I have had something happen occasionally throughout my time selling houses that I thought was important enough to point out. People tend to think of me as a house seller. I am. I am also a house buyer. A few times throughout the years I have had people (usually when looking to buy new construction) use me to sell their home, and then use the builder’s realtor to help them buy their new construction home. Almost every time, they have said they wished they had used me to help them buy.
First off, I cost nothing when you buy a home. Sellers pay both sides for a realtor. That means that people paid both sides to have me help them sell a home, and then didn’t use me when it would have cost them zero dollars.
Second, and most importantly, a builder’s realtor typically cares more about the builder than the buyer. Normally I don’t have any issue with a realtor helping both the buyer and seller in a transaction. In many cases I think it is much simpler to have one person who understands what both sides want, and can help them both come out winners. The issue is with builder’s realtors, there can be an imbalance. This is not true all of the time. It has just been true in several transactions that I have been told about. Think about it this way: if you got most of your income from one side of the transaction, versus a one time deal, which side are you going to favor? My experience has been that you want your own representation when buying new construction that is independent of the builder you are buying from.
Now, onto the market:
The market is already ahead of 2019, which is saying a lot. At the end of January, 2020 we had 989 houses under contract, versus 859 at the end of January, 2019. That is 15% higher than last year. On the flip side of this, the median list price was down $20,000 from last year. This can be seen in buyers being much more picky right now and much tougher negotiators.
Buyers are in an interesting position right now. Interest rates are basically giving money away at this point. There is more and more inventory for them to choose from. AND prices are still up in general. If you are looking to move, it would be hard to find a cheaper environment for purchasing homes with credit. Really there is nothing that is indicating that a market fall is coming in 2020. To me, that means take advantage of cheap money if you are looking to buy.
If you are looking to sell, the market keeps pushing your price up, which is helpful. I would recommend getting on the market sooner rather than later, as the Spring Market will be here before we know it. That is true especially if we keep this sunny, snow-free weather.
I love doing what I do. I love looking at the market, and I love building relationships with the people that I get to help. Let me know how I can help you. Call me today. You can reach me at 515.639.0047 or RyanLynch@KW.com. I am good at what I do, and I want to help you.
~Ryan Lynch
