Doron's Vlog

Hi, I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Welcome to my November 2023 Market Update! As 2023 winds down, the market activity trends are looking fairly predictable for our market. As noted in past vlogs and newsletters, despite the high interest rates and other uncertainties, prices have held fairly steady over the last few months. Now, I want to note that while I’ll be showing charts with data that was compiled from the past few years, I want you to focus not so much on year-over-year comparisons, but rather on the data from the past few months. You’ve heard me say this before, that 2023 had been a very atypical year, so year-over-year comparisons may not be as meaningful. In past vlogs I usually showed you data from King County, and then told you how the trends that we see in the data for King County also held true for Pierce and Snohomish Counties, and I’m sure for other counties in Washington State, particularly counties in Western Washington. So I thought that this month I’ll actually show you the data for all three counties, so that you can see for yourself how they compare. I’m going to show you three graphs, each comparing data for single family homes in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties in one of three categories: Median Sales Prices New Listings Closed Sales And again, when you look at these three graphs, remember to focus not just on the year-over-year trends, but also on how specifically the trends look for just the past few months. So to make that easier, I highlighted the period between April and October of this year in each graph. Okay, let’s get started! The first graph illustrates the median sales prices for single family homes, showing a consistent pattern across the three counties. Despite variations, market prices in each county have remained mostly steady over the past few months. The second graph focuses on the number of new listings. Remember – 2023 had been a very odd year, with much slower activity than previous years. And you can clearly see this in the graph, with the overall number of new listings being much smaller than in past years, across the three counties. While there is a decline since the peak in the spring of this year, it nevertheless aligns with the typical seasonal trend. The third and last graph represents closed sales. And again, you can clearly see the significantly slower market activity this year, compared to past years. However, unlike past years, where the market activity would drop significantly compared to the spring of that year, in 2023 we see that the market activity, albeit slower, is pretty steady. The point here is that there are still plenty of buyers out there who are eager to find a good home. By the way, if you want to look at all this information and read my report at your pace and leisure, you’ll find all this information in my November newsletter, available online and for download, for free, at Weisbarth.com/Newsletter, that’s Weisbarth.com/Newsletter. The takeaway from all of this is pretty simple – a steady market means steady activity for those wishing to sell, especially due to the persistent low inventory, and despite the high interest rates and other market uncertainties. If you know someone who is looking to sell or buy, don't hesitate to refer them to our team. Even if they’re not yet sure about their timeline, we love to educate our clients so that by the time that they are ready, they can proceed with greater confidence. Please share this vlog and our newsletter – hardcopy or online at weisbarth.com/newsletter. And here's a little reminder – a good portion of our income goes to support the kids at Childhaven. So your referrals and your business help those kids in need. I’m proud to report that Weisbarth and Associates was the key supporter of the Childhaven annual gala that was held last month at the Hyatt hotel in Bellevue. Our team brough 42 guests – incredible – and combined we raised over $40,000 for this amazing organization. Thank you all for your ongoing support! It's easy to refer your friends, family and colleagues to us by email, or on my website and weisbarth.com/refer. The best way is to just connect us by phone. My number is 206-779-9808, and I’m always happy to speak with people. If you find this vlog helpful, please like, subscribe, and follow for more insights, tips and charts that I share every month. Thanks for tuning in to this November market update. I'm Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. See you next month!

Hi, I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Welcome to my October 2023 Market Update SPOOOOOKY report! For several months, I’ve been reporting on the slow and steady increase in home sale prices, and that, if done correctly, you can expect to sell your home quickly and for a good price when you put your home on the market. It’s been true, and it continues to be true. At the same time, while prices are going up, the number of homes sold has remained sluggish for several months. And now that the summer sale season is officially over, it’s becoming clear just how strange this year has been. Consider these two graphs, which show data for single family homes in King County for nearly 11 years, basically starting in January 2013 and going through September of this year. And while I present data from King County, these trends that I’m going to show you hold true for many of the counties in the Greater Seattle area, and even beyond. So don’t think that this is somehow exclusive to only King County. The BLUE line represents the median single family home sales price, and you can see how it’s been steadily increasing at a pretty predictable rate. And you can see the annual cycle of activity in the data for ‘Closed Sales’, that’s the ORANGE line. Notice that, in most of the previous years, the peak market activity took place around late spring or early summer, with about 2,500 to 3,000 homes sold during those peaks. It’s a bit harder to pinpoint it on the graph, but most of the sales in September of each of the past years were about 2,000 to 2,500 homes. And then there’s 2023. No, you don’t have to adjust your glasses or clean your screen – that huge drop-off is real! The month with the highest number of sales this year reported only about 2,000 homes sold. In September of this year, we only had about 1,400 homes sold in King County. That’s about 23% fewer homes sold this September compared to last September. And if you compared it to the September before that, meaning, 2021, the drop is 47%! That is just incredible! By the way, if you want to look at all this information and read my report at your pace and leisure, you’ll find all this information in my October newsletter, available online and for download, for free, at Weisbarth.com/Newsletter, that’s Weisbarth.com/Newsletter. And, as I’ve been reporting, throughout all this slow market activity, home prices have pretty much held steady. With such low inventory of homes for sale, you’d expect to see great pressure on the market that would push prices up much faster. This is where the higher mortgage interest rates are helping keep the appreciation manageable, almost perfectly countering the effects of the low inventory. So, I think that, in many way, the real surprise here is just how much demand we still have, despite the high mortgage interest rates, which really speaks volumes about the kind of pent up demand that we have in our area. And it also bring up the question about what will happen once mortgage interest rates drop – which, most if not all expert agree, will happen sooner or later. Will lower mortgage interest rate bring back to the market a lot of buyers, which will increase the demand so much that prices will start rising fast again? It certainly sounds plausible. Or maybe the inventory of homes for sale will then also increase, as seller feel more comfortable listing their homes, which will then help keep the price increase in check. This too sounds plausible. What will actually happen? Well, only time will tell. For now, if you are looking to sell, here’s what you need to know: we still have more buyers than sellers. In fact, waaay more buyers than sellers. But that doesn’t mean that you can be sloppy about how you list your home. Understanding and following the proper marketing principles is absolutely critical, if you want to get a better a outcome from your home sale. If you do things correctly, without cutting corners, you can 100% expect a good sale, fast and for a good price. So, if you or anyone you know who is looking to buy a home or sell their home, please refer them to me and my team at Weisbarth & Associates by phone, email or fill out a form on our website. My team and I are in the top 1% of all brokers in the state of Washington. We reached this level because we know and understand how the market works, how the system here works, how to implement the correct marketing principles, how buyers and sellers think and see the world. And we have the numbers to prove that our success is not just a fluke, but rather based on sound planning and well tested strategies. More than that, we make sure to educate our clients about all this too, so that they can make correct and informed decisions. The best way to reach me is by phone at 206-779-9808, that’s 206-779-9808. And remember that we donate a substantial portion of our income from each sale to the kids at Childhaven, so your business and referrals help the kids at Childhaven, so you get a good deed out of it too! Please remember to like, subscribe and follow for more great insights, charts and tips on my monthly vlog, and read our monthly newsletter at Weisbarth.com/Newsletter. I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Have a wonderfully spoooooky Halloween, and I’ll see you next month!

