This morning, my ramblings will take us deep into this SELLERS’ MARKET. It’s the same story with a bit more visualization and comment. This week, I interviewed a Realtor in the Washington DC area, I interviewed an appraiser in the SF Bay area, and I was part of an interview with a Canadian relocation specialist. We discussed this market which seems to be universal across North America. The question I asked was, “What will cause this market of limited supply end?” Without exception all three mentioned Interest Rates, then Employment Trends changing direction, and finally, Affordability. They all said, markets are smart, and when affordability impacts a market, the market will change. The California Appraiser said, “Don’t California Out Yet!” So folks, hang onto your hats, the winds of time will be in this market for some time to come…

Here’s what it looks like this week in our MLS System…

As you can see below, we are suffering from a drought of Active Residential Listings. Take a minute and absorb this. In the 11 county Denver Metro Area, we currently are running with just over 2,600 active listings. Now, remember, Denver Metro has a population of about 3.25M. Now it’s easy to understand the shortage issue. I wish we could measure the demand side of this as easily, but keep in mind we had less than 5 times this number just one year ago.

Dee and I continue to have success in this market, despite how tough it is. In fact, we assisted with two buyers last weekend in competitive price ranges with multiple offers, and now, they are under contract. Facing this market head on with finesse and patience pays dividends! Sun Tzu…

Now, I would like to address an issue we are facing. We are showing numerous properties with 15 minute showing windows. We believe this to be a very harmful practice. Please, Extend the acceptance period, allow at least a 30 minute window, and expose the property to the market for a week rather than 2 or 3 days. We had our buyers in a $2M listing with a 15 minute showing window. This is just crazy. Even if one runs through the house, 15 minutes is just impractical.

In closing today, Realtors have always had “The Three P’s”. Put a sign up, Put it in MLS, and Pray.” That used to be the market for sellers. Today, buyers need their own mantras. How about “Perseverance, Patience and Prayer”? It’s time…tc