I had a customer that wanted to sell their home.  Before I go to any listing appointment or even speak to someone about selling their home, I do my homework.  I want a non-biased opinion on what I think their home is worth.  I do my numbers according to what has “recently” sold and what is going on in the market.  Let me show you what I mean…

This is from today, November 9, 2015 and goes back 7 days.  As you can see we have 746 NEW listings in 7 days.  Out of that, only 419 SOLD.  There were more price DECREASES than there were SOLD properties and very few price INCREASES.  The good news is there are 436 PENDING properties and 249 ACTIVE WITH CONTRACT.  The difference in pending means all of the contingencies have been met and we are waiting to close.  Active with a contract means we have a contract, however, we still have to do all of the inspections and get to bank approval on financing to meet all of the contingencies.  The bad news is 165 homes went back on the market this week.  That means they did not meet their contingencies or that they buyer simply changed their mind.  And this week 113 properties were WITHDRAWN and 41 are TEMPORARILY OF THE MARKET.  Usually temporarily of market properties are because of home improvements, rentals or you have company in town.  Withdrawn means it has been taken of the market.

My suggestion, when you are thinking about selling your home, look for homes in your neighborhood that have recently sold.  Every neighborhood has that one house that sold for too much money so don’t bank on that.  Figure out the average and then talk to a Realtor.

As a listing agent, I always ask my sellers if they would like to preview a few houses in their neighborhood.  This would be very wise to do because you need to know about your competition and everyone always thinks they have the prettiest baby.    I think this picture is pretty accurate when it comes to yourself.  You lender has the most realistic picture of your home but so does your agent.  Remember, we don’t get paid until your house gets sold and in most cases, we put money out of our pocket to get is sold for you.

So, if you want to get your home sold, talk to your Realtor and then schedule a preview of your neighbors.  It really pays in the long run.