Blue Skies Here | Central Texas

So Kiersty, how's the market???

This is what I'm often asked by my sellers - confused by the messages in the media.  Here's what I have to say: today's seller has to be priced aggressively - which means, looking at the pending sales, the foreclosures in the neighborhood, and the traditional sales.  The days of "let's price it up and hope the right buyer comes" are not here.  Unless you have a *really* unique property.  Let's look at the stats:

In the Austin area for February we saw 1276 sales - this is up 7% over last year.  That said, the average price has dropped 3% from last year.  We are still in a buyers market with 6.2 months of inventory in our MLS. 

When pricing your home - instead of following the age-old "Take the sold stats and add 6% to that to reach your price." (Due to the fact that we traditionally see about 6% year-over-year appreciation).  We are having to look very closely at how the neighborhood is trending.  Some are flat - some are down 20%. 

Other data that came out today showed that continued recovery of the housing market across the nation has not transpired.  That said, Texas continues to fair better than most of the US.  According to Jim Gaines, chief economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M, the upswing we'd hoped for in the first half of the year didn't happen.  This means that prospects major improvements for the US - and Texas - will not likely happen. 

Get it in Writing

In today's rush-rush environment - we are often asked by clients to "negotiate verbally" before anyone will move forward with an offer or counter offer.  While this can certainly get the ball moving, I always remind my clients that until it's in writing - it's not binding.  The below anecdote was just provided in the Texas Association of Realtors newsletter - a good reminder:

A buyer submitted a written offer to purchase my client's home. The parties then engaged in verbal negotiations that resulted in a verbal agreement. While the buyer's broker was preparing the written contract to reflect the changes that the parties had verbally agreed to, the seller received and accepted another offer. I immediately notified the buyer's broker that this had happened. The first buyer is now threatening to sue the seller for breach of contract. Is the oral agreement valid?

No. The agreement must be in writing and signed by all parties to the contract. Since a written contract was not signed by both the seller and the buyer, the statute of frauds will bar enforcement of the first agreement. While verbal negotiations of contracts may be a good and expeditious way to negotiate contracts, oral agreements are not enforceable in contracts for the sale of real estate.