Then frustration sets in. Not enough showings and they begin wondering why. Here is what I am discovering and passing on to my Sellers.

Today, as I do every day, I got on my computer, logged onto our local MLS (San Antonio Board) and took a look at what new had come on in our market area (Comfort, Waring, Welfare, Boerne, Fair Oaks Ranch, Bergheim – basically the I-10 corridor of the Texas Hill Country). One number that I like to look at as a comparison of what is going on in the market is: the number of new listings vs. the number of solds.  Today, I pulled up the last 30 days figure and they were:

176 New Listings & 62 Solds.  That number reveals that for every 3 new listings that comes on the market, there is only one sale that has been removed.

Although the market has been gradually improving, those numbers need to be much closer together.  I’d like to see that number nearer to 1 meaning that one on, one off.

Because there are so  many houses on the market, Sellers need to be sure that they aren’t shooting themselves in the foot by not taking into account these three things:

#1 Price. How does your current list price compare to historical prices? In our local area, as of this writing (11/11), if you are not pretty close to 2007-8 prices, your house is just not going to get looked at very much. Why?  Foreclosures and short sales are pushing market prices back to that level. What you need to realistically be looking at is: How many foreclosures and shorts sales are there at your price point and how does your house compare to those houses. If there are even 2 or 3 foreclosures and/or short sales at your price point and you are priced way above them, the number of showings on your house is going to be minimal. Key point: Make sure your price is in line with what is on the market (including foreclosures and short sales).

What we tell our sellers is that the best time to sell your home is in the first month. If it is priced right to begin with, you’ll get showings and therefore buyers! Not every one of our Sellers listens to us on that point. Regardless, it is never too late to get your price in line with the market. Be encouraged!  We have had many sellers start out with prices too high and ultimately come down to the price we suggest and then get a sale!

#2 Repair Issues. Do you have significant repairs required? Another interesting figure is the number of price changes:  Today, for that same period, there were 160.  Because there are so many price changes, when asked, we are telling people that price changes need to be in the $10,000-$20,000 range to really make an impact. Sellers are reducing their prices right and left by those numbers.

For many Sellers, that $10-$20K really could (and, in my opinion, should) be used to remedy problems instead. These are some basic suggestions: If your well is out, don’t decrease the price, fix it!  If the carpet is old and worn, fix that!  Listen to what your showing feedback is saying. If people are pointing out that your decks are in disrepair, consider repairing them. What you want is buyers to walk  in your house and NOT see problems.

Rule of thumb is that for every dollar that is required for repair issues, a buyers is going to double and sometimes triple that number when mentally calculating how much your house is worth.  Keep in mind, also, that THAT number usually gets deducted from the current list price (even when there have been prior price reductions).  And that is only for those who are willing to look past the repair issues. Most people don’t like to mess with repairs.  If there are other houses on the market that don’t require repairs, buyers will choose the ones without required repairs!  Key point: You may want to repair instead of reduce!

#3 Cleanliness.  Is your house spic n span during every showing? Related to #2 above, cleanliness is truly next to godliness when it comes to showings on your home!  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, make sure your house is white glove clean!  That means counters, windows, baseboards, fans, light fixtures, floors, etc.  Also, make sure it smells good and there is as much light shining in as possible (that means blinds open and windows clean)!  People need to be able to envision themselves in your house. For many people, if they walk in a house and it feels dirty or smelly or if it is dark feeling, they’ll walk right back out and say, “This one just doesn’t feel right!” Key Point: Clean your house EVERY DAY. Open the shades. Light a candle.

It is my desire as a listing agent to keep my sellers “in the loop” as to what is going on in the market and to coach them on what to think about to get more showings. Truly, there’s a buyer out there for every property. Sellers, you just have to do “your part” which create the conditions so that buyers discover just how wonderful your house is.

