I received a question today from someone who received my latest real estate email newsletter. They wanted to know, if prices are going up in the Austin market, why are prices going down in my neighborhood? Why is it hard to sell my home?
Those are great questions and I though I’d help answer those questions with this video.
What’s going on is an example of the real estate maxim that “All real estate is local.” What this means is that it is possible that what’s going on in your neighborhood is not representative of what’s going on the Austin real estate market as a whole.
In fact, when I meet with a Seller I begin the pricing discussion by describing what’s going on in the overall Austin market, but then shift to what’s going on in their neighborhood.
The best way to position your home to sell is to understand your neighborhood market.
In this particular case the seller lives in a neighborhood where builders are still building. In fact the vast majority of the sales activity is builder product.
In fact, in the last 90 days there have been 17 sales in this neighborhood. All 17 were builder sales. Those homes were on the market an average of 183 days.
Currently there are 21 active listing in the neighborhood and only 5 of those are resales. The 16 builder homes for sale have been on the market an average of 216 days. The resales have been on the market an average of 129 days.
Here’s some key points.
1. When you live in a neighborhood where the builder is still aggressively working and selling homes, that builder is your biggest competition.
They are willing do things that most sellers can’t or won’t do. They hold open houses daily, all day long. They offer cash incentives to buyers. They offer appliances, blinds, and other types incentives. They also can afford aggressive price reductions if necessary.
Not to mention that buyers will pay more for a brand new home than they will for a resale.
Of the five resales in this neighborhood there is one home that is being offered $50,000 less than what they paid for the home only two years ago. Ouch!
2. Real estate is local, local, local. Unfortunately, selling in a neighborhood where builders are still active can be challenge.
I’m always up to the challenge. I know the market and I know what it takes to get a home sold. I work hard and go to every length for my clients to get the highest price the market will bear.
