Real Estate Market Shift Changes

Everyone wants to know how the start of the housing market shift will affect current home values. What changes have we seen in the last 30 days? Scott Himelstein discusses the latest in the SFV real estate market. Watch this video to learn more!

What type of changes are we seeing during this real estate market shift? Stay tuned. Hey, it’s Scott Himelstein with the Scott Himelstein Group. Welcome back to our vlog. So today, I’m talking to you about what type of changes that we’re seeing during this current real estate market shift, not only around the country, but here in Los Angeles. That’s what we’re here to specifically talk about. And this is what we’re seeing over the course of the last 30 days on all of our listings. And these are things, I think, that especially if you’re a seller, that you really need to be aware of. So I think the first and the most obvious one is the price. So, we’ve seen a lot of price reductions here, not only in the San Fernando Valley, but as well in Los Angeles County. And that’s because the buyers with the increase in what it’s actually become with their monthly payment, it’s a lot more difficult for them to be able to afford a house. So, you’re seeing that correction, which we kind of expected, as interest rates have increased since the beginning of the year. And as a result, you’re seeing a lot of the prices being reduced and sellers taking less on their home. Number two, well, it kind of could be as expected as the market has actually begun to shift that we’re now seeing contingencies back in offers. So for awhile there, you were seeing a lot of buyers remove all their contingencies, their inspection, their appraisal, and their loan contingency. Well, now we’re seeing all those contingencies back in the offer. The buyers are not willing to, and they understand that they’re able to right now, because the competition is not as stiff, they can have an inspection contingency, and they can have an appraisal contingency, as well as a loan contingency. So, this is really important to note because what we’re seeing right now, just in the last month, nationwide, was that 16% of the buyers cancelled their escrow. Meaning that the buyers actually backed out of the transaction for a variety of reasons. And so, this is another reason, with all the angst out there on the buyer side, the buyers are actually willing to walk away sometimes. So, you have to be willing to work with them if you are a seller And that leads me to the next point, which is seller concessions. So, before, if the buyer wanted to ask for closing costs or the buyer wanted to ask for requests for repairs, over the course of the last 2 years before the shift started taking place, it would be very difficult for buyers to do so. They had very little leverage. Well, now, the buyers understand where the market stands right now, so you’re seeing buyers ask for credits for the request for repairs. You’re seeing them asking for closing costs. And sometimes, they even try to renegotiate the price after you’ve already had an accepted contract. So these are all things that you need to be aware of. So, these are the kind of things that we’re seeing right now. The good news is that homes are still selling, but the home has to be priced right and you have to be willing to work with the buyer. So gone are the days where you can ask whatever you want as a seller, as well as you expect the buyer to remove all the contingencies and whatnot. So it’s really important that you understand that as a seller, as again, the market has shifted. Any real estate questions, give me a call, 818-396-3311. That’s 818-396-3311 or send me a direct message.