August often signals a slow down in traffic compared to June and July. What’s interesting in last week’s numbers is that there is a week over week up tick for all home inventory categories. In Active Homes, Under Contract, Pending and Sold, all 4 categories were up week over week for July. This is happening mid-month, so this looks like we should still see a strong August in number of closings and pendings. (We believe this because most closings are 25-40 day closings, so being up in actives, under contract and pending statuses means August is still looking strong).
More over, we are still seeing buyers be bullish on repair negotiations across the board. Because pricing is going up, buyers expect a nicer home in return for bidding against other buyers on repairs. So, to ease stress and get ahead of the game, be proactive in fixing items that you would want to have repaired if you were a buyer. A few good faith gestures go a long way right now.
A big high five though that appraisals are having fewer issues than we did in the spring. The appraisal piece is a normal trend for summer (as home sales volume rises so do sales prices and justified comps.) Sometimes though, Appraisers don’t cooperate with the market and play it “safe” instead of being willing to work with where the market is heading. Keep in mind this doesn’t mean an appraiser is going to risk their license on a sales price when there is no justification or nearby comparables to assist, it does however mean they are willing to play ball on homes that have comps and are more recent in appreciation.
August is looking to be a strong month for sales, we’ll continue to watch the market weekly for signs of a shift or opportunity to take advantage of strong negotiation opportunities.
