In the last few years, we have seen a substantial increase in the # of vacant land parcels we list for investors. This seems to be true of other Realtors as well. More and more vacant land owners are turning to the MLS to market the parcel. Of relevance, 3rd party land websites are now pulling in listings from the MLS and marketing these parcels to the general public in a much more efficient way than before. In addition, Zillow is becoming a more popular choice to search for vacant land b/c of the map search option through Zillow.  We list vacant land parcels where the seller is looking for a traditional sale and to cash out, in addition to seller’s looking to carry the note/owner financing. Both are viable options via our MLS listing service.

As a follow up to our most recent blog entry, I wanted to follow up on what we are seeing the last few weeks. The # of cancelled escrows is skyrocketing. This should lead a seller to think twice about accepting a contingent offer at this very moment. First, let’s define a contingent offer. A contingent offer is an offer that is contingent upon the buyer’s own property selling before they can close on your property. With the # of deals falling apart increasing, with a contingent offer, as a seller you are not just relying upon your own buyer to perform, but  you are also waiting on your buyer’s buyer to perform. In today’s market, that means 2 appraisals, 2 loans, 2 inspections, 2 sets of buyer’s retaining employment.. etc… etc… Historically, contingent offers are risky, however, in today’s market the risk is exponentially higher. The market is always changing and sellers should pay careful attention to the current marketplace before considering any offer.

Recently, I sold one of my own properties through Congress Realty. The property was located in NM and sold during the month of June 2020. I used the exact same systems that we offer our sellers through our Flat Fee MLS program. Below is an exact chronological list of how I did so.

1. Served 30 day notice to my tenant to vacate. My tenant was on a month to month lease at that time.
2. Acquired all keys, remotes, etc.. from my property manager.
3. Installed a mechanical lockbox on the property so that I could get laborers into the property
4. Received 3 bids on re-painting the interior. Chose a company, made payment and had them use the lockbox to complete the work
5. Received 3 bids from carpet installers. Chose a company, made payment and had them use the lockbox to complete the work.
6. Hired a handyman to run through the property to repair any small items, such as blinds, etc..
7. Hired a photographer to take 20 photos of the property. (Note, I didn’t have 100 photos taken. I am a big believer in not over photographing the property)
8. Listed the property on the local MLS through Congress Realty. At the time the listing went active, all of the interior work was complete, the photos were ready. I listed the property on a Thursday night. I offered the buyer’s agent 3% in the MLS listing.
9. By Saturday, I had 4 offers and countless showings.
10. Sunday, I chose a cash offer at list price with the quickest close. I provided the seller disclosures to the buyer’s agent with my acceptance of their offer.
11. During the inspection period, I offered a small credit to the buyer in lieu of making any repairs.
12. I made sure I was in contact with the escrow officer at all times. I ensured the buyer earnest deposit was deposited on time.
13. I signed my docs remotely via a mobile notary. I chose to have my funds wired to me.
14. Upon recording, I made arrangements with the buyer’s agent to pick up all of the keys, remotes, etc..
15. The total time from the date my tenants vacated my property to the time I received my final wire from the title company was 30 days.

All 4 offers I received came from buyer’s agents who found the listing on the MLS. Had I chosen to wait an extra day or 2, I may have received multiple more offers. However, the quick closing cash offer at list price was appealing to me. A few things to note: In my opinion, offering 3% to the buyer’s agent helped bring in multiple offers. Making the property easy to show via a lockbox was helpful in bringing multiple offers.

As you can see, if you do things correctly and keep things simple, rarely is there a need for a full priced Listing Agent. You can save thousands of dollars using our Flat Fee Listing program. Upon request, I can provide the full property address that I am referencing in this blog post. This will allow you to verify it was owned by myself and sold through Congress Realty in less than 30 days.

Things I did not do: I did not use a Real Estate Sign. I did not post the listing on any FSBO related websites. I did not use Flyers/Handouts. I did not send out an email blast to Realtors.

We have created a page on our site to link consumers with accredited review websites. As more and more Fake Review websites come to light, we want customers to be able to access reputable review sites. This allows consumers to compare companies side by side. Google and Zillow especially do a wonderful job of removing “fake reviews” from their platform.

https://www.congressrealty.com/Flat-Fee-MLS/Customer-Reviews/Default.aspx

First and foremost, whether you want to allow people into your home is a decision that you should make along with your medical professional. In the event you are willing to allow showings, homes are still selling in many states. One state that we have seen multiple properties go under contract in during the last 10 days is Arizona. Since March 20th, we have had multiple AZ properties go under contract. Including 5 in the last 3 days.  Outside of AZ, we had a CA listing that went under contract within 48 hours of listing. We have also seen multiple properties that we have listed go under contract in NV in the last few days. In DFW, TX, a new listing yesterday already has an offer today.

