The Real Story …
News and commentary about the real estate market and related topics.
Dave Parrish, ABR ®, CRSA, CSP, GRI, ePRO ®, REALTOR ®, RealtySouth
The opinions expressed here are my own and don’t necessarily represent those of HomeServices South.
Housing Inventory… High but not High Quality
The following is admittedly anecdotal… based on my own observations… and there may be more than one real estate professional who wishes to disagree. That said, I qualify my observations by stating that I literally look at hundreds of homes (active listings) each month. Yes, there are a lot of homes on the market… more than normal… but I contend that the bulk of these homes are of lesser quality… something short of what the normal buyer finds acceptable.
Now some of that lack of quality is readily attributable to the fact that there a large number of foreclosures in the market, but this by itself does not fully account for the lack of quality inventory. Ironically, we are finding that increasingly REO/Foreclosure properties are beginning to be rehabbed by the banks to make them more marketable. It seems that the banks have begun to understand that if you want to sell, you’ve got to offer at least a presentable product.
Most of the home buyers that I work with find major reconstruction / rehabbing to be a total turn off; and, most of those fail to even see the potential in a home that needs very many repairs that are much more than cosmetic. Hey, it seems that most buyers think anything more than painting a room or two is major. You would think that with the popularity of HGTV and other such Home improvement franchises that sellers would get it. If you’re really serious about selling, you’ve really got to get a home in good shape before putting it on the market.
To those sellers who get it… A well maintained, clean and odor free home is the minimum acceptable level for marketing your home… My hat is off to you; you’re starting well ahead of the crowd. The result from anything less will be most disappointing for all!
