Prepping for Fall

Autumn is here! Officially it starts tomorrow but hey pretty close, right? Those wonderful deciduous trees are just aching to drop a heaping mound of leaves all over your yard, roof, car, and lawn. Although autumn can provide a warm backdrop for you property it is wise to make sure you keep the leaves off the walkways to avoid slipping by you or the people thinking about buying your house.


Autumn is truly magnificent but homeowners need to keep those leaves out of the gutters and off the walkways. Even if you are not selling your home the plugged gutters can lead to damage on the roof, siding, gutters, and even the foundation as the ambulatory nature of water can lead to moisture in places you may not expect.

For home buyers, the fall can be an opportunity to take advantage of sellers that failed to sell in the summer and are ready to look at offers that may be a little less than asking. For sellers bringing a new listing to market, there may be a few less buyers in play but their is generally a lot less listings relative to summertime.

As we approach the holidays, both buyers and sellers tend to be serious about making a deal. Otherwise why would they bother during the hustle and bustle of the holidays?

Local market trends still remain flat. New listings are outpacing new buyers but not at a rate that will quickly turn the market from sellers to buyers favor. In fact I'd say there is still a slight leaning in favor of sellers across most local segments. I like these neutral to near neutral markets. Everyone really has to put their best foot forward on both sides of the transaction and that tends to favor all parties.

Enjoy the very last day of summer and get ready to watch nature's living fireworks. Autumn is on deck.

Leaves are Coming Down! Fall is Here.

OK sellers, the leaves are starting to turn color and some trees are dropping already. Yes my friends it is in fact October and that is what happens this time of year. Sellers need to keep the gutters clear as overflowing gutters are an easy fix yet manage to suck the curb appeal away.

It seems like a simple thing but buyers need to have a positive experience when they pull up and then walk up to the house. Getting a soaking at the hands of a clogged gutter sets a negative tone before they even set foot in the home. We never want a negative tone now do we?

The further we march into the cooler, wetter autumn and ultimately the colder and icy winter the more serious buyers braving the elements are. Buyers need to look past the little stuff, but sometimes they don't. Sellers need to pay attention to details to maximize value and bring the highest offer.

Autumn is a truly magnificent time of year and real estate can be quite robust during this period. although the volume drops a little, buyers are more serious and inventory is a little tighter so it is about equal in as far as supply and demand is concerned.

I mentioned in previous posts that the market is still climbing but the steep price appreciation has moderated substantially. I believe this is a healthy condition.

Interest rates have been very low over the last several weeks even by recent standards but they seem to be yo-yo-ing up and down in the threes. Loan officers have to pay attention so as to lock buyers in on one of those fabulous lows in the cycle. In general this is still a great opportunity for buyers. Although buyers may wax nostalgic for the low prices of 3-5 years ago these low rates are amazing and that will ultimately save buyers tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

Market Update

So the seasonal slowdown has arrived. No need to freak out, the summer is generally the busiest time of year often with a 25% bump in monthly transaction volume between May and September. That is beginning to settle back into a more typical autumn pattern. But it should be noted that inventory although still tight has softened a bit and combined with the seasonal adjustment to demand, things are less hectic for buyers. Make no mistake, the market still favors sellers, but the ten offers in ten hours craziness we had in the spring has subsided and sellers seem to be a little bit more malleable.

According to our local MLS service here in Clark County, we are seeing the median days on market creep up a little, but still fast at just 12 days. Median price is still rising but over this summer the prices have stabilized and the increases have been modest. Median sold value in Clark County is hovering right at $300,000. Stabilized pricing is healthy as the real estate market cannot sustain double digit year over year growth for more than a few years.

This is an excellent time for buyers that failed to find a home over the summer or were not prepared to buy in the last few months to jump in. Supply is slightly up and demand is slightly down and that means the market is still very healthy but also a little more accessible. Sellers that were a tad overpriced in the summer months are ready to make a deal as they usually don't want to be selling during the holidays.

I am looking forward to a strong fall season.

Why Autumn is a good time to buy a house

Today I would like to offer up a good reason that frustrated buyers may find the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel as the fall season approaches.

During the summer months, most real estate markets enjoy a surge in sales activity. Many home buyers are families with children and the idea of moving in between school years is very attractive. It also does not hurt us locally that we have fabulous summer weather with which to enjoy touring homes. In any market the law of supply and demand is ever present. The summer months are yielding more buyers and thus the market experiences buyer pressure. If that sales pressure is not alleviated by increased supply (listings) then prices will nudge or even surge upward. We have seen this effect locally and around the nation this summer.

As our summer comes to a close many buyers have left the market. These buyers may only be out temporarily to get the family adjusted for the new school year or perhaps they feel that next year will be better for them to buy. Of course some of those buyers became purchasers. For the patient buyers this could be a small but significant bonanza. Those buyers that have left the market represent a relief of sales pressure. My experience has been that more buyers tend to leave the market in the fall than sellers. This creates an opportunity to buy that may not have been available in the height of the summer sales madness.

Current Listing in the Felida area of Vancouver $274,900 

Some of the run up in price is caused by multiple offers becoming an auction like frenzy driving up the price. Sometimes its less exciting than that, but houses seemed difficult to find this summer. The autumn tends to soften that just a touch and that could be the edge a buyer needs to get the house they want at a price they can live with.

Buyers should not be discouraged as the cooler days of fall settle in. Rates have settled down a bit and still remain very low by historical standards. The Fed is indicating they will be backing off the support of these low rates as the year closes. This could be the opportunity some buyers have been waiting for to own the home they have always wanted. The window could close in the next few months as interests rise and buyers become panic prone bidders. Call your favorite Realtor® today and happy hunting.