This is not to suggest that now is the most ideal time to list your home. However, you have to weigh the pros and cons. Right now, many seller’s are pulling their homes off the market. When they will return these homes to the market remains to be seen. However, if you pull your home off the market or you wait to list your home, you have to consider the possibility that the market may see a flood of inventory when this pandemic passes.

ARMLS Flat Fee MLS Listing:

Arizona Flat Fee MLS Listing

Phoenix is still our home base and the market I follow most closely. Since 03, we have seen the rise, fall, and rise again of property value in the Phx Metro Area. Phoenix is serviced by the ARMLS system. Year in and Year out, Congress Realty ranks in the top 10 for all Valley agents when it comes to total properties sold. 2019 was no exception. Through our flat fee MLS program, Congress Realty sold over 50 Million dollars worth of residential real estate in the state of AZ alone. ARMLS includes Phoenix and all of the surrounding area. This includes Buckeye, Florence, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Anthem, Carefree, Mesa, Chandler, Fountain Hills, and so forth. In all of these areas, we offer both Electronic Lockboxes and Sign and Post installation. With nearly 20 years in the Phoenix market, we are looking fwd to another exciting year.

Happy New Year! We are excited to take on 2020 and continue to build upon the success of 2019. This past year, we worked with more buyers than ever before who were taking advantage of our buyer rebate program. If getting cash back at closing sounds like something you are interested in on your next purchase, reach out to us. We will rebate 2/3rds of any commission paid to our office back to the buyer at closing.  You will be amazed how simple it is to get thousands of dollars back at closing.

A few notes from the start of the year, Arizona continues to boom. We have seen a remarkable increase in offers coming in on listed properties with Congress Realty in Arizona since after the holiday. More and more agents are using the showing time app in Arizona and Texas. If you are listed with our firm or considering listing and have questions regarding Showing Time, reach out to us. It is a simple tool to use to manage showings and review Realtor feedback from previous showings on your property. Las Vegas, Nevada continues to see a spike in closed sales and slight decrease in supply on the market.

We will continue to provide market updates for available inventory and sold data for various markets that we cover throughout the year.

For most of the states that we cover, 2019 posted strong #’s for sellers. Areas like Phoenix and Southern California continued to see appreciation and shorter days on market. Markets like Dallas cooled after record setting appreciation in 2017 and 2018 but still showed gains in 2019. What should sellers expect in 2020? Inventory #’s are still low in many markets. Las Vegas for example is dipping below 3 months of available inventory on the market at the present moment. This is a strong sign that Las Vegas will once again be a strong seller’s market in 2020. Phoenix should follow a similar path. Inventory #’s are still well below a balanced market in the Phx area. What about markets like Seattle and Boise? Seattle and Boise saw incredible appreciation in 2017 and 2018 but still posted moderate gains in 2019. There are no signs pointing towards a dramatic change from 2019 to 2020 in both of these markets.

Using Vegas as an example and using Data from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. Available inventory in Las Vegas stands right between 2.7 and 2.8 months. Compare this to this time last year of 3.4 months of available inventory. What is a healthy balance in Las Vegas? Typically about 6 months of inventory produces a stable market. What does that mean for sellers in Las Vegas? Most likely shortened days on market and continued appreciation at the start of 2020.

By the end of the year, we will have local coverage for the Ventura County, CA MLS system. Property owners in Ventura County will now be able to list properties on the local MLS through Congress Realty. We are excited about this expansion and look forward to working with homeowner’s and land owners in this area of Southern California.

Showing Time, the very popular showing service used in Arizona, NV, etc.. is coming to the state of TX. Showing Time has already launched in the DFW Market and is launching in early November for San Antonio. Showing Time allows Realtors to schedule showings through the Showing Time App. Homeowners receive an email notification when a Realtor wants to show through the App. (Text notification is also available) The homeowner with one click can accept or decline the appt. If the owner declines the appointment, the homeowner can propose a new showing time that automatically is sent back to the Realtor who requested the showing appt. Showing Time is an extremely powerful tool for both Realtors and Homeowners. Homeowners can actually set pre-determined showing dates and times that are acceptable or even black out certain dates through the Showing Time App. More info to follow in the upcoming weeks and how this affects CSS in Texas.