Real Estate Market Update - End of 2021

      Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this video or the local real estate market.  

4 Home-Selling Myths & the Truth Behind Them

  Here are four common myths about selling a home that you shouldn’t believe.  In our market, people tend to say four things about selling a home that simply aren’t true. Today I’ll walk you through these four myths and share some tips to help you adjust your strategies to account for the reality of our current market:1. You don’t need to renovate. In such a hyperactive seller’s market, many homeowners think that buyers will take just anything, which causes some sellers to be lazy when it comes to preparing their homes for sale. If you expect to get a high price for your home without making any repairs or upgrades, you could be setting yourself up for failure. Today’s buyers still want a clean home with nice paint on the walls, and one that doesn’t have obvious aesthetic defects like chips and dings. Touching up these parts of your property and giving it a good scrub down are inexpensive ways to bring a return on your investment.​2. You can price your home sky-high and end up getting that amount. Home prices have been going up; according to the National Association of Realtors, the average home price throughout the nation is $363,000, which is 23% higher than a year ago. However, don’t let the dollar signs get to your head. Homes need to be priced realistically and in line with what the market expects of them, given the type of home and their condition. If you price your home too high, it could end up sitting on the market for a long time. We’re starting to see buyers push back on these prices by delaying their home searches or not making offers. This can force some sellers to reduce their prices.  Sellers need to examine all factors of every offer, not just the price. 3. Sellers don’t need to do much to market their listings. Some sellers think their homes will sell themselves. However, most homebuyers start their home searches online, so if your listing falls short, you just won’t get much attention. Homes that hit the market without professional pictures and pertinent information could sway buyers to choose other properties.4. The highest offer is always the best. Bidding wars are commonplace these days; sellers often get multiple offers, some of which go over asking price. It might be tempting to automatically take the offer with the highest price, but it’s not always the best move. A smart seller may take a lower price to get much better terms. For instance, a lower offer that is all cash may be attractive since it eliminates the financing hurdle. You might also be interested in offers that have a quick closing date or one that offers you extra time to stay in the home until you find somewhere to move. Sellers need to examine all factors of every offer, not just the price.If you have questions about selling your home or anything to do with real estate, please feel free to reach out to us via phone or email. We’d love to help you. 

5 Tips for Dealing With Stress in Your Life

  Here are five simple things you can do to decrease the stress in your life. Moving to a new home can be an extremely stressful ordeal. Even though I’m not moving right now, I am dealing with stress in my life, and here are my best five tips to help when you’re feeling the same about your upcoming move:1. Drink a cold glass of water. When you feel the stress coming on, this will help your body reset and process something else. It will cool you down and get your mind off what you’re thinking about for a moment, leading to clarity.2. Take a short walk. Getting out with some fresh air and exercise from two to five minutes can dramatically help you calm down and feel better.3. Focus on your breathing. When I’m really stressed and in a situation where I can’t walk or get a drink of water, I focus on my breathing. I imagine my breath going in and out of my spine like a wave two to five times and it helps me relax and be present.​ My workouts help me manage my anxiety and increase my patience. 4. Tapping Solutions. I found this app through a Tony Robbins conference. This app is used to help trauma survivors, chronic pain sufferers, and more through tap therapy. It helps create a little more peace in your day. I highly recommend that you download The Tapping Solution in the App Store to see what it’s all about.5. Work out. When Danny is gone fighting a fire like he is right now, I always seem to get a little bit anxious. I use the Peloton app to find new workouts that fit into my schedule. Even if I only have 15 minutes at home, I can still get a good workout in. Working out helps me manage my anxiety, increase patience, and be an overall better person.I hope these tips help you find some peace. If you have any questions about this or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

An Early Summer Update for Ventura County

  Here are the real estate stats for May 2021 in Ventura County. As of May 2021 in Ventura County, there is an active listing shortage compared to last year-we’ve dropped 43.5% since May 2020. So if you’ve noticed that there are fewer houses on the market, you’ve noticed correctly.​Right now, our average days on market (how many days a house spends on the market before it goes into escrow) is about 20 days. You might think that that’s a bit more than what it should be, since some homes are going into escrow very soon after listing, but that’s only because homes stay active on the MLS until all counters have been negotiated on the multiple offers sellers are getting. To no one’s surprise, our average sales-to-list price ratio is 103%, meaning that homes typically sell for 3% over their list prices. In some cases, they can sell for quite a bit more. The median home price has risen by 15% over last year.  Despite all this amazing news for sellers and our market as it continues to appreciate, we are seeing that around 16% of active listings are having to do price reductions in order to get into escrow.All in all, we still have a very strong seller’s market, though many buyers are successfully getting into escrow. If you are interested in buying or selling a home or if you have any questions, reach out to us. We’re always available to help you.