Remember, we all have a mutual goal … to get your house SOLD!  We, at Hill Country Home & Ranch Team, truly believe that it is a “team” effort.  If you are a buyer or seller, we’d love to help you as well. Hopefully, this primer has given a little food for thought.

Residential Real Estate Sales for the first 4 months of 2011 improved slightly over last year. 84 Sales vs. 81 last year. Also showing improvement was average sales price which increased from $314,055 to $319,152.

2007 was the height of the market.  The market is currently down about 40% from that point.  Sales are taking more than twice the time to sell and are selling at a deeper discount from original list price than that time period.

Thankfully, the sales curve is finally on an upswing. We have noticed that the number of distressed properties are decreasing. Inventory, however, is increasing daily.

It will be interesting to see how this year plays out … whether sales will grow stronger and eat up the inventory or whether inventory will not be absorbed and a “glut” by year end will create more distress situations.  We remain optimistic … but are ever watching the market to stay abreast of the situation.  For all of your real estate needs, give us a call.

Sales in Kerr County are finally on their way back up. The total real estate market is only at 52% of the market height in 2007 but is up 11% from last year. The average sales price increased slightly from $181,742 to $183,095.

It is our feeling that the market has not recovered as much as in adjoining Kendall County because there have been fewer “deeply discounted” properties. With so much on the market, buyers are looking for “deals.” If a property doesn’t “shine” next to its competition and truly feel like a “deal,” savvy buyers will pass for the next more appealing property. The moral: Property pricing is more important than ever!

Regardless, we are encouraged by the turn in the trend. We’d love to talk with you about YOUR real estate needs. Give us a call at 830-995-2511.

There were 18 sales with an average price of $288,579 as compared with 20 sales the previous year, 18 in 2008 and 25 in the peak year of 2007. Basically, 2008-2010 have been very slow years in the Comfort area. 2007 was the peak year and is the bench mark that most people look at in determining how much the market has fallen due to the economic slowdown/mortgage crisis, etc.

Source: San Antonio MLS

Two interesting figure in terms of determining what the market actually is doing are:

OLP:SP which is the original list price as compared with the ultimate sales price. In 2010, that figure was 88.9%.  In 2007 (the peak year), the figure was 93.8%. That signifies that market prices (which have gone down already since 2007) are continuing to fall.

DOM is the average number of days it took to sell a property. Average DOM in 2010 was 165 days. In 2007, it was 98 days. Obviously, the longer it takes to sell a property, the worse it is for sellers … not only in terms of frustration but lost opportunity costs (e.g., more months of interest, taxes, etc.).

For a lot of us in the real estate market, the market has been extremely frustrating (albeit not profitable).  I hate to be the bearer of bad news … but as the saying goes … it is what it is!  Things just aren’t moving like we would like them to!  I guess the lesson is that we just need to be smarter about what we are doing. Face reality, accept it and make choices in line with what actually is going on.

I read the following statement recently:

Reality does not adapt to you …. you must adapt to reality.

In my opinion, that does not mean that we “take everything laying down” (as the saying goes).  It means that we must actively adjust to reality. For us at Hill Country Home & Ranch Team, we do that IN FAITH … believing that God will lead us in wisdom as to HOW to adjust.

Many in the real estate business are “closing shop.” Others (such as ourselves) are having to do MORE than just real estate. We continue to do as we have been doing (e.g., we aren’t changing anything that we have been offering) but we are adding some additional side businesses to our “mix.”

What kind of “Adjustment” is going to be required of sellers in this market?  Adjusting means accepting that:

• The expected days on market (DOM), the time it will take for your property to sell, is going to be longer than originally expected AND
• Your ultimate sales price is likely going to have to be adjusted lower than originally expected.

Obviously, our desire is that our sellers get the highest price that is possible and we all hope for a very quick sale (believe me – we really desire that), but our way at Hill Country Home & Ranch Team is to face reality, be prepared for the worste case scenario (or at least think it through thoroughly), and hope for the best!

