The national media is blasting that home sales are up...compared to last year.  But what about prices?

Truilia is reporting that 25% of homes currently on the market have had at least one price cut. That's a national statistic. According to their stats,   Kansas City MO has experienced 25% increase in price reductions from June '09 to August '09.  CEO Pete Flint also remarked:  "The reality is, today's sellers need to price aggresively to avoid reductions.  Consumers are looking for value and when they find a good deal, they are taking advantage of market conditions'.  SO TRUE!

Sellers, here's the deal:  you can price to sell or you can price and 'wait and see' if someone bites at the over-reaching listing price.  This is the reality in today's market, but so many sellers don't want to hear it. LISTEN TO YOUR AGENT.  CHECK OUT THE HOMES NEAR YOU ON THE MARKET. ACT LIKE YOU ARE A BUYER. 

It always amazes me when I hear someone say "my neighbor/friend/father says I can get xxxx amount for this house and I'm not going to underprice it."  Is  your neighbor/friend/father working real estate every day of the week like an experienced, professional agent? No.  Does your agent want you to get the highest price possible for your house? Yes.  Who wants a quick sale? Agent and seller. And what is a quick sale today?  Within 30 days.  But buyers today are so different from the buyers of 4-6 years ago when the market was hot.  When a house would sell in two days. What's selling in two days now?  A house that is priced right, staged right, and appears to the buyer to be quite a deal! (w hy are foreclosures hot? Because of the pricing!)  I hear it all the time from every buyer:  I want a 'good deal'.  They know this is THE time to buy since it appears we are at the bottom of the market. Today's buyer will keep looking until they find that 'good deal'. And they will look at everything in their price range. As a buyer's agent, too, it's up to the Realtor to point out the 'good deal' to the buyer--and the homes that are overpriced for this market.

Sure, there is a lot of money at stake in a transaction. As a seller, you want the most from your sale. However, today's market favors the buyer.  And buyers know it.

It's frustrating for sellers and their listing agents to have a house sit on the market for months, knowing it would sell if it was priced right and shows well.  Sometimes it's the location that holds back a sale. Sometimes it's an abundance of inventory in a particular subdivision or area.  Most of the time today--it's  price that prevents the sale. (and i"m referring here to moderately priced homes, not the upper end high dollar market). There are buyers out there.  Take a look at your showings and the feedback, ask your agent--that will tell you what's holding back the sale.

Your comments are welcome! Email me or visit my website.

Actually, it's neither.

Rumors swirling around buyers, asking agents " I heard about a $15,000 tax buyer credit--I'm thinking of waiting to buy".  Let's hear the full story!

It's true that Senators Christopher Dodd (Conn-D) and Johnny Isakson (Georgia-R) have introduced legislation to 1) extend the current $8000 tax refund past the November 30 deadline, 2) increase the credit to $15,000 and 3) make it available to ALL home buyers, not just first time buyers. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid supports extending the credit. 

As a Realtor, I would love to see the tax credit at the very least extended past the November 30 deadline. Here in the Kansas City area, sales of homes priced under $200K are what's hot--because those are the homes within reach of a first time buyer.  That's where most of my sales are this year. A $15,000 tax credit for all homebuyers?  Yea baby let's do it!

As a taxpayer,  I wonder about the chances of the extension and increase of the credit.  Today we hear the deficit will hit over $9 trillion dollars over the next ten years.  How would the extension be funded? By just adding more red ink to the deficit?  Would that get passed by the House and Senate?  Both sides surely agree about the impact for the economy with a strong housing market, but at what cost ? 

We're hearing that housing sales are up.  Yes for first time buyers, yes for foreclosures, but we need those second and third time buyers to feel confident enough to sell and buy.  SECURE JOBS are the key to that market.

Once the health care debate is decided, you'll hear more about extending the housing credit/refund.  And if it passes, the media will be all over it, just like the 'cash for clunkers' program. 

And unlike the 'cash for clunkers', a truly robust housing market will have a much bigger effect on the overall economy. 

Thanks for reading!  Comments welcome.  maryhutchison.org

Here's the news folks...once again the direction is down for sales and pending contracts compared to one year ago.

Johnson County

Pending contracts:  825, compared to 822 in Julne2008. 

Average price:          $257,929, compared to $263,763 in June 2008.

New listings:           1245, up from 1192 in June 2008.

Johnson County holding it's own in this overall slow market.  Not bad for sellers at all.

Jackson County

Pending contracts:  850, compared to 878 in June 2008.

Average price:          128,605, compared to $134,898 in June 2008.

New listings:            1622, compared to 1789 in June 2008.

Note Jackson County has many more foreclosures than Johnson County, which pushes down the average sales price.

Would you like statistics on sales in your own neighborhood?  Email me for the info!