Stan's Market Report \ october 22, 2007
Dear friends,
I always try to think of a theme for my Newsletters and admit that I sometimes do better than at other times. Candor seemed to me a good place to start, though there is clearly some ambivalence in our society regarding when this should be used or if it is a good idea at all. I have to admit in representing buyers, which I mainly do, I am very successful. I think because it is a bit of a rarity in real estate. With sellers, I have found being candid not nearly as successful and in fact lose about as many listings as I get. I see many, many homes and home sites listed with other firms below where I originally suggested, simply because they don't sell at the higher price and month by month the price comes down, but the losses build up because once the decision is made to sell, selling quickly in most cases will limit any losses. And this is particularly important in a market trying to decide which way to go. Price in relation to similar properties will determine how soon something sells. And there is no more true statement in real estate. Sometimes a seller gets lucky-a seller will find a novice or part-time realtor (or someone who cares more about money than doing the right thing) and uneducated buyer. What results is a windfall for the seller, and a buyer with less gain or even a loss in a short or longer term hold.
One may want to experiment with this at work before trying it in full force at home. My wife fondly calls me an "acquired taste" which took years of acquiring; I consider it a personality evolving. And watch comments at home about hair cuts, the condition of the house, dress size, shoe size, the last time the sheets were changed, etc.
Now for the Facts: Mountain Homes and condos sold year to date: 77, Stoney Creek: 20, Mountain Home sites: 13, and Stoney Creek Home sites : 16. Wintergreen Real Estate sold 60 out of the 126 properties for a market share of 47%, and we were ranked number one in all categories. I should say as a disclosure these figures were taken from MLS and accurate at the time I checked them. Two statistics I like to use, though when I use them I try to break them down further to comparable properties, is the average price per square foot for Mountain Homes is $237 and for Stoney Creek Homes is $196. This includes the land, but does not include condos and town homes. For 2006, the numbers were $240 for mountain homes and $183 for Stoney Creek homes. These are gross figures. How they might be useful for a seller or buyer is to ask yourself what is it about the home I am selling or buying to justify a price significantly different from the average.
I guess my only others comments would be that November is historically slow, and the leaves are gone so it is a good time to look at homes on the mountain to get a true reflection of the winter view. Everyone's rentals are slow as well until Thanksgiving so one will have access to almost all homes, unlike ski season and Christmas when most are rented all weekend.
Again, thanks for everything and if you want to be removed from the list please, please let me know. I take no offense if you want to work with someone else, or if you are no longer interested in Wintergreen. God Bless.
PS: Try my new web site-suggestions are appreciated.
- Stan
