I am just back from our annual real estate conference, where I was able to learn from many agents across the country about their markets, their client struggles, and their successes.
I learned a lot – and I was also reminded of how real estate agents provide more value than just helping people buy or sell homes.
This has always been a relationship business.
Did you know that this newsletter goes out to more than 11,000 people each week? Meeting people from various walks of life and offering them help to better understand real estate, investing, home ownership, repairs and remodeling really speaks to me.
Consulting with families on how and when to buy a home, prepare a home for sale and what financial obstacles, costs and benefits may impact their decisions. Plenty of times these are pre-meetings, as it can take months to years for the right scenario to unfold and a move is necessary or affordable.
Not every person I meet is ready to buy or sell a home right now. But every person I meet typically has questions or needs advice about something home related. If you have questions too, call or email me and let me know what you’re considering and let’s bounce some ideas around.
What I heard most often this past week is that our local real estate market struggles are not unique to the Bay Area. Agents in Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Omaha, or Phoenix have the same type of market dynamics AND they do not expect to see much change over the next six months either.
What am I talking about?
Sellers are not selling.
Buyers are waiting for the “great interest rate reductions.”
And investors are parking their money on the sidelines with great expectations that the market will shift in their favor next year.
Here are some interesting real estate facts from 2023:
California Home Seller Statistics 2023
The typical home seller was 60 years old, unchanged from last year.
For all sellers, the most cited reason for selling their home was the desire to move closer to friends and family (23%), because the home is too small (13%), or a change in the family situation such as marriage, divorce, or a new child (10%).
Sellers typically lived in their home for 10 years before selling.
39% of sellers traded up to a larger home and 33% purchased a smaller home.
89% of home sellers worked with a real estate agent to sell their home, 7% sold via FSBO (For Sale by Owner), and less than 1% sold via iBuyer.
For recently sold homes, the final sales price was a median of 100% of the final listing price, keeping last year’s highest recorded since 2002. (i.e., prices are stable).
Recently sold homes were on the market for a median of two weeks, unchanged from last year.
Housing inventory (units for sale) experienced a significant -24.3% decrease year over year.
Locally, there is a huge demand for homes to buy right now and very little housing inventory available. In my recent experience, there are plenty of buyers who want and need to move this year. If you are a fan of supply and demand like I am, this is a golden opportunity for home sellers to consider taking advantage of this market right now.
Just like any other professional adviser, it is important to make the right decision for your family’s future.
My point is that in continuing my education, in learning from other, more experienced agents or Realtors from different parts of the country, I can provide better information and relevance to my neighbors and clients.
To all my readers, my hope is that you come along for the ride this year in real estate discussions, and I can share more information for you and your family – as we all enjoy what may be an interesting roller coaster in real estate!
