Is Your REALTOR Advising you or are you Advising your REALTOR

Granted you are not obligated to price your home at what the agent suggested but at the very least should your agent not be suggesting a reasonable market value?  I have heard too many times in Brooks, that the opening statement from the agent is “how much do you want to list for?”

I seen a house  listed at almost $100,000 over their actual market value, then after 2 weeks the price reduced by $30,000 – and then….they advertised a HUUUUGGGEEEE price reduction to appear like this is a great deal – the house was still nearly $70,000 overpriced?  This can’t be good for anyone in a real estate market – it artificially inflates values for the next house in the same neighbourhood and it loses all buyer confidence which results in insulting lowball offers.

Look around town – there are some ridiculously priced homes that have no business competing with other homes that should be at that price.  In my opinion, the agent should know better and should be strongly encouraging their client to be at or close to market value.  After all, a falsely inflated market helps no one in the City of Brooks.

I spend a large amount of my time teaching the agents at RE/MAX Main Street Realty, on how to properly price properties and how to give solid advice.  We are not in the business of just putting up signs – but educating our clients on the value of their home.

Enough venting – to the statistics.  First quarter statistics are in (over a month now – but better late than never).

To date, RE/MAX Main Street Realty is having a banner year.  February and March competed with and exceeded all of our expectations and in fact they were the best February and March’s ever recorded (including 2008 – the last “good” year of real estate).  The volume of sales has not overly affected the actual price of real estate but the properties are certainly changing hands quickly and often.

1^st Quarter Stats – Brooks and County of Newell

-2011 – 51 transactions vs. 2012 – 90 transactions

-          RE/MAX Main Street Realty doubled their production this quarter versus the same quarter last year with 49 transactions. (55% of the total transaction reported by the Board)

-           The average sold price for Main Street Realty also rose from $215,000 to $234,000, compared to the average in Brooks of $210,000. 

-          We also show that Main Street Realty has conducted their transactions quicker – the average days on market were reported at 133, compared to RE/MAX of 113.  Doesn’t sound like much, but 3 weeks can feel like a lifetime when your property is up for sale.

Overall, we are not expecting big jumps in values of properties, in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if a correction happened this year or in the very near future of 10-15% decrease (as reported on CBC May 1, 2012 as an overall national correction).  I also believe the stability in prices and the real estate market in Brooks is a sign of strength in our local economy.  2012 looks like it will be a great year and I am certainly looking forward to that.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about real estate in the Brooks market, never hesitate to contact me.