I’d love to say that I’m perfect. And while my wife will be the first to disabuse me of that notion, I’m also self-aware enough to understand minor errors do occur from time to time:
1) In an effort to make sure something is in the MLS when a listing goes active, I usually insert photos I’ve taken myself. And then I switch them out just as soon as I get the photos from the professionals I hire to shoot my virtual tours. Once in a while, though, the switch doesn’t take place.
2) I advertise my listings on about a dozen different sites. When there’s a price change, one site usually manages to slip through the cracks. And it’s usually a different one every, single time.
3) Typos happen. Which is really annoying for a journalism major, but they happen.
What’s the point of this mea culpa? That even though minor hiccups may take place in the larger marketing effort, none truly are the cause of a home not selling. One of the major advantages of advertising a property in a dozen or so sites is the widespread exposure it may receive. One typo on one site likely isn’t going to sink a deal, though I do work to eradicate these errors as soon as they’re found.
Here’s the real reason why homes are staying on the market longer right now. Take a look at the single-family detached sales in Maricopa County since last July. All of these points represent a 30-day rolling curve - the number of sales in the preceding 30 days. I think the trend is fairly easy to discern:
Now, contrast that trend with inventory over the same time periods (listed inventory for any given date is the number of active single-family detached homes in Maricopa County as listed in ARMLS on that date).
It’s not a matter simply of slower-than-normal sales. It’s not a question only of rising inventories. It’s a matter of both occurring simultaneously, causing properties to remain on the market for far longer than properties over the past few years.
This isn’t to say the Phoenix market is doomed and never will rebound. It will. But selling a home, as I mentioned yesterday, involves a healthy dose of reality. Those waiting for the market to return to their price may be waiting far longer than they expect.
As I’ve said several times over these many months, if you’re not in a position where you absolutely must sell, don’t. Don’t put your home on the market unless you’re prepared to market it aggressively and price it aggressively. Both are necessary to effect a sale.
There always, always, always will be agents who will be willing to plant a sign in someone’s front yard at any price they request. If you’re interviewing agents, ask them about the above information and find out their strategy for overcoming the excess of inventory. Ask them how they will sell a home above market price under current conditions.
Odds are, they won’t have an answer. At least not one that will work.
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Tags: Phoenix Inventory, Phoenix Market, General Real Estate, Tips for Sellers by Jonathan Dalton
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