RMLS Market Action Report for September 2010

SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
CORRECTED FROM RMLS (see details below): Comparing September 2010 to September 2009, closed sales decreased by 22.3%. Pending sales and new listings also fell by 30.7% and 1.4%, respectively. See residential highlights table below. A comparison of September 2010 with the previous month, August 2010, shows closed sales increased by 1.3% (1,399 v. 1,381). However, pending sales dropped by 6.2% (1,584 v. 1,688), and new listings fell by 7.3% (3,549 v. 3,829). At the month’s rate of sales, the 14,714 active residential listings would last approximately 10.5 months.

SALE PRICES
The average sale price for September 2010 declined 3.5% compared to September 2009. The median sale price also fell 0.6%. On a month-to-month basis, comparing September 2010 to August 2010, the average sale price went down 6.5% ($279,900 v. $299,300) and the median sale price also dropped 4% ($240,000 v. $250,000).

THIRD QUARTER REPORT
In a comparison of the third quarter of 2010 to the same quarter of 2009, closed sales dropped 24.7% (4,340 v. 5,762) and pending sales also fell 26.5% (4,725 v. 6,428). However, new listings increased by 1.2% (11,582 v. 11,448).

Click here to download the entire RMLS Market Action Report for September 2010

NEED TO SELL?  MAXIMIZE YOUR ODDS... 
So what if you do want to or have to sell? What can you do to increase your chances of selling in a reasonable amount of time and maximize the returns on your investment? Here's our top three recommendations:

1. Price Aggressively From The Outset
Price your home aggressively right from the outset. Gone are the days of starting higher than comps to leave room for negotiations. You've heard this before, but why is it so important now? There are actually four "Buyers" who scrutinize your property's value... The Buyer; The Buyer's Agent; The Appraiser; and, The Lender's Underwriter... and the last two can make or break a transaction.

A vast majority of buyers (upwards of 90 percent) choose to be represented by a real estate agent; relying on them to help navigate the home buying process - which includes an examination of a property's value. How influential of a role does the Buyer's Agent play? Huge, especially in this market. Savvy agents are screening valuations BEFORE presenting candidate properties to their clients, weeding out those homes that are not priced aggressively.

Buyer's agents understand that The Appraiser and The Lender's Underwriter have the final say on what the property is worth in the context of obtaining a mortgage. So, if the property doesn't appraise out, the buyer will likely walk away from the transaction (happening more often these days) or you'll have to take a price adjustment anyway. The risk here is loosing your potential buyer and having your home relisted as a "Back on Market - Sale Failed."

On the flip side of that same equation, an aggressively priced property attracts attention of more agents and better qualified buyers. In an environment where it's more difficult to qualify for a mortgage, you'll want to attract as many qualified prospective buyers as possible.

2. Make a Connection on an Emotional Level
Let's face it. American's are the ultimate, discriminating consumers. Sellers must take a page out of the retail playbook and merchandise their property so its the next home to be sold. What does that entail? It means that you'll need to transform your property from being "explicitly yours" to "implicitly theirs." Depersonalizing, eliminating clutter and odors, neutralizing colors, arranging furniture attractively, creating a sense of space and purpose in each room ... all are important ingredients to help create an emotional connection with those prospective buyers.

3. Grant Easy Access and Unfettered Showings
It really is all about making the entire experience about the consumer. Home buyers are expert shoppers. Rightly or wrongly, those expert shoppers demand access to goods and service on their terms and timelines. If a home is too difficult to show... if a buyer is not given the space and time to connect with their future home... then they (and their agents) will simply go onto the next property and make other choices.

Conclusion
In September 2010, there were only 1,399 buyers who closed escrow in the Portland metro area. That's an astonishing and historically low number. In an environment where Sellers are competing for so few Buyers, its imperative to price aggressively, make that emotional connection and give easy access to each and every buyer.

 

FROM RMLS: "Error in Market Action – Portland Highlights Table We've now fixed an error in the Portland Metro Market Action for September 2010. The Highlight Table on page 1 of the Market Action had incorrect data for September 2009. The data for September 2009 (including Year to Date information) has now been updated with the correct information. If you saved a copy on your own computer, please update the file to assure that you have the correct issue. We apologize for the discrepancy."