I've been talking quite a bit over the past week or so to a NY Times reporter about the Boston real estate market......he's trying to figure out the market and what could characterize the midrange market.
What I told him in an email:
I will say that David is really looking for a great deal and has the time to do so where some other buyers may be in a little more of a rush. Inventory is low, there is not a whole lot of selection in that price range and buyers that need to get a new home have to choose one of them. That creates a very interesting market dynamic - for that mid-level price range, it’s not really a “buyer’s market” and not really a “seller’s market”, but I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a “balanced market” either. There are properties in the market with sellers who have a need to sell and there are buyers with a need to buy, but there are also buyers and sellers just trying to wait out a good deal on either side. Where interests meet, deals happen. Where they don’t, properties sit on the market. Even though prices have been fairly flat, the number of transactions is down because there are simply not as many buyers and sellers in the that segment of the market currently with a real need or ability to buy or sell. Whether that is due to stricter financing, or a lack of confidence in the economy, or fewer tax credit incentives for buyers in this income bracket, or fewer distressed “bargains homes” for sale, I don’t know - probably a combination of all of that and more really.
What I am saying is that it is possible to sell you home. It is not a total buyers market. But if you're a moron you can easily turn your home into one that is prime for the taking by a bottom feeding buyer (after about a year of market time and additional mortgage payments of course).
So how to avoid being a moron and conquer the market:
1. APPEARANCES MATTER. Take a few hours to CLEAN YOUR PLACE UP.
2. FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER. Remove your junk. Make minor repairs. Stage for sale. It is no longer "your home", it has to become somebody else's home.
3. PRICE MATTERS. Overprice and pray or price consistent with the market and sell. We stillhave a fairly robust market in Boston - unless you are simply out of your mind about price. Like this seller:
$791 per sq ft in the South End without parking. I don't care how "nice" the finishes are. 420+ days on market and counting. Have fun.
LOOK UP 82 MONTGOMERY STREET FOR THIS ALSO
4. PRODUCT MATTERS. If your condo needs work, price accordingly. If it's in a basement, price accordingly. If it's a rental unit that hasn't had a nickel of upgrades, price accordingly. Be realistic with what you've got to sell.
5. MARKETING MATTERS. Get yourself a good broker. Minimum criteria: more than 2 photos (preferably professional), virtual tour, and floorplan. 3 simple ways to increase listing views online by over 79%??/
6. THE MARKET MATTERS. Guess what? Your home is not the only one on the market. Compete or deal with the slow lingering emotionally wrentching process that 6, 9, 12, 15 month's trying to sell will bring.
