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AUGUST 8, 2018
VOL. 99, NO. 31
Don’t be!
Nicole Bailey REAL ESTATE BROKER, LUXURY SPECIALIST, SRES QUEEN ANNE WINDERMERE
The summer selling season is nearly behind us. If you’re worried you’ve missed out on listing your home this year, don’t be. Fall is a great time to sell a home in Seattle. In fact, last year the selling season extended into early Winter for homes that were properly priced and presented. Rely on your broker to guide you in preparing and pricing your home. If you’re starting to notice mixed results in listings you see in your neighborhood, realize that we’ve had double-digit home price increases, year over year. We are due for market stabilization. Seeing a longer
marketing time will drive buyers back into the market for Fall and isn’t anything to worry about. Our educated Seattle buyer is looking for a place to call home and realizes the investment potential Seattle real estate provides. In the past several weeks we’ve been seeing fewer homes with “Offer Review Dates,” and many that have set dates are bypassing them without receiving any offers. This is obviously discouraging for sellers, but the funny thing is that we’ve seen several examples where there are still two or three buyers competing for the same home only now the offers are coming in after the review date has safely passed. We have a fatigued buyer pool and the hardy buyers who haven’t found anything yet are looking to push any advantage they can find. We’re also seeing them pushing back against Contingency-Free offers, wanting instead to maintain a financing contingency and other common buyer protections. Review dates do serve a purpose as an
organizing principle for buyers. It allows them the time to view and inspect your home without feeling rushed. When sellers take offers as they come, buyers will often rush to bring an offer in and sometimes be punished for acting as the first mover. The seller doesn’t owe the buyer a duty of confidentiality so it’s inevitable that if other buyers are sniffing around the property, they will learn of the offer and what they need to do to beat it. This week I was stopped in Met Market by buyers of mine who bought earlier in the spring. They were under the impression that the market was crashing due to some long market times of homes in their neighborhood. It’s imperative to price your home properly. Even in an overheated market, you can be penalized for overpricing. Cautious fall buyers were often frustrated spring buyers, so any perceived flaw, such as a busy street or no backyard can become a focus and affect your ability to get your price. By realistically pricing your home at or
near neighboring properties, buyers will believe you are a fair-minded seller with realistic expectations. When a property is substantially over-priced, bruised buyers may mistakenly believe that the final selling price will be substantially over your list price and hesitate to make an offer at all. Through our most recent months of data, the Queen Anne/Magnolia homes that sold above asking were on the market for an average of six days, while homes that received price reductions before selling were on the market for an average of 70 days. Quite a difference. You can never price your home based on a previous sale at the tip-top of a multiple offer battle and expect the same result. To attempt to recreate that result, you have to price your home at where the earlier listing started at, all else being equal. What we have now are homes that are coming on where others were driven to in March with six-offers and these homes are appearing overpriced in the heat of August. ➧ Bailey, Page 2
Just Sold
2240 Viewmont Way West | MAGNOLIA $1,180,000
MOST WANTED
Step into a rare opportunity to own at 200 West Highland Drive, a coveted address on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill, overlooking Kerry Park with twinkling city lights and west-facing Puget Sound and mountain views. Precision crafted to exacting standards, the home includes an elegant living space with gallery-concept walls, exquisite wood finishes, a private view terrace and much, much more. It’s the perfect choice for those looking for a lock-and-leave lifestyle, fantastic location and one-level living. Offered at $2,495,000 2 bedrooms | 2 bathrooms | 2 secure parking spaces
Laura Halliday | 206.399.5842 Laura.Halliday@rsir.com
Carrie Debuys | 206.551.0555 Carrie.Debuys@rsir.com
Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks used with permission. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated.
I just sold another Magnolia home! Please feel free to contact me if you are considering listing your Queen Anne or Magnolia home or to find your dream home. Lisa Turnure | 206.919.6605 | listurnure@cbbain.com LisaTurnure.com