the assessor’s site for the value of my home?

How accurate is the Zestimate on Zillow?

How likely is my home to sell for the same amount as my neighbor’s down the street?

The answer is the same for all of the questions: it is pretty accurate about 20% of the time. Frankly though, that is just because it is lucky. The real estate market is a market. The value of your home changes as the market changes around it. If there are less homes for sale around yours, then your value goes up because it has less competition to deal with. If you have foreclosures, or new construction, or homes that sold way over value (for any number of reasons), all of that can affect your home’s value as well. All of these things are constantly happening and thus the value of your home is constantly shifting.

The assessor’s site, Zillow, and anywhere else that you look is usually a stagnant guess based off of some of the data at the time that the guess was made. If you want to get your home sold for the most amount of money in the least amount of time, get a House Selling Specialist who can analyze all of the data and make sure that you are positioned in the current market for maximum visibility and desirability.

I just so happen to be that House Selling Specialist, and that is only one of the many consultative services that I provide. If you or someone you know is looking to buy a home, sell a home, or invest in real estate, you can reach me at 515.639.0047 or RyanLynch@KW.com

~Ryan Lynch

The Year of Real Estate that Makes No Sense

Well, I don’t know how long it can last, yet the news just keeps getting better for sellers. The National Association of Realtors just came out and said that February was the highest month for Pending Home Sales since July of 2015. That means that more homes that were on the market for sale, were bought in February than in the last six months. That means, that the month that is typically the slowest month of the year outpaced half of the last year.

Nationally, the 30 year fixed mortgage rate is between 3.53% and 3.59% as of close yesterday (March 29th, 2016). There are so many buyers out there right now that want to take advantage of that. And obviously, in February they did.

As of this morning (March 30th, 2016) the inventory on the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service is at 2984 homes actively for sale. We have not seen numbers this low since 2006.

I know I am starting to sound like a broken record here. I am hoping that if you hear over and over again how ridiculous of a situation this is, you will understand that if you are thinking about buying or selling a home, you are in a perfect storm.

Historically low interest rates mean you are getting cheap money and you have access to more of it.

Decade low inventory means that you have less and less competition.

Months high Pending Home Sales means that you have even less competition than you did last month.

When you look at trends, March, April, and May historically mean increasing inventory and increasing competition. We are in crazy time here.

Are you interested in selling your house for more money in less time? You can reach me at 515.639.0047 or RyanLynch@KW.com

~Ryan Lynch

Normal Right Now is Anything But

Des Moines Real Estate Market

The real estate market in Des Moines right now is crazy for buyers and sellers. Let me tell you two stories to explain:

    1. Right now I am working with buyers who have had two houses that they have wanted to buy so far. They are anxious to take advantage of interest rates still being near the 52 week low. The first house they placed a full price offer on, and did not get because they were outbid. The second house we went to make an offer on yesterday, and it had gone under contract yesterday. Moral of the story: if you want to take advantage of the incredibly cheap money right now (Sub 4% on 30 year fixed, and sub 3% on 15 year fixed), you need to be willing to move fast and pay for what you want.

    2. I have sellers that I first talked to in January of this year. They wanted to sell their house, and at that time the market was saying we should list at $206,000. They wanted to do a few repairs and I agreed with them. I listed their house two weeks ago and the market said we should list at $215,000. Their house went under contract yesterday. That is an almost $10,000 price increase in less than two months. The biggest difference though was that when I looked at their competition in early March, there was no house within a mile of them priced below $240,000. They had no competition. That is what I am finding everywhere.

So right now is an incredible time to buy, because you are paying interest rates that are barely above inflation. Right now is also an amazing time to sell, because all of these buyers are out there with nothing to look at. You have no competition.

If you or someone you know are looking to buy a home, sell a home, or invest in real estate: CALL ME! You can reach me at 515.639.0047 or RyanLynch@KW.com

~Ryan Lynch

What Does “Rates are Low” Mean to You?

I keep saying rates are incredibly low, but what does that actually mean? Let’s look at some facts;

In 1995, the median home price was $114,600. (Adjusted for inflation, that would be $178,074 in today’s prices.) The average mortgage rate was 7.9%. This means on that $114,600 home, you would have been paying $833 principal and interest. (Adjusted for inflation, that would be $1,295 in today’s market.)

In 2015 the median home price was $222,400 and the median mortgage rate was 3.86% which would make your monthly principal and interest payment $1,044.

Using the adjusted for inflation numbers from 1995, that means that right now you can buy a bigger, or better house ($178,074 vs $222,400) and pay less money for it ($1,295 vs $1,044).

That means that right now it is an incredible time to buy. You have more spending power. Since 2010, rates have been their lowest in February. Meaning that now we are on a climb up, historically.

That also means that it is a great time to sell. There are a lot of buyers out there trying to take advantage of this cheap money. And as of the beginning of this week, the Des Moines Area Multiple Listing Service dropped below the 3,000 level of inventory for the first time in a decade. That means that right now you have the least competition for selling than you have had since 2006.

If you are thinking about buying or selling, this is incredibly powerful information for you. Do not wait. Historically rates go up come March, April and May. Historically, inventory goes way up once Spring hits. Right now both are at historical lows. If you know someone that has been talking about buying or selling. Show them this. Then have them call me, Ryan Lynch: 515.639.0047 or email at RyanLynch@KW.com. Get more money for your house. Sell it in less time. Use a professional that actually watches all of this information for you to negotiate aggressively for you. Call me.

Beat Everyone Else!

You have less than two weeks to beat the market. If you are thinking about selling your house anytime soon, you have less than two weeks to beat everyone else to the market. March will be the beginning of more and more houses coming on the market. In April, the floodgates will open. Right now, there is so little inventory on the market, you have no competition whatsoever.

Right now the 30 year fixed rate (as of Feb 17th) is 3.63% The 52 week low is 3.55% That means the mortgage rates right now are only .08% off of the lowest they have been in the entire last year. If you don’t think that drives more buyers to be out shopping RIGHT NOW, I will write another post about supply and demand later.

So right now mortgage interest rates are almost at the lowest they have been, and inventory is at the lowest it has been as well. If you are interested in getting your house sold for more money in less time, you can reach me at 515.639.0047 or RyanLynch@KW.com. Pass this on to any of your friends or family as well if you want them to know that you helped make them more money.

~Ryan Lynch

Find Us On:

Office Location:

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.