For other sellers, refinancing to a lower interest rate might be another adjustment to consider.  Also, considering renting while the market recovers.  Regardless, we are there to walk WITH you through the process.

Whatever your need is, let Buddy or I know. 830-995-2511

Of the 339 Active Listings, 28 new were added, and 23 were price changes.  What we like to see is a decreasing inventory. Not by much! 7 went “pending” and 7 were sold.

Of the Pendings, 1 is a “fixer upper” in Boerne under $100,000 (e.g., those don’t come around too often), 1 is a “fire sale” (and I mean fire sale!), 1 is a foreclosure, 3 were in River Mountain Ranch (”seems it’s the hot place to be”), and 1 was a 47 acre tract off Upper Sisterdale Road.

Of the Sold’s, 1 was a foreclosure (e.g., priced low), 3 were sold more than 15% off the list price, 1 for 12% of the list price, and the other 2 were what I would consider “normal” sales (e.g., less than 10% off the list price).

Synopsis:  Distressed properties still are impacting the market!

What’s a seller to do?  Reduce or Hold (if you can)! It’s just going to be more difficult to “move” your property.

When will things change?  As the distressed property inventory gets absorbed, the general market will begin to  improve.  We’d like to see a higher percentage of sales/inventory.  Hopefully we’ll begin to see that trend as we progress into the year.

Difficult times for some. Opportunities for others.  We are here to serve you … whatever your situation.  Give us a call. 830-995-2511

September sales were just about even from last year providing some hope that sales decreases may have begun to “bottom out.”

There are SOOO many properties on the market right now providing year end opportunities for investors with cash and home buyers “READY” to move.  We’d love to help you find what YOU are looking for. Give us a call at 830-995-2511.

On the other hand, residential sales are down so far this year. As I quickly look through the residential sales so far in 2010 (14 so far compared to 16 last year during the same time period), I am reminded that many of them were at deep discounts from original list price. The average list price to sales price ratio was 88.4%

As for the outlook for THE ENTIRE HILL COUNTRY for the balance of the year, here are some things to consider:

Tax rates are set to increase next year. Current land owners: This year may be an opportune time to realize gains on real estate at lower tax rates.

There is currently a “glut” of residential properties on the market.  Since there is so much competition, homes that are “average” just aren’t selling.  Prices are being reduced time and time again in order to get market attention. As such, we believe that by end of year there will be some great “buys” on homes that need a little TLC.

We’d love to serve you whatever your real estate needs are.  We work from Leon Springs to Mountain Home, Bandera to Johnson City.  Give us a call!

For the 6 months just ended, here is the data as compared with the preceding two years:

Our experience has shown us that the more rural areas have been slower to recover than in town.  This year is showing promise for Center Point … but we’ll have to wait and see.  There are a lot of properties that have been on the market for quite some time. A lot of what IS selling is that which has been deeply discounted.

We watch the market daily for our clients so if you would like assistance locating the “deals” that are out there, please give us a call at 830-995-2511.

The average home price in 2008 was $220,921; in 2009, it was $223,123, and in 2010, it was $199,996.  Those figures, in our opinion, represent what we have been seeing happen.  In 2008, sales were still strong and prices were at their height.  In 2009, sales were off, but prices were not coming down like one would expect.  During 2010, prices are definitely lower.  We have been telling our clients that prices are down by about 10%.  These figures substantiate that information.

We feel like it is a really good time to buy.  Prices are down and interest rates are still low.  If you have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the right time, now is the time to jump in!  Give us a call. We’d love to help you find what YOU are looking for.

Not surprisingly, real estates sales were down in the Kerrville area during 2009. There were 442 sales in 2009 totalling $80.013 Million as compared with 512 totalling $99.687 Million in 2008.  Average days on market increased from 174 days in 2008 to 188 in 2009 and Average List/Sold Price declined from 94.33% in 2008 to 92.33% in 2009.  Overall, the market was down 20% for the year … No surprise given the economic slowdown last year.