One Moment in Time
When Whitney Houston sang “One Moment in Time”, she was inspired by the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. But as I listened to it while writing this email, I found so much in the lyrics. First thing I thought was that she was an incredible talent, who died way too young, and then I delved into the words and the repeating theme. That “the answers are all up to me.” Somehow in my crazy realtor mind, I related this to the often-asked question, “How is the market?” From that, I went to Market reports and how useless they are. They report what has happened. I can go the MLS system and punch in criteria and produce marvelous numbers about any market anywhere, but what I cannot do is see the stats for one moment in time. These can only be seen on a given day and they are gone.
So, what I do is every Monday, I run a market analysis for Scottsdale that day. Then I write them on a chart, and over time I can see trends. It is a remarkable practice and often tells me, us (you and me) something important. And that is what this email is about, something important.
You see on June 9th there were 1583 Active Listings or single-family homes for sale in Scottsdale. A fact no longer recoverable had I not written it down. Now on August the 11th, there were 1222 homes for sale in Scottsdale, a drop of 361 homes or 29.54% in only 2 months.
For the same period days on market climbed from 108 to 127, an increase of 17.59%.
How could this be? A decrease in supply should lead to quicker sales not slower. This can only mean that demand is rising as well. Fewer homes chasing fewer buyers.
This means that if you are a buyer, you are a rarer commodity and you should be able to drive an even better bargain. But if you are a seller, you have less competition and should be able to stand firm on your price.
Sounds like a standoff, but knowing this tidbit helps us guide our buyers making an offer and our sellers negotiating an offer. It goes back to “the answers are all up to me.”
I don’t know if this makes any sense to you. But what I am trying to say is that we go the extra mile and we often know what others don’t.
If you are thinking of buying or selling, give us a call. We would love to guide you through the process.
I’m Joseph Callaway and my cell # is 602-796-5751.
