Why all the negativity in such a great real estate market?
The real estate market for 2017 has been a good year.
After years of short-sales, bank-owned properties, an unstable economy and low buyer confidence, 2017 is a breath of fresh air. But sometimes, you just can’t make people happy, especially the media.
Last week, The Olympian, our local newspaper headlined an article, “Buying a home in Thurston County continues to be an exercise in frustration.”
The first two paragraphs read:
“If you’re a prospective home-buyer looking for a little relief in a market that favors sellers, you didn’t find it in June, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Thursday.
The inventory of single-family homes remains low and few listings were added in June. In fact, the number of new listings increased by only 10 units last month compared to June 2016. Meanwhile, existing inventory fell nearly 25 percent over the same period, the data show.”
Whoa-there Negative Nelly!
What a sour view in just the first sentence! Buyers are actually finding much success in this market. (If they weren’t, how is it we are having record sales?!) New listings are coming on the market, offering buyers many choices. The only caveat is they need to act quickly. But buyers are finding and buying newly-listed homes that meet their needs, and if the right home isn’t there today, it will probably be there tomorrow.
The second paragraph makes it sound like we only added 10 new listings in June.
Here’s what really happened in June in Thurston County
In June 2017, 697 new listings came on the market.
In June 2016, 687 new listings came on the market.
So the reporter was correct by stating we only added 10 more listings than we did in June 2016. However he really had to dig for this negative spin on a market where we have added close to what we did at the height of the downturn in 2006 and 2007.
High-quality new listings
The Thurston County market not only is adding many new listings but these listings are of better quality than in the past, meaning there are less distressed (short-sales and bank-owned) properties.
Few buyers can tolerate the extended timelines for a short-sale to close, and just as few buyers can tolerate a neglected home in need of major repairs like as typically seen in distressed properties.
As of now, only 9% of our market is made up of short-sales and bank-owned properties compared to 34% in 2012.
Too bad good news doesn’t sell newspapers
Record number of buyers and sellers are having success in the 2017 market. Every month we are breaking records that are good not just for sellers, but buyers, too. Buyers are more financially sound with responsible lending practices, are mindful of staying within budget and not buying more than what they can afford. It’s just too bad good news doesn’t sell.