You have heard of a ‘Sellers’ Market’ and a ‘Buyers’ Market’ in real estate. You have heard of a “Bull Market’ and a ‘Bear Market’ mostly in relationship to the stock market. Of course you understand ‘a warm sunny day’ vs. ‘going into a storm’ on your pending trip across the states.
When you are ready to list your home for sale, and have researched your pricing, prepared your home to be show-worthy, and signed all the paperwork, Market Conditions remain as one more very important aspect of selling. In the weeks or months ahead, are you heading into a storm? Are you saying smooth seas in the sun? Is it possible you will end up in the Doldrums and languish on the market with no winds to sail by?
One of my most valuable services to you is our knowledge and expertise regarding Market Conditions. You might not think of the weather report but you seem to consult it regularly, right? Things change and they can change quickly. What you wear, and what you do next depends on knowing the weather conditions.
The big “crashes” may come every 30 years or so, but the ebb and flow of the marketplace is constant. We have just come through an incredible surge of recovery since the bottom of the market in 2012 (beginning in Portland) and that market of quick sales and multiple offers seems to have now expired. We have gone from a rabid buyers’ market in the crash (getting great deals on foreclosures) to a rabid sellers’ market, and now we are currently settling into a more mellow and balanced marketplace.
With each market the dynamics change and clients need to adjust to the demands, and set their expectations differently. The sooner we adjust, the more successful we will be. The balanced market is the most “fair” market, but both sellers and buyers must do some waiting, some giving, and be negotiable.
And…sometimes there are just no buyers! Until about 2007, there had been a couple decades where ‘country living’ was the rage, antique stores were everywhere, traditional & early American styles/decor were popular, and people were moving to Oregon to buy land. But for the last 10 years, there has been a shift to ‘urban living,’ where now the Pearl District, the Waterfront, condos and high-rises are in demand. Modern styles with simple lines. Rural properties are now difficult to move, and for the most expensive ones, the buyers are few. During this time, Portland’s population has skyrocketed along with their prices.
Market conditions are about all this and more. Conditions change in many ways with every locality. In our rural areas, the first year of “normal” sales after the great recession was in 2015; 3 years after Portland’s recovery. Carlton may be sky-rocketing because of the wine industry, but the neighboring town of Yamhill is quite a different story. Downtown McMinnville is hot and Willamina is selling now, but there is no comparison the volume or the pricing between the two.
Our job is to know the local markets, the trends, the issues, and the challenges so that we price the property appropriately and manage the listing period as well as possible. Another part of our job is helping you with your expectations and responses to market conditions. The most challenging of markets is a changing market, and sometimes the greatest challenge to sellers is the ability to adapt to new conditions, or be patient while thing adjust.
I write a monthly analysis of the market conditions for SW Portland Metro (including Yamhill County), and I would love to email it to you each month.
Just email [email protected] and ask to be added to my email list receiving my monthly Market Action Report. You’ll also receive reports with a lot of great data detailing home sales, inventory, and rate of sales.
