I am seeing a few things now that I think can really inform people who are not in real estate every day. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are thinking about buying or selling in 2017.
For Sellers:
1. I am going into listing after listing looking at huge Seller’s Markets. It is a Seller’s Market when there is less than 4 months of inventory in the market. (Here is an explanation of market inventory.) As of March 20th, the market inventory for the entire Des Moines Area Assocation of Realtors is at an average of 2.1 months. I was at a listing presentation this morning where they had 0.87 months of inventory.
2. There are a lot of buyers out there! For a simple explanation of that, as of today (March 22nd, 2017) there are 2,908 active houses for sale in the Multiple Listing Service. There are currently 2,348 houses pending. This means that there is almost 81% as many houses under contract to sell as there are houses for sale. To put that in perspective, the average house is only pending for 30-45 days.
What this means for sellers is that right now there is a lot of pent up demand for houses, and very little competition when you actually put your house on the market. Getting a professional who can make sure that you are hitting the market priced well and ready to sell means that you will.
For Buyers:
1. Looking at point number two up there, things are moving incredibly quick. The average days on market for those 2,348 houses that are pending is 55. The average for 2016 was 102. (My average was 40.)
2. Also looking at point number two up there, that means that between active and pending houses for sale there is currently 5,256. Historically normal market levels are around 5,000. We have normal market sales. We broke records for houses sold in 2016. There is a lot of inventory out there, it is just moving very quickly.
3. Interest rates are going up. I am not saying this to scare you. Even if interest rates were to raise a full 1% this year (very doubtful) we are still at historically low interest rates. That said, every 0.25% interest rate bump means that you can now afford less house.
What this means for buyers is that you have to be ready and able to move quickly. If you are not directly plugged into the market with reliable data (I am constantly getting buyers asking me about houses on Zillow that sold two years ago.) you are going to miss a lot of good houses. My last listing sold before it even hit Zillow, Trulia, and the like. And it took a whole two days to sell. You need help to make sure you are seeing what is available, and that you are in the best position to make the best offer when you find what you are looking for.
Right now the market is incredibly on. I want to help you take full advantage of that fact. You can reach me at RyanLynch@KW.com or 515.639.0047. Let me know how I can help!
~Ryan Lynch
