You might ask yourself, “Why does Lindsey from time to time send out a real estate snapshot showing a list of on the market and sold properties in my neighborhood? I’m not going to sell my house any time soon.” Why, it’s elementary! I want to make sure you are as educated as possible on the market- and not using 9News to arrive at your conclusions.
Housing averages, which generally irk me, do not tell the real story and are not predictive. It is more useful to study individual houses or neighborhoods over time, which can give you a much more reliable and granular picture of your local housing market. As Alan N. Weiss, co-founder of the Case-Shiller Weiss housing market index and an expert on everything real estate data says, “Don’t be fooled by averages. You’re buying a house, not the market.” Many housing reports like those produced by NAR (National Association of Realtors, which my dad just quoted to me the other day as his way of “staying current” on what I’m doing) are too general for everyday real estate buying, selling, and investing decisions. In fact, new housing data show some markets are in more trouble than many people believe.
Make sure your real estate consultant starts from a zip code and then whittles your analysis down to neighborhood and to the very home that’s in question. This is important on both the sell side and the buy side. Even though there’s some crazy offers on the table these days, when buying you should see if the home is worth what you’re offering (think: will this appraise?) and then weigh the options.
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This blog (insert link here) serves as a quick explanation of why I send you quarterly Real Estate Reviews, outlining recent activity in your neighborhood. It’s always interesting to see what’s going on around you regardless of the fact that you may be staying put. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or you’re curious about another neighborhood!
