An informed agent is a successful agent - Here's all the April real estate news you need to know and may have missed. There's been a lot going on in the industry lately, so follow along as we break it all down for you.
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Sure, you may have heard snippets of this April real estate news, but we doubt it — you’re busy. So, read on to learn what the media says is happening in your industry.
If you do, you’ll probably agree with me that it is almost always negative. It’s as if they look for the negative tidbits and play them up, in stereophonic sound and in living color.
This week their kvetch is that “There’s still a huge supply problem in the housing market.”
Really? It’s early spring… the market is barely underway, and these fools are going about scaring off consumers.
Yet, the sites that devote themselves only to real estate claim that “Real estate agents say housing market is favoring buyers”(HousingWire.com.)
The RealDeal.com says that “US home sales drop as inventory grows in February: report”
“DFW House Prices Dropping & Inventory Rising,” according to KLUV.Radio.com.
I found more than a dozen similar articles about rising inventories in a cursory Google search.
Does CNBC get a kickback for depleted interest in the housing market because I swear they are over-the-top Debbie Downers.
The reality is that agents across the country are reporting that the market is “correcting.”
Inventories are rising (slower in some regions than others)
and it’s beginning to look a lot like a buyers’ market (which we forecasted months ago).
I feel for you agents who have to deal with the ramifications of uninformed media reports. These people have a much bigger megaphone than you do.
My suggestion is to combat them with your social media posts, your newsletters and direct mail pieces. And, don’t you dare use any variation of “Now’s a great time to sell!
Let them know that only those who deal in real estate every day
know what is really happening.
Nobody knows the truth about the housing market more than the boots on the ground—the real estate agent. So spread your first-hand knowledge.
All that jolly news for homebuyers doesn’t extend to some entry-level buyers hoping to get an FHA-backed loan. Even some loans in the pipeline since March 18 may be kicked to manual underwriting or out of the market completely.
In all, FHA’s tightening of standards may affect “40,000 to 50,000 potential borrowers,” according to Ben Eisen of the Wall Street Journal.
HousingWire.com’s
Jessica Guerin reports that the changes come as a result of tumbling credit scores (an average 670 for FHA applicants last year) and DTI ratios above 50 percent.
“Housing market cools down as homebuilding takes a dive” claims HousingWire.com.
Yet, over at TheRealDeal.com you will learn that “Home-builder shares are bouncing back thanks to lower mortgage rates.”
Wow. I can’t even wrap my head around the difference here. If you work in new home sales you may be able to reconcile this dichotomy. If so, please share.
That there is a marketing opportunity staring you in the face. I mean, IF you need real estate leads.
But, be aware that this information comes from a “reporter at
Business Insider.” Her real estate and housing market credentials are unknown.
She bases her conclusion on “Falling construction activity and housing shortages across the country.”
I think we’ve already concluded that housing shortages are a media construct. We know that’s not necessarily the case.
But the doom and gloom may just be doing you a solid on this one by steering tenants to home ownership.
The rest is up to you. Target tenants in condo and apartment communities. Then, laser focus your direct mail campaign to absentee owners. Get tips here.
I used to be one. So, I have a present for you. Actually, it’s not MY present, but Clever Real Estate’s. And, bless them for doing surveys that the rest of us can learn from.
Did you have any idea that almost half of homeowners don’t know that they pay the buyers’ agent commissions? They think the buyer pays it.
And, no, this isn’t some study from 20 years ago, but one that was conducted in February of this year.
I don’t even know where to begin to offer suggestions on how to combat that one.
Going after Millennials? There’s only a 7 percent chance they
will work with an agent.
Did you read that?
“They’re also 2x as likely to say a real estate agent was unimportant or not important at all to the home selling process,” according to
Thomas O’Shaughnessy at ListWithClever.com.
Be prepared for a massive influx of FSBOs as current Millennial homeowners sell their homes if that one holds true.
The most important nugget from this study for listing agents, in my opinion, is that “65% of respondents said they’re willing to wait longer for a better price versus 35% of respondents who said their number one goal was to sell as quickly as possible.”
Read that again
Consumers seem to have an inherently better handle on the market than we do. So, take a cue from this April real estate news and push price over time.
And beat all those investors who are vying for listings by assuming that a homeowner’s number one hot button is a quick sale.
Real estate news isn’t something you can control. It seems as if everyone has an agenda.
The best you can do is be earnest, sharing the truth as you know it. After all, YOU are the expert.
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