Knock on the door of opportunity

When we first started, we were in Bel-Air, looking for teardowns for a developer. We happened upon the perfect house and put our door-knocking skills to use. We knocked on the door and managed to convince the homeowner to sell. We got a great price, so it was an all-around awesome deal. 

But the story doesn’t stop there! Right after that, we got a call from another client who heard about the sale. They asked if we could sell their Bel-Air teardown too. Now we are currently in the process of listing that house! 

We use this story as a reminder that, sometimes, you can drum up business on your own, and when you put yourself out there, you truly never know what can happen. Every client wants someone who will work hard for them, and when they see and hear about that hard work, they might come knocking on your door!

– James and David

Home prices are cooling, but still growing 

Home prices are continuing to rise, despite higher interest rates and growing inventory. According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city index report, home prices in 20 major metro areas are continuing to rise.

• Prices rose 2.3% between March and April, the smallest gain since November

• Prices are up 21.2% YoY between April 2021 and April 2022

• In the South and Southeast, prices were up over 30% YoY, with Tampa and Miami leading the pack

Our take

We’ve noticed that many buyers think prices are seriously dropping, but really, their growth is just slowing down. It’s like we’ve said before–if your buyers want a good deal, now is the time to buy, before they’re priced out of their dream neighborhood.

Zillow’s most overvalued cities

While prices in some cities continue to rise, Zillow predicts a change coming for a handful of overvalued markets. Zillow noted eight cities among the top 50 metros where the share of listings with at least one price reduction jumped by 5% or more since May 2021.

1. Sacramento, CA

2. Salt Lake City, UT

3. Phoenix, AZ

4. Las Vegas, NV

5. Riverside, CA

6. San Antonio, TX

7. Austin, TX

8. Nashville, TN

Our take

At first glance, this might seem concerning, but take a minute to step back and look at what prices have done in the past five years in these cities. Prices are up significantly compared to where they were a few years ago. Even if list prices are adjusting a little lower, these markets have created so much value for homeowners just in the past few years.

Advice from Redfin’s Chief Economist

Daryl Fairweather, Chief Economist at Redfin, has some timely advice for buyers and sellers navigating today’s complicated market.

• One in five homes on the market now have had a price reduction in the last 4 weeks, the most since October 2019. Today’s home sellers should be careful not to overprice their homes, and even consider underpricing them to build interest. 

• With the average mortgage payment up 42% YoY, today’s buyers need to find out exactly what they can afford, shop different lenders, and carefully calculate their budget before they start shopping

• Even with these affordability issues, Dr. Fairweather cautions that prices are not expected to decline significantly any time soon.

Our take

We agree with these tips. When it comes to pricing your seller’s home, it’s all about strategy. If you price high, you leave room for your sellers to negotiate and still get the number they want. But if you price low, you’ll sell the home faster, generate more interest, and hopefully get the right price for your seller. In this market, as it’s shifting to the buyer’s side, pricing a little bit lower and more competitive is typically the smarter strategy.

Schematics

The news that just missed the cut

• Drake’s “Yolo Estate” just sold for a whopping $12M

• Check out the most expensive listing in every state

• How to sell a home fast in this market

• In NYC, renters are facing all-out bidding wars

• At $173M, the largest real estate transaction in Florida is now official 

• Looks like the second-home craze is officially over

Foundation Plans

Advice from James and David to win the day

Your email list is a great place to find prospective clients. To start growing your email list fast, try these tips we use.

1. Focus on organic list-building first. That means getting your friends, family, and connections on your email list. Just ask them if they’re interested in hearing occasional updates about their home value and the local market. 9 times out of 10, they are!

2. Run a referral contest. Reward your recipients for referring their network to your newsletter or e-blasts. You can offer a prize for the most referrals, pick a name every month to win a gift box, or set up a referral rewards program like the one we use here at The Blueprint 👇

3. Set up paid ads on social media. This is an awesome way to build your list fast if you have a marketing budget.

4. Offer an incentive. Offer a downloadable PDF about your local market, a helpful video about preparing your home for sale, or a first-time buyer’s checklist in exchange for email addresses. If your resource is really valuable, you’ll get a ton of leads just by offering the freebie!

These are just a handful of ways you can start to grow your email list. For more creative ways (and more details about creating your own downloadable resources!) check out David’s interview with Broke Agent Media.

Q&A

You ask, James and David answer!

We’ll be back next week with another answer to a real reader question. Submit yours here!

Just in Case

Keep the latest industry data in your back pocket with today’s mortgage rates:

Have a great 4th of July weekend, we will see you on Tuesday. 

– James and David

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