Hello All, this is Barry from Century 21 Riviera Realty
We are now about to head into our “High Season” for both tourism and the real estate sales that usually comes with it. Because the past two years have seen a lot of changes as to how we do business and a substantially lower inventory in certain markets, we are now in some neighborhoods entering what is called a “Seller’s Market”. I am not sure if this will last as the main drop in our inventory has been from “Expiries” and not sales. These expiries for a large part have been caused by sellers wishing to stand by and wait until our tourism level came back to pre Covid levels. It appears that it is indeed coming back, and with a fury. This has created a bit of a situation here in our real estate market. Many sellers have ignored the CMA’s from their realtors and decided to price their homes well above the market in hopes of taking advantage of the pandemic and cashing in. This shows in our statistics as many properties have been priced well above the usual market rate.
SELLERS
Don’t List for More Than Your Home is Actually Worth!!!
When residential real estate inventory is low, the market is hot for sellers. This is what we refer to as a “Seller’s Market”. But this doesn’t mean buyers will overpay for a home. Too often, in this kind of a market, sellers will treat the real estate process like it is a windfall for them to cash out on. Listen to your realtor, he has access to all of the sales statistics and will deliver to you a computerized CMA. This is the honest true value of your home. Yes, we will add a small percentage for negotiation, but again the statistics will show us even that amount.
A home that is priced correctly regarding market history and statistics will receive an offer in the normal amount of time. Correct pricing allows the market to dictate how much the home is really worth by creating the possibility of multiple offers. If we truly are in a “Seller’s Market”, then multiple offers will begin to become the norm.
The seller who asks for too much more than their home is actually worth ultimately loses out on ready, willing and able buyers. The home can then become stigmatized as overpriced and knowledgeable buyers may choose to skip the property outright. Again, if our inventory levels do indeed come back, as predicted, the higher priced homes will be left behind and the buyers will flock to the more reasonably and proper priced homes.
BUYERS
Choose and work with one qualified AMPI affiliated realtor!!!
I cannot express enough to ensure that you are working with the right realtor. AMPI is the National Real Estate Board and the realtors that belong to it have to follow a Code of Ethics and Conduct, receive a minimum of 25 hours of education every year, (100 hours in their 1st 2 years) and they all have access to the exact same MLS database. The latter point is why you should just choose one and stick with him/her, otherwise you will be wasting a lot of both of your time and effort.
Yes, many states here in Mexico are still “Right to Work” and do not require licensing for realtors. Those non-affiliated realtors will not have access to the MLS database and will not be able to provide you with the same service that an AMPI realtor can. Pretty much every Taxi Driver here calls himself a Real Estate Agent.
A qualified realtor should be able to also give to you a CMA for the house you are interested in, so that you will have an informed opinion as to its real market value, which will greatly help with your negotiations. A “Buyer’s Realtor” costs you nothing, as all real estate service fees are paid by the seller, but he can save you thousands of dollars by, not only, negotiating a better price on your behalf, arranging for you a qualified home inspector, providing for you a good Closing Coordinator and Notary (not all are the same). He/She will also get you a “Closing Cost Estimate” so you are better informed as to your actual costs in your purchase.