Winter Buying and Selling - 6 Tips

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Winter Home Buying and Selling - Six Tips

[00:00:00] Hey, real estate fans. Welcome back to the weekly podcast this week. We're going to talk about six strategies for winter buying and selling. We're specifically addressing the 2023, 2024, but a lot of these could be used, any winter or fall this particular winter. We have a few more buyers than sellers and, the prices have come down, but not a ton. But if you've got people out there looking at houses, they're really serious about getting one, especially this year when they've gone through so many interest rate rate changes.

So because we have a few more buyers and sellers, I want to address them first. Number one, tour houses that are priced a little over what you were looking at, because any seller that's on the market right now is really serious about doing a deal as well. So tour higher prices. Also look for longer days on market, that little DOM thing that you see on the websites, that's days on market. A normal [00:01:00] market is four to six months. So that would be 120 days, 180 days, but we're used to people getting their offers in 30 days.

And John L. Scott Lennox, Scott has done studies showing that the first 30 days is super important. So if you want to tour houses, they're a little over your price range and on the market longer, those are people that might be ready to make a deal. So that's number one.

Number two, buyers make offers that include some goodies like closing costs, home warranties, maybe ask for money to buy down your interest rate because interest rates are just so much higher than what we're used to. Be bold, make some offers. Try to be reasonable. Don't make super lowball offers. We've gotten some really crazy offers in the last 90 days. And then the buyers are upset that they don't either get a response or they get a rejection or they, you know, go work with a different buyer. So try to be reasonable.

Every situation is different. Every seller is different. Every buyer is [00:02:00] different. I want to include, these opportunities to get some goodies like closing costs or buying down your interest rate, getting a home warranty. Something like that, but, but also be within reason. Okay. Cause the goal is to get a house. All right. Get a house. Okay so that's number two.

Number three buyers, this is just in the health category, cold and flu season, carry sanitizer in your car, wear gloves, do something. Don't wipe your nose. Don't touch your face. You're in and out of people's houses. And a lot of us have company during this time. So they'll do showings, they'll leave. You know, you may have had higher number of humans than normal in those dwellings. Sorry to be Aunti Alice, but we want everybody to be healthy through the season. Okay, so those are actually my three for the buyers.

For the sellers this is a great time to really go all out and decorate your house. You still want to leave room for the humans to walk around. But boy, the [00:03:00] properties look amazing, during the holidays. So really, you know, use that opportunity. So that's number one, have some drama when the buyers walk in and, that'll just touch their heart and it'll also help sell the house.

Number two, sellers. Review all the offers seriously. Any buyer that's out walking around in the cold and the rain is serious about buying a house as well. Treat that with respect. We've had some sellers recently who have completely blown off some of the offers they've gotten and got come back and just over negotiated and then And then they're upset when the deal doesn't come together or the buyer goes somewhere else.

We do have a few more buyers right now than sellers, but not that many more. So sellers just take a breath, celebrate that you get an offer and then treat it with respect and treat it with some seriousness. Okay. So that's number two.

Number three, this is just the reverse of what [00:04:00] I said to the buyers, include some perks. It can help sell your home, especially if you put it in the listing. If you already know you're willing to help give some money to buy down the rate or give some money to help them with their closing costs, or give them the washer and dryer or give them the lawnmower or something. Put that in the listing and put it where the general public can read it. Don't just put it where the agents can read it. I don't know if everybody knows there's a little secret place on the listing that the agents can talk to each other, we can write things to each other. But if you put it in the public, I think that that'll help get people more excited and they'll pick your house again.

The market is changing. We do have prices going up in some weeks and then going down and others that's volatility that we've been talking about. But sellers, it's a great time we're still in a housing shortage, and I can't plead enough. Anybody who's thinking of selling their house, even in the next two years you might want to think about doing it now because bada boom you [00:05:00] can be off in the next stage of your life.

So those are my six things to suggest for winter buying and selling this year in particular because of the market dynamics and the weirdness of the world. I think it's a great time to get out there and buy. It's also a great time to sell. And if you're moving up, if you're buying a bigger house, or if you're buying another house at all, whether it's bigger or smaller, the buyers are, they seem to be accommodating that, that time, that stretch for the seller to find another house.

So, sellers, I guess I just throw that in as a bonus tip. That don't be afraid to, to ask the buyer to tell the market that you still need a place to go. Cause if they really love your house, they'll hang in there. All right. So that's, my six tips for winter buying and selling 2023, 2024.

Love for you to give me a call. Give me a text. I want to be your agent. Great listing agent, great buyers agent. Do a lot with a real property [00:06:00] investing, first time home buyers, elders, investors do it all. It's, it's my bag. So give me a call. Give me a text 541-301-7980. We do not have enough houses to sell. So let's fix that. Okay. In the meantime, have a great, great weekend and we'll see you next time.

Bye now.