Hi, I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Welcome to my August 2023 Market Update report. How is a seller to know what to think during this murky period of real estate? On the one hand, inventory is down, which means buyers have fewer choices. That means it should be easier to sell. But on the other hand, higher interest rates and other uncertainties seem to make buyers pickier and to resist getting into huge bidding wars. The result, even with our lower inventory, is that new listings and sales remain sluggish. While median prices have meandered down in July 2023 relative to June 2023, it remains to be seen whether this is a trend, or just the normal, seasonal market fluctuation, affected by the higher interest rates, vacation time, people having fun in the sun, etc. Most likely, it’s a combination of all of the above. The good news, if you want to sell, is that there is a pathway that leads to a great outcome, namely: selling faster and selling for more money. Consider this graph: What I’m showing here is the final sale price as a percentage of the original asking price. Meaning, if your listing price was a million dollars, and you got a million dollars, then you are 100%. If you got more than a million dollars then you’re more than 100%. And, of course, if you got less than a million dollars, then you are below 100%. Make sense? From the summer of 2022 through March of 2023 – about nine months – sellers in Seattle and King County sold their homes for less than their asking prices, sometimes by as much as 5% less. In our area, with median home prices in the $800k range, 5% can be $40,000 – that’s a LOT of money, and that’s just for the median price! But then, starting in March of this year, sellers starter receiving at least their asking price. You can see this trend in the graph, where the line was below 100% for months, but is now consistently holding steady right on or above the asking price. And this is true even for July 2023, even though overall median prices dropped relative to June 2023. By the way, if you want to look at all this information and read my report at your pace and leisure, you’ll find all this information in my August newsletter, available online and for download, for free, at Weisbarth.com/Newsletter, that’s Weisbarth.com/Newsletter. What does all this mean? First, the market has stabilized. That’s good news and it is a big deal. Second, despite it being a strong sellers’ market, which it still very much is, if you want to maximize the sale of your home, the fundamentals of marketing are still very important. Things such as: Preparing and presenting your home in an appealing way Pricing the home correctly Understanding the buyers’ psychology Knowing where and how to reach those buyers Deal negotiations and so on. All these things matter a lot. In fact, none of these steps can be skipped, or you risk getting results that you may not like, such as taking longer to sell and selling your home for less than what it’s really worth. The other thing, if you want to maximize your home sale, is that you just can’t take the buyer’s for granted anymore. Just a few short years ago buyers would pretty much jump on anything that the market presented to them, and throw money at it, sometime without enough thought. Well, no longer! Buyers today are picky. And who can blame them? If you’re going to pay so much money for a home, and have a large monthly mortgage payment because of the higher interest rates, you’d be picky too! Fair? I think so. So, if you or anyone you know is looking to buy a home or sell their home, please refer them to the Weisbarth & Associates team by phone, email or fill out a form on our website. Our team will make sure that you are educated and prepared correctly. And when you refer someone, tell them that just because we meet and talk doesn’t mean that they are obligated to work with us – there’s absolutely NO obligation! To be honest, all of our clients work with us not out of any sense of obligation, but because they think that we’re the best suited to represent them on their home purchase or home sale, truly! The best way to reach me is by phone at 206-779-9808, that’s 206-779-9808. And remember that your business and referrals help the kids at Childhaven, so you get a good deed out of it too! Please remember to like, subscribe and follow for more great insights, charts and tips on my monthly vlog, and read our monthly newsletter at Weisbarth.com/Newsletter. I’m Doron Weisbarth with Weisbarth & Associates. Have a great rest of your summer and I’ll see you next month!