John Lockwood’s Blog

One of the things that’s always intriqued me about this business is how tomorrow’s price influences today’s market.  One side or the other is always wanting tomorrow’s price.

When I was new in the business in 2002, of course, it was the sellers who wanted tomorrow’s price.  You would do a comparative market analysis for them and they’d add $40,000 or so to whatever price you told them.  And so, prices would rise, with everyone always listing at tomorrow’s price, and then when it sold, tomorrow’s price would become today’s price, and then they’d raise it up more.

Today of course, it’s the buyers who want tomorrow’s price.  Prices are going down, so buyers are looking at the comps and mentally subtracting $30,000 or so off of whatever you tell them.

Where it really get’s interesting is if the home is already $30,000 or $50,000 below comps.  When that happens, buyers completely ignore the comps and mentally subtract $30,000 from a price that’s already low, shooting [themselves in the foot] for the day after tomorrow’s price.

The market as it is has a way of educating buyers and sellers, by a process of beating the greed out of them.  The core skill I’ve learned in five years are patience and the ability to refrain from saying “I told you so” in so many words.  People come around eventually.  Today’s market is what today’s market is.

As in most areas of the country, Sacramento has been experiencing a fairly high share of short sales and foreclosures. Indeed, a recent widely quoted RealtyTrac estimate puts Sacramento at #7 in the state for foreclosure filings in August. Working on the foreclosures already in inventory, we reported that for August Real Estate Owned (REO) properties made up 25.3% of the sales volume for homes sold through our local MLS, Metrolist.

Because of the widespread interest in foreclousres, we recently upgraded our Sacramento foreclosures pages to include a lot more than the original links to REOs in Sacramento County. We now list REOs for Sacramento, El Dorado, and Placer County, as well as short sales for the same three counties. With these listings on our site, real estate buyers now have access to listings that are priced (on average) between about 8% and 15% lower than non-distressed sales.

Welcome to John Lockwood’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in Cameron Park.