Here are some of the most important things a seller can remember in this market.

If you want to maximize your home sale in this seller’s market, here are the five tips you must remember:

1. Create a buzz about your home. You want your home to hit the market with a bang and get into escrow quickly, and you’ll need professional photography to do so. Keep timing in mind, too; the best time to list your home is Thursday afternoon or Friday morning because then it’ll be front and center in the feed of every buyer who’s gearing up for a weekend full of home tours. Since there will be tons of tours of your home scheduled that first weekend, it may be best to go out of town or stay at a friend’s house. Typically, the best offers come in early, and you want to do whatever you can to allow for as many showings as possible. 

2. Price it right. Being in a seller’s market doesn’t mean you can choose any price you want. Today’s savvy buyers will see right through your greed if you price too high. Work with your agent to price your home appropriately so that it sparks a lot of interest and stands a better chance of generating multiple offers. 

3. Review all offers. If you’re lucky enough to receive multiple offers, it may be tempting to simply select the highest one. While that may ultimately be the best choice for you, have your agent run a net sheet on it. Also, consider the other terms of the offer. Is the buyer getting financing, and if so, do they have pre-approval? Or, if they’re paying cash, do they have proof of funds to demonstrate their ability to purchase the home? Check out the closing date on the offer—does it really work best for you? Use some of your leverage as a seller in this market to renegotiate that date if need be, or negotiate a rent-back so you have more time to find your next home. 

“Being in a seller’s market doesn’t mean you can choose any price you want.”

4. Be careful when calling for the highest and best offers. Asking buyers to submit their highest and best offer after receiving multiple initial offers is basically asking them to compete amongst themselves. Some savvy buyers aren’t interested in participating in such an ordeal. Just make sure you understand that asking this does carry the risk of turning some folks away. One of the tools we have available is something called a Seller Multiple Counter Offer Form, and you can use it to counter each offer individually based on the specific terms you’d like to adjust.

5. Act quickly. When responding to offers, have a sense of urgency—especially if you’re in a multiple-offer situation. It can be a frantic time for buyers, and sometimes they bid on several properties; if you take too long to respond, you may discover that some of your potential buyers have already moved on and are in escrow on another deal. So, be respectful of buyers’ time because it could impact your bottom line. 

I hope you found these tips beneficial, and if you’re lucky enough to be a seller right now, we’d love to help you. We’ve handled many multiple-offer situations from both the buying and selling side of things, and we can coach you through the process. Don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email, even if you simply have some questions about this or any other real estate topic!

Here’s how we’re helping frustrated buyers win in this market.

We’re in a very competitive seller’s market in the Coachella Valley and the Greater Palm Springs Area. As a result, a lot of our buyers are very frustrated with being able to find the right home or getting their offer accepted when they do. We’re finding ourselves in a lot more multiple-offer situations these days and our buyers want to know, “How can I make my offer stand out?”

One strategy we’re having success with is abbreviating some contingency periods, specifically the loan, due diligence, and appraisal contingency periods. Some of our buyers have removed one or more of these contingencies upfront and allowed for the due diligence period to complete those items. 

“A lot of buyers out there are frustrated.”

In California, the due diligence period is typically 17 days and allows buyers to back out for any reason during that time. We’re suggesting that our buyers remove the appraisal and loan contingencies, making sure their lender can get an appraisal done quickly during that due diligence period.

If you have any other questions about buying a home, we’re happy to talk and strategize about how to get your offer accepted. We’ve had a lot of success over the last few months and are here to answer your questions at any time. We look forward to hearing from you.

Our Palm Springs market is hot; here’s what you need to know.

What’s happening in the market? Well, homes are very affordable thanks to crazy low interest rates. The only time the affordability index was higher was back when distressed properties dominated the market amid the housing crisis. Right now, prices are increasing; six leading authorities on the housing market produced surveys, and only one predicted a depreciation of home values—a modest dip of 0.32%. That same entity then predicted values to rise steadily in 2021 and 2022, so it seems things are headed in the right direction. 

Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to skip to topics that interest you most: 

0:52 — Are we headed for a V-shaped recovery? 

1:40 — Record housing affordability and other buyer motivations 

3:45 — Pending sales and new listings nationally and regionally 

5:22 — Average price per square foot is on the rise and the sustainability of appreciation 

6:40 — Homes are flying off the market, and well-priced homes are seeing multiple offers

With all of the market factors combined, it’s a surprisingly great time to make a move in real estate. As always, if you have a question about the value of your home or are interested in buying in this market, we’d be happy to help you out. Reach out to us with a call, email, or text.

With graphs and quotes, I’m showing how our current market is doing.

