Friday, April 27, 2012

Pearce Relocation Awards

We belong to the largest referral network of affiliated brokers out there--Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.  This collection of outstanding independent brokers produces more listings and sales than any of the franchise organizations.  At our annual meeting this week, Pam Chute came to present us with three awards for the most sales volume in outgoing referrals and sales production.  One of the awards we have actually won for three years in a row.

Sometimes people don't realize that we can help them move around the world as well as around the region.  And we're good at it!  Sometimes, we even forget to tell those relocating that we can help them anywhere.  In fact, there are companies in our region who use us all over the globe to transfer hirees and current employees from one place to another.  I thought that by posting this blog entry I could both salute our relocation department and our affiliate Pearce Plus Relocation, as well as ensuring that everyone knows and appreciates our capabilities on a national and international level.  Obviously Leading RE does!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Update from The Leadership Council

I just came back from a meeting of my peers from big independent brokerage firms around the country.  Things are definitely picking up everywhere, and there was much more optimism in the room than in the past few years.  Many places have gone through their foreclosure sales, and inventories in those spots are very low compared to prior years.  Connecticut is behind in that regard, but has seen similar growth in company dollar and activity.  At Pearce, we are up 46% from last year at this point, so we're excited!

Around the country, first-time homebuyers are leading the way, with most sales at levels below $300,000.  There are still two parts of most markets--one for the listings that come on and sell almost immediately, and another for the overpriced, stale, or problematic listings that are still sitting there.  Taken together, the average time on the market is just over 100 days, but there is a large variation, and a much greater supply over $500,000.

It was interesting to learn more about the Denver market, which is hot at the lower end, and to see the very impressive Coors Field one night (although the Rockies lost decisively and the weather was a lot colder than it was back here!).  And, of course, it was wonderful to return to spring in Connecticut!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Buyer's Remorse

For some reason, buyers have been pulling out of contracts more than they ever did in the past.  Most of us track business through signed contracts, figuring that the number of signed contracts that do not close stays relatively close to the same percentage year in and year out, so we don't feel that we have to adjust for sales that do not close, since they don't change year over year comparisons. For the past couple of years, however, that hasn't been the case--nationally, contracts that don't result in closed sales have doubled or tripled.  For a long time, we all thought that was the fault of banks and, through them, appraisers.

 While banks are always popular to blame for most things, it appears that there may be something else at work.  Even though we are now at a point in the real estate market where units are increasing and mortgage rates have started to rise, buyers still seem to feel that they have unlimited time and unlimited choice, so they dither.  Each time something new comes on the horizon, they go off to see it, even when they have already signed a contract for something else.  Instead of the principle of cognitive dissonance, which says that your mind will convince you that you've done the right thing when you make a choice and it is done, they now seem to deal with buyer's remorse by revisiting the choice again and again.  Is this a generational issue, since first-time homebuyers, who dominate the current market, have older relatives coming in and advising them before their purchases are finalized?  Or is this the result of a world where no one thinks that his or her decisions are final?  We'll find out when the economy improves more, since there won't be as much distraction with other choices drying up.  In the meantime, our advice to sellers is age old:  Don't count your chickens before they hatch.