Thursday, June 21, 2018

How Well Do YOU Know the Market?

A key to our success in real estate has been to effectively describe what is REALLY happening in the current market conditions, and helping our clients position themselves to get the most equity possible when selling, and if they are buying (especially in a hot market)  to know what value the market is bearing for a property so they don't end up paying too much.

I get the call many times from clients and the people they refer to us is that they saw a property (typically a for sale by owner) that just dropped their price $20,000 and they are calling me to find out if that is a good deal. First of all, if a price drops that much, it was probably WAY over priced in the first place and a big drop like that still might not have them in the current "market value" based on what buyers are currently paying for similar properties.

The experience of selling over 2,500 properties gives me the insight so many agents don't understand. I can actually "SEE" what is really happening in the market and give my seller clients the best advice to get then next buyer that buys. You see, every buyer you miss is a possible buyer, and you may have just helped your competition sell their house. In fact, many sellers are losing their buyer and the opportunity to get the most equity possible when they overprice their property. While they are overpriced, the seller who started out overpriced has dropped their price several times, and is now price correctly... so they steal the next buyer. Now the overpriced seller has to wait for the next buyer. We don't know when that next buyer is coming, AND the buyers are still only going to pay fair market value. If it takes overpriced listings to drop their price to the right price to sell, then there will always be "right priced" properties in the market and the overpriced properties will soon drop the price enough to get a buyer and steal that buyer from the next, new overpriced listing.

One key element to our success and helping our clients get the most equity possible AND make sure they don't underprice their property is to accurately evaluate the market before we put the For Sale sign in the yard. Once we determine what the property will most likely sell for (based on all of the current 'SOLD' activity for similar properties in their area) we position ourselves to be the most competitive property on the market. That, by the way, doesn't mean the cheapest.. and we don't want to be the most expensive either.

Once we determine the best position to HIT THE MARKET and we go live, then we need to watch real time activity to determine if we hit the market at the right spot. I want to share a perfect example of what an experience agent can provide a client to be their real estate specialist and help interpret the market to get the most equity possible.

This is a sample of a market review I just sent to a seller today. We analyzed the market. The market is definitely a hot market at the time I did this review, and I was able to predict that we would probably have about a dozen people through the property in the first week. Even in this HOT market, we have had the most traffic over any of our competition, and as of the day I printed this report, we had not gotten an offer from anyone. Reviewing the market and making strategic moves that make sense is how we get our clients more equity. In this particular case, we now know the seller is not leaving any money on the table. In fact, one price adjustment will most likely result in a sale sign in their front yard.

How well do you know the market? How well does your real estate agent know the market? Do you have friends or family that chose the wrong agent, and really didn't know what was going on?

There is no time that should be wasted "giving this agent a try" and if they haven't truly analyzed the market and they are pulling numbers out of thin air.. it is time to get a real estate professional that can open your understanding of what is really happening in the market and where the best position is to get the most equity. That sometimes means we are getting ten's of thousand's more than we would have thought. It is all about "supply" and "demand".

Take a look at the type of information we provide our clients to understand the market better than most real estate agents.


Every property is different, and market conditions change from area to area, type of home to type of home, and neighborhood to neighborhood. It takes professional experience and advice to determine the best strategy for your property. You should never "take a stab at it" or "see what happens".. you can do that from time to time, however make that decision with smart, accurate information.

Contact Brad Korn before you make any decisions about buying or selling real estate. My experience of 100 sales per year and over 2,500 properties in my career puts me in the top 10% of all agents in the KC area and in the top 15% of all agents in the surrounding 7 state area.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Why Buyers May Lose If They Don’t Act Now
Rising mortgage rates could have a big impact on the direction buyers choose when shopping for real estate, economists warn. “Every time the interest rates go up, you eliminate a group of people who can no longer afford to buy a house,” one mortgage broker told realtor.com®. “Some people may have to rent for a period of time until they make more money—or buy a smaller house.”

Contact Brad Korn, Top Realtor with The Hern Group to find out how to get qualified for your loan and ask how you can give the seller a $5,000 guarantee your offer will close on time. PLUS find out about our FREE Instant Notification Program where we can get you a list of the newest listing even before they hit the big websites. Stop missing out on homes. We sell a home every day and we know how to help you win in this market so you don't miss your window of opportunity.
To avoid further complications in their plans, buyers may want to speed up their home search this spring, as interest rates are forecasted to move higher in the coming months. Forty-four percent of home buyers say rate increases likely will force them to settle for a smaller, less expensive home that requires a longer commute to their jobs, according to a realtor.com® survey. First-time buyers may be most affected by rising costs, as increasing home prices and interest rates price some out of the market.
Mortgage rates are at their highest levels in more than four years. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.46 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac, and that’s largely expected to increase since the Federal Reserve said it is likely to raise its short-term interest rates this year. That could prompt mortgage rates to move higher at least three times this year, starting this month.
For the bulk of buyers, it’s not going to kill their decision to purchase a home, if anything, it will get them off the fence by creating a sense of urgency. Higher rates are “a kick in the pants for you to start thinking seriously [about buying].”
Rate increases—even minor ones—can add up over time. Realtor.com® offers this example: On a $300,000 house with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and 20 percent down payment, the difference between a 4 percent and 5 percent mortgage rate is $142 a month. Calculated over the life of the loan, that is more than an extra $51,000. “Buyers thought they could wait forever because rates were going to stay low forever,” says Palacios. “They’re starting to realize that if they’re going to buy, they should probably buy now.”
Home buyers who are concerned about rising rates may want to lock in with a lender, which guarantees the current rate for a set period of time. Still, don’t let your clients linger on making a decision. It typically costs several hundred dollars to lock in a rate.
shared by Brad Korn, Realtor member from RealtorMag article on 2/22. Source: “Is It Last Call for Low Mortgage Rate? Why Home Buyers Should Act Now,” realtor.com® (March 7, 2018)