2012 was a good year for us – especially now at the end of the year, when the housing recovery seems to be really taking hold.  In 2010 & 2011, the foreclosures and short sales were making life very difficult for sellers.  Mortgage defaults, though, are now down significantly and there are many fewer of those distressed properties on the market, which is having an upward pressure on prices.

Prices, while they are rising, are still low however – partly due to the reality of our appraisal process.  Generally speaking, appraisers look at sales for the last 3-6 months within a mile radius of your home to determine the proper appraised price for your home.  But this “backward” look makes it difficult for prices to rise and keeps a governor on how quickly they can rise.

Sellers, after looking at a market analysis of their home or having an appraisal done, in many cases are deciding that now is NOT the time to sell and so they are holding off putting their home on the market.  The combination of fewer distress properties, low appraisal prices, and reticent sellers has resulted in LOW INVENTORY – there simply aren’t enough homes out there for the number of buyers we have.  We’ve even seen bidding wars in many instances – bidding wars!  In this market!

High quality problems, to be sure.

What this means is that it IS a good time to put your home on the market if you have a good agent who can market your home to buyers AND to the buyer’s lender’s appraiser to get you as much as possible for your home.  If you are thinking you’ll wait until the Spring to list and sell your home, it’s still a great time to meet – we can put together a staging plan that you can implement over the holidays.

The long and short of it is – CALL ME.  Whether listing your home, buying another home, or both; or if you know of anyone who wants to buy or sell.  I’m here to help with all of your real estate needs.