By Jason Nichols, August 31, 2018
This beautiful Craftsman located at 7715 N Albina Ave. in Portland went pending in just five days. With inventory ticking up, price reductions happening, and buyers becoming more picky ( as they should be ). My sellers took the proper steps to entice buyers to love this wonderful home even with the slight market shift.
Clean, staged, and pricing, those are the major three items to focus on when preparing your home for this market. A clean home should be a given, but it’s not. Make sure the walls don’t have holes, carpets don’t smell, the simple items like cleaning gutters, painting non-neutral colors, pressure washing the home if it’s dusty/dirty. The list can go on and on, but make sure the presentation is to the best of your ability. Buyers can make up their minds if a home is a possibility within the first few minutes of a showing. Don’t make them think about cleaning up house before they take possession.
Staging, I can not begin to express my feelings on staging this year. It really just sets the home apart from others that are not staged. Find a good stager, or ask your agent who they would recommend or have utilized before. My recommendation is Lana @ Simply Staged. They are reasonably priced, stylish, and have helped several of my sellers.
Of course if your home is owner occupied, this is a different story. You will then want to declutter, yes I said it, “declutter.” Take down any personal photos and always be thinking less is more. Get ready for those professional photos/videos!
Now we get down to Pricing, this is becoming more difficult as the market shifts. I am seeing more days on market then in the past five years, more price reductions, and more homes selling slightly below asking. I believe we are headed into a slight correction, inventory is resting at 2.4 months for July, which is the highest it has been in three years. However, I don’t want to start a widespread panic, cause I personally don’t think now is the time. Interest rates are still historically low, people are continuing to move to Portland, and supply and demand is still an issue. I just think this is giving buyers a bit of breathing room to be able to shop and not give up every contingency in their contract.
In short, pricing is everything. Make sure to scrub the comparable properties, look at the solds and pendings, go further back in months. Instead of only six months back on comparable properties, look at nine months back. Then make the decision, do you think the market is still increasing, or do you want to be ahead of the curve and shift slightly down to give yourself that market edge. I can honestly tell you I’ve had more Brokers call to ask what my clients homes are pending at than ever before. Problem is, I don’t give out that information until my clients homes are sold.
I truly hope this helps! I know my clients are excited as ever to have their home sold within just five days on market and look forward to moving on to their next home purchase 🙂
Jason Nichols
Broker
Jason Nichols has been involved in the Portland Real Estate market for nearly 20 years.
He originally started with property renovation and was later inspired to get his real estate license by the Realtor who helped him and his wife buy their first investment property in Woodstock. During their new home purchase his Realtor counseled them out of risky short-term decisions and helped them focus on the long-term decisions for the best investment possible.
This experience of buying, renovating, and renting the property drove Jason to start out his own career path to help others make great investments for the future. Jason believes too many buyers and sellers get caught up in the demanding Portland Real Estate market. He believes it can be easy to lose track of what is important when buying or selling Real Estate and the details certainly do matter. Jason strives to be that voice of reason. His goal is to help others make good decisions and guide them away from investments that may not benefit them in the long run.
Jason works with an array of clients from first-time home buyers, sellers, savvy investors, and builders. He knows each person has an individual and unique level of experience with the Real Estate process and he customizes his services to the needs of each client. He takes his role seriously, making sure his clients understand each step of the process. This can include how the mortgage process works, how to pick great inspectors, what to have inspected, and what maintenance to expect in a new home. Jason always wants his clients to be in the best hands possible. His primary goal is client satisfaction and Jason puts relationships before transactions, understanding that people are looking for a trusted professional to help them with one of the largest investments of their lives.
Jason was born and raised in the Portland area and is very familiar with all neighborhoods that make up its surroundings. Every day is a new adventure for Jason as he tours all over the map showing homes for his clients. If you’re considering buying, selling, or investing in the Portland Metro Real Estate market, Jason Nichols is your man. Reach out to Jason today to schedule a consultation.
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- T: 971-570-2079
- jasonnicholspdx@gmail.com