What the Data Tells Us about Real Estate Sales

We've been experiencing higher than normal volume on our website lately.  I know that's a message that you are used to hearing when you call in for customer service almost anywhere, but here it means something different.  It means that we can tell, from the analytics provided to us by our web provider and our Search Engine Management provider, that the usual uptick in site visits and searches began right after the holidays this year.  Usually we would see that rise begin in February or so, and that would translate into more traffic at open houses and more showings by the end of March. 


This year, all indications are that the spring market has already started.  And this despite all the snow!  While you might think (as I did) that bad weather and dark, cold nights would have people rushing to their computers to search for property, we can tell that the visits are coming during the day, and during the week, more than on the bitterly cold and messy weekends we've been having.  That would suggest that the traffic is normal, but early, as opposed to caused by boredom.


Our agents are reporting that showings are surprisingly robust for this time of year, and that open houses were strong, even on the traditionally slow Super Bowl Sunday (I've never understood why it takes all day, if you're not hosting a party, to get ready to watch a football game, but that's another blog topic...).  Inventory is down, and buyers are clearly eager to see new listings.  Many of the listings that have been on the market for a long time have been judged by buyers to be overpriced, or compromised in some way, so new offerings are highly prized.  Sellers take note!

Waiting for Spring

While I am snowed (or iced) in tonight--again!--I am thinking once again about how happy I am that real estate is not as time sensitive as some other industries. If you had a restaurant this week, or a theater, or an airline, you would be losing revenue that wouldn't be replaced, in many cases. With real estate, it's different. I was looking at Google Analytics tonight, which tells us how many people look at http://www.hpearce.com/, and from what sites those people reach us, and it was amazing. Every snowstorm for the past month had a huge spike upward, showing us that prospective buyers and sellers are using the downtime we've all experienced when there just isn't anything to do in all this snow, and they are using it to look for real estate on the Web. They can't get out to look at property (we didn't even officially open our offices today, preferring to leave the roads to those who absolutely need to get to work), but they certainly are thinking about it.

That's great news for us. We already know that a bad, snowy winter is usually devoid of sales, but that it is generally followed by a robust spring market. All that searching on the internet, and all that time cooped up inside, leads to a frenzy of springtime real estate activity. If that's the normal pattern, what on earth will we see this spring? Real estate flying off the MLS in April and May, we hope! So, if you are a potential seller, use this indoor time to de-clutter your home and do all those fix-it projects. If you are a potential buyer, keep surfing the net--we'll be waiting for you when the sun shines!

Good News All Around

We just finished our annual meeting at the New Haven Country Club. It's a beautiful day, and it was a great time to reflect on the past year and celebrate the recovering market! We sign many signs that real estate sales are improving; in fact, our first quarter numbers show a 34% increase in sales throughout our region, and a 15% increase in listings. We are proud to say that we made money last year, although we are looking forward to having it be a little easier this year. Consumers seem to be coming out of hibernation, and activity is definitely up.

Awards were given to our 20-year associates, and to our Chairman's Circle of top producers. Even in a challenging environment, the best agents always find a way to be successful, and we honored their accomplishments. Longevity is also important to us as a company, since we are a family business in its second generation.

We reviewed the many tools that our company has for marketing and sales. We have a first-class website, and are endeavoring to improve individual web pages. Realtor.com is a great resource, and we pay for enhanced service, so we emphasized those advantages, along with real estate tours (now uploaded to YouTube as well). Our agents also have access to a wonderful listing presentation service called Toolkit, as well as Xpress Docs, an online provider of marketing materials.

By focusing on these basic offerings, we have enhanced the service we provide for our clients. We are well-positioned to catch the recovery wave!