What is the pulse of our local real estate market during the pandemic? I’m sharing some national news and local data to show how our market is doing amid the health crisis. History suggests that the housing market will likely fare better through this time than the overall economy. We don’t know exactly how this will all play out, but homebuyers are beginning to come back to the market after demand declined this past month due to the coronavirus. This uptick in activity is reassuring. To learn more about our current market, watch our latest video above.

Yes, the news is grim, but the first step toward operating in a place of calm is to gather perspective and facts. Today I’m offering both.

I’ve been doing some research to better understand how a recession will affect real estate. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, a recession is defined as a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. 

COVID-19 hit the pause button on our American economy in the middle of March. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley are all predicting a deep dive in the economy in the second quarter of this year. While today we may not be in a recession by the technical definition of the word, most people believe that history will show we were in one from April to June 2020. Does that mean we’re headed for a housing crash like what we saw in 2007 through 2009? 

History shows that most recessions do not negatively impact home values, with two recent exceptions: the Gulf War recession of ‘90 to ‘91, and the Great Recession of ‘07 to ‘09. No other recessions have impacted the U.S. housing market. What are economic leaders saying about this downturn? 

Robert Dietz, chief economist with the National Association of Homebuilders stated, “The housing sector enters this recession underbuilt rather than overbuilt. That means as the economy rebounds, which it will at some stage, housing is set to help lead the way out.” 

“Most people believe that history will show we were in a recession from April 2020 to June 2020.”

Ali Wolf, chief economist with Meyers Research stated, “Last time, housing led the recession; this time, it’s poised to bring us out. This is the Great Recession for leisure, hospitality, trade, and transportation, in that this recession will feel as bad as the Great Recession did for housing.” 

Lastly, John Burns, of John Burns Consulting states, “Historical analysis showed us that pandemics are usually V-shaped (sharp recessions that recover quickly enough to provide little damage to home prices), and some very cutting-edge search engine analysis by our information management team showed the current slowdown is playing out similarly thus far.” 

Here’s the bottom line: We’re not in a recession yet, but we’re about to be in one. The difference is, this time, real estate will be the sector that leads the recovery.

I hope that you and your family are staying healthy as we all continue to respect our statewide shelter-in-place order. If you find yourself in a place of fear, please remember: This too shall pass. We’ll get through this together. 

If we can assist you in any way and help you to have a firmer grasp on what’s happening in the real estate market, please feel free to reach out to us by phone or email. We’re always here for you.

Although we’re continuing to help buyers and sellers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, we’re also helping people in our community outside of real estate. Here’s a quick update on what we’ve been doing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupting our daily lives for a few weeks now. Some businesses, such as restaurants, theatres, and bars, are struggling. Others, like grocery stores and food delivery apps, are thriving. Here’s what’s going on from a local real estate perspective.

California is currently under a shelter-in-place order. All non essential businesses have been closed. Originally, this included real estate sales, but this past weekend, we have been reclassified as an essential business. Even still, this is anything but business as usual.

All Realtors doing business in today’s market must now take into account the health and safety of their clients and fellow Realtors. If the proper health and safety protocols are not followed, we run the risk of getting shut down once more.

Although open houses are not allowed right now, there are some activities that are. They include virtual showings, one-on-one showings in person, property inspections, and appraisals. They can all be done as long as the health and safety protocols from the CDC are being observed.

“We’re continuing to develop new tools that will help us navigate things safer and healthier.”

While the coronavirus has had a direct effect in the form of a slowdown in activity in the Coachella Valley, there have been over 200 new listings put on the market in the last week. During the same timeframe, 50 properties have gone under contract and 200 home sales have closed.

If you’re wondering what your next steps are as a buyer or seller, here’s what you should do.

First of all, safeguard your health and the health of your family. If you need to hit the pause button on your transaction, that’s fine. However, there are plenty of people who still need to buy and sell right now for various reasons. For these clients, we can coordinate virtual showings, one-on-one showings, and more. We’re continuing to develop new tools that will help us navigate the business in a safe and healthy way.

We’re available to you as a resource outside of real estate as well. If you need someone to pick up a prescription or groceries, we want to help. We’re here for you. Just give us a call or send us an email if you need anything. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy.

Overpricing is one of the worst mistakes you can make as a home seller. Here are three ways to tell that your price needs to come down.

If you’re selling your home, you need to understand that pricing properly from the very start is critical. The most common reason that homes don’t sell is because they are overpriced. Overpricing can cause damaging effects. If you overprice from the beginning, you’ll end up with less money in your pocket when you do sell. 

