1. Seller market or buyer market?

Does Laveen Az 85339 real estate market favor the buyer or the seller at the current time? Chances are you can read through many article I write, and find out easily who benefits the most. Rule of thumb to know the current real estate market is knowing the current inventory of homes. This does NOT mean you need to go out and do previews of all homes currently on the open market. What the current inventory refers to is the number of months absorption ( turn over) we have in todays market. To know what the current inventory level is you take the current active homes and divide it by the number of homes sold over a period of time. I like looking at this in a monthly format or over a 30 day period of time. For example, if there is currently 150 active homes for sale in Laveen Az and 50 sold in the last 30 days, then we have a 3 month inventory or supply of homes. Below is the math:

150/50= 3 months supply or inventory of homes

What does the current inventory of homes tell us? Well the above example places us at a 3 month inventory which is a transitional market. The rule of thumb is under 3 months is a seller market and over 3 months is a buyer market. If you are at the middle area, you are basically a nuetral market or transitional market. In summary a buyer market benefits the buyer. With over 3 months inventory of homes there is many homes on the market and buyers have more choices of homes to pick/choose to buyer. As such a seller has to compete with more home owners to get their home sold. This can sometimes lead to price reductions, or concessions offered to buyer. On the other end is the seller market which is under 3 months inventory. In this type of market there is a lower level inventory of homes and buyers have less choices. With less choices more buyers are competing for the same homes. This sometimes can lead to multiple offer situations and buyers offering a little above market value or even making offers with little concessions requested if any.

2. What is the current market value of your Laveen Az 85339 home?

Looking to sell a Laveen Az 85339 home or property?  It is very important to know what the current value of your home is if you are looking to place the home on the market for sale. Again, if selling I would highly encourage using a realtor and even more I would recommend you seek to use on of several Laveen realtors who are more konwledgable of the area and will likely know how to really zero in on the most likely sale price. To justify that statement, I would like to just point out that if you don’t know the nuances of an area you will be missing out on several factors that should be considered when pricing a home. While in todays world technology is readily available and information is just a click away, I would make sure to questions the accuracy of automated property valuation models. Many AVM’s (automated valuation models) are based of tax records and in accurate information. One of the most popular valuation companies has disclosed deep on their website that only 60 % of the time are their values within 10% of the sales price! Just to refresh all our memories, a 60% is a “D”, which is below average! The multiple listing service, which is something that we realtors use is on average 2% to 5% from final sales price. So quick question, would you rather use the services of someone that is 40% off the final sales price, or someone that is on average only 2% to 5% from final sales price. Keep in mind, this 2-5% is based on the entire MLS for the metro Phoenix area which is anywhere from 5000 to 8000 deals a month. You start looking at a specialist in real estate for the Laveen area (like me) and you will see that that average is MUCH better.

What would Laveen realtors look for when trying to determine value for you home? I can only speak for myself, but it should be the same for most realtors as well. I try to come up with values in several ways, so that I have at the very least 2 sources of information that are validating a homes value. The most commonly used tool for determining value of a home is the MLS (multiple listing service). What I like to do when using the mls to determine the value of the home is to find 3 properties that are similar to subject home (your home). Ideally the comparable properties will be within the same subdivision, have similar square footage and amenities. Much like an appraiser, I like to bracket my homes within 20% above or below square footage, lot size and again hopefully within same subdivision but if not at least within ½ to 1 mile in distance from subject home. In the end I will get some statistical information I can view and share with a home owner that will give us an idea of the low/median/high prices in the area for homes that are similar. Based on information gathered and reviewing condition of subject home one can see what would be the most likely sales price/value of home.

3. What repairs should be made prior to placing your home on the market?

Wow is that a loaded question, but a very good one. In the end as a realtor my goal is to help my client maximize their investment, and that includes helping home owners determine what if any repairs should be made on their home to help elevate their sale price. Truth is that knowing your homes current market value and knowing the real estate market will also help you determine what if any repairs you should make to the home. Also knowing your own personal goals and reasons for selling the home are important and can help determine the answer to this question. Will the repair be something that enhances the sales price? Will the repair give you more than a dollar for dollar return on the sales price? Will the repair help the home sell faster? The answer changes as the market changes as well. Knowing if the real estate market benefits the buyer or the seller needs to be considered.

I do have a tool I use, that can be used to help determine if particular home improvements will give a home owner added value. This is not an automated system, so it can really only be shared when I meet potential home sellers and we are discussing marketing, pricing and over all sales strategy to maximize home owners sales price. With help of this tool, and of course my knowledge of the local Laveen real estate market we can analyze different projects that should or should not be considered to help with the sale.

The only other advice I can give freely and be fairly confident in sharing is, make the simple repairs that will make home look nicer and help with the marketing and viewing of the home. As an example, if home has a room with less than desirable paint job, it may be a good idea to buy a bucket of paint and do a little work to give it a new look. This is something that can be done by home owner with little expense beyond time and a little paint, but that can make a world of difference in how that room is viewed by potential buyers.

4. What is going on within your area or real estate market?

By this I mean is there any particular thing going on that could affect home values in Laveen? This here is another great reason to choose to use a Laveen realtor and area specialist over out of area realtors, because lack of knowledge of the area can translate to hassles, liabilities and even loss of money on the sales price. For example in the near future Laveen will see the building of a freeway connecting the Laveen area with the I-10 freeway. Is the home close to a dairy, will the air quality or smell affect home values in any way? These are things that home owner can of course help with, but that Laveen realtors will know, and which will also help in determining current and possibly future values.

As you can see, there is a lot to know about Laveen Az 85339 real estate. I do real estate full time and I can say it does take time, effort, dedication to educate oneself and constantly to stay current on the trends that help home owners determine their home values in the area and to make sure an comply with the ever changes rules and regulations within the industry. Lack of knowledge in my industry is one that can in the end cost money! The money at stake is the home owners, and that is one major reason to make sure and choose the right real estate agent.