Des Moines House Selling Specialists

Real Estate Consultants in Central Iowa

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

That’s a Great Number!!!

Lynch Sells Homes

I was running numbers for my business and my performance, and I was pleasantly surprised. My average list price to sale price for 2016 up to July 31st is 99.6%. That means that if I was to list a property at $100,000, I have gotten my clients $99,600 on average. This is up from my ratio in 2015, which was 98.3%. On top of that, 41% of my listings this year have sold at or above list price.

I focus on getting better and better for my clients. Last year, education and training were my second biggest expense in my business. That will be true again this year. This is because I want to serve my clients to the highest of my capability, and my capability can always go up.

So today’s post is short and sweet. If you want to get your house sold for the most amount of money, I will put my knowledge and experience to work for you.

Call me at 515-639-0047 or email me

~Ryan Lynch

Know Your Numbers

Real Estate Numbers

Watching the numbers is critical for understanding your strategy when buying and selling a home. Two numbers that I have been very interested in as of late are active listings and pending listings. Allow me to explain.

Active Listings are listings that are on the market, and anyone still has the chance to purchase.

Pending listings are houses that are on the market, and another party has put it under contract, saying that they have the intent to purchase (or close) on it.

As of this writing there are 3,287 active listings in the Des Moines Multiple Listing Service, and 2,504 pending listings.

A couple of things to note with these numbers: The first is that there are about the same number of active listings as two weeks ago, and about 150 less pending listings as of two weeks ago. This tells me a few things:

Things are moving toward slowing down. Having a pending number that close to active is crazy. Usually a house is only pending for 30-45 days. That means in the past 30-45 days, probably about 80% of those houses sold. Losing 75 houses per week on average means that buyers are out in less force, and (according to history) will only continue to be this time of year.

So if you are a buyer and frustrated with how fast houses are moving, the good news is that the market is trending your direction. If you are a seller, it means that less houses are coming on the market, since the active number is not going up while the pending number is going down.

So what does this really mean to you?

Buyers – The fast market of 2016 is slowing down right now. There is still a higher number of inventory than normal (5,791 versus the norm of 5,000 around this time of year). You will have more time for houses being on the market and you will still have incredibly cheap mortgages. So things are looking good for you.

Sellers – Inventory is trending down, which means that you will have less competition. Great! At the same time, buyers are trending down, which means that you will be competing for a buyer with less of them available to you. My recommendation is to get on the market now, instead of waiting for this trend to continue.

I know that my clients want me to be fully informed. I stay on top of the market, my client’s wants, and what is going on in each micro-market that I work in. If you like having a skilled professional in your corner. You can reach me at 515.639.0047 or via email.

~Ryan Lynch

Timing, Timing, Timing

Importance of Timing in Real Estate

Timing can mean everything in this business. I have been counseling my clients to not tell anyone about their house going on the market until I tell them to. Right now buyers are doing everything they can to get an edge, because the moment a desirable house hits the market, it is gone.

This affects both sides of the sale.

If you are a seller, and you let some people know that you are going to sell your house before you let everyone know, then those people are most likely going to make you a good offer. And you are most likely going to lose money. Because you are greatly decreasing the competition for your house, and the likelihood of getting multiple offers. When I list my houses now, I have a five point plan that all happens at basically the same time.

  1. It hits the MLS
  2. I tell all of my Keller Williams agents (over 300 of us now)
  3. I put the sign in the yard
  4. I call at least 100 of your neighbors and ask if they want to choose their neighbor
  5. I make sure that everyone knows that we are in charge of the offers
  6. BONUS – Sellers tell everyone they can

To explain point five, most of the time when you have an offer, it has a deadline that says that the offer is only good until a certain time. I make sure that any and all offers my clients receive, are told that we will get back to them on our time and not theirs. This gives me more time to get more offers and make the price go higher and higher. You would be amazed at how well doing these five things consistently and with a professional negotiating for you can dramatically increase the amount of money you walk away with. I know many people out there have been talking about how they are doing this on their own, and I have just felt bad for them, because they are absolutely losing money by doing it that way.

For a buyer, frankly, if you are not working with a professional right now, you are in a losing game. Zillow is wrong most of the time. Not only do the listings that are most desirable get sold before they even hit Zillow (or Trulia, or Realtor.com, etc), most of the time most of these sites have houses listed that are not even for sale. Going with a professional makes sure you are not getting your hopes and dreams crushed on a daily basis, because you fall in love with a house that is not even available. On top of that, I just keep getting told horror stories about working with For Sale By Owners who have no idea what they are doing and waste enormous amounts of people’s money and time.

People incorrectly think that right now there is no inventory. That is not true, we actually have record inventory, it is just all being sold the moment that it hits the market. Normally right now, there is about 5,000 houses for sale. As of this writing, there are 3,259 active houses for sale. There are also 2,635 pending houses (meaning they are under contract and moving towards the closing process). That is closer to 5,900 houses on the market right now. There is a ton of inventory out there. You just need help being able to get to it before it is gone.

Bottom line, right now is a great time to get in the market, if you have a professional helping you. I can sell your house for more money. I can help you find the house that you want at historically low interest rates. Call me, and let me help you get to where you want to be. You can reach me at 515.639.0047 or RyanLynch@KW.com

~Ryan Lynch

Do You Want Your House Sold, or Headaches?

I was recently speaking with a client who relayed that he was finally comfortable with my pricing of his house. I sold his house a year ago.

He now lives in Chicago and he watched an amazing home sit on the market, and sit on the market, and sit on the market when it was a great house. It was overpriced.

I had gotten his house sold in three days at just over list price. Another house down the street that was almost the exact same house took almost 60 days and the sales price ended up being almost identical.

Knowing the market means that I can get your house sold in record time for the most amount of money possible. Plus this affords many other advantages. Who has the stronger negotiating position: the person whose house sold in 3 days, or the person whose house sold in 60? Who has more control of the process? Who has far fewer headaches from showing the house over and over again? Who has to keep cleaning the house over and over again? Who has to find something else to do, because they can’t be home, over and over again?

I know the market. I know how to price houses so that you get the most amount of money possible, and you have the fewest headaches possible. Call me today. You can reach me at 515.639.0047 or RyanLynch@KW.com

~Ryan Lynch

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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.