If you do make the mistake of overpricing your home, it’s important to make adjustments quickly. How do you know it’s overpriced, though? Here are three telltale signs:

1. Very few or no showings. Excitement is a very common emotion for sellers. They are generally very happy that their home is on the market and being advertised everywhere. However, what happens when weeks have gone by and you’ve had little or no showings? The excitement turns to concern and frustration. If this sounds familiar, your home is likely overpriced. In a low inventory environment like the one we have in the Greater Palm Springs area, it would be advisable to adjust the price in hopes of generating more activity.

“If a home fails to sell in this market, it’s not due to a lack of buyers.”

2. You’ve only received lowball offers. Most overpriced homes don’t receive any offers at all. If your home is overpriced and still receives a few offers, you should feel fortunate, even if they are lowball offers. However, if a home is overpriced and all the offers it is receiving are much less than the asking price, are they really ‘lowball’ offers? If you’ve received multiple lowball offers, it’s time to reconsider your initial price and lower it.

3. Your home has expired on the market. This is the most obvious way to know your home is overpriced. If a home doesn’t sell in six months, it’s not due to lack of buyers, it’s due to incorrect pricing. Look in the mirror and realize that your home was overpriced and adjust accordingly when you relist. 

Every home has a price tag in the market. If a home’s listing price is relatively close to that price tag, it will sell and not expire. If you have any questions for me about pricing or real estate in general, feel free to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here is where our Palm Springs market stands as we make our way into 2020, according to the latest statistics.

Our local real estate market is very strong right now, and I have the latest statistics from the Desert Housing Report to prove it. If you follow along in the video above, I’ve provided four slides from this report.

0:26: “The blue line, called months of sales (right scale), is the ratio of inventory divided by the sales rate and technically measures how long it’s been taking to sell the entire inventory at the current sales rate. With inventory lower than a year ago and with higher sales, the current ratio of 3.7 months is lower than the 4.1 months on January 1 of last year. This low of a ratio usually points to higher prices. 

To show you how low this is, in January of 2016 the ratio was 7.3 months. This view is reinforced by another time metric, which is the median number of days it’s been taking to sell a home. As the chart shows, this number is now 50 days, which is the lowest number in the last five years.”

“This continuing low-inventory environment indicates that it’s a great time to sell your Palm Springs area home.”

1:22: “We calculate the months of sales ratio in the different price brackets. We take the inventory of homes in each price bracket and divide by the sales rate in that price bracket. The above bar chart plots these results with the blue bars being the current number of months in that price bracket compared to a year ago (orange bars). Except for homes selling in the $900,000 to $1 million price bracket, the monthly sales ratio is lower in all price brackets compared to a year ago. This is especially true in the over $1 million price bracket.” 

2:01: “On January 1, inventory in the Valley for both detached and attached homes stood at 2,998. We indicated this number on the chart. Due to seasonal factors, which are evident on the chart, one should only compare inventory in any month with inventory that same month in other years. We’ve therefore indicated January 1 inventory numbers back to 2015. The long-term trend of Valley inventory is declining, which continues to make the overall housing market a seller’s market.”

2:38: “On a city by city basis, median prices continue to rise for detached homes. Eight of the nine cities in the region had positive gains in 2019, while one city—Indian Wells—was down. Rancho Mirage had the highest year-over-year gain of 11.9%, followed by Cathedral City at 9.9%, Indio at 8.1%, and Palm Desert at 6.0%. Palm Springs is now 11.6% above the all-time high made in 2006. 

The next closest city to its all-time high is Indio, which is currently 7.9% below its high. As the regional attached home index indicates, attached home prices by city are mixed. Four cities have positive gains while four have negative returns for the year.”

Interest rates, on average, are 1% lower than they were at this time last year. This has reinvigorated buyers to get out there and secure a property so they can lock in low rates. This continuing low-inventory environment also indicates that it’s a great time to sell your Palm Springs area home. 

If you have any questions about your home’s value or would like to discuss your unique situation, give me a call or send me a text. My team and I would be happy to answer your questions.

My team and I wish you the best this holiday season.

On behalf of the Will Cook Group, we would like to send the warmest of holiday greetings to you and your family. We’d also like to express our gratitude to our clients, family, and friends who’ve been loyal and supportive of us this past year. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you, and we’re very grateful. We look forward to serving you in 2020 as well. If you have any real estate questions during the holiday season, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year.

With the holiday season upon us, we want to say we’re thankful for you.

The 2019 holiday season has officially begun, and we hope you’re as excited about it as we are. We want to take a moment today to express our gratitude for you this Thanksgiving. We’ve met some incredible people this past year, and we’ve had the honor of assisting many of you in accomplishing your real estate dreams. Without your support, we wouldn’t be where we are today. We hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving with your family and friends. As always, if you have any real estate-related questions, feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to help.