December Update From Nina

December Update From Nina

They say as you get older time goes by even faster, and I believe that is an understatement. I truly feel this was the fastest year of my life! I blinked in January, and now we are at year's end.
 
As I sit here and reflect on the year, I have many blessings and things to be thankful for. I absolutely love to travel, and this was my year of travel (business + pleasure). From San Juan to New York to San Francisco, I have been able to make new memories with friends, share experiences with family (as I took Mom to NYC for the first time), and stretch my learning ability and mindset by attending conferences such as Coaching Skills Camp. All the while selling more real estate than ever before! Sales were good to us this year and we are humbled by your loyalty and trust in us. We are thankful for the opportunity to serve our clients and friends, whether it is work or casual. Nothing pleases me more than making connections–whether it’s finding the perfect house for someone, placing a new listing under contract hours after it is listed, referring my hairdresser, or finding someone a new job! I guess you could say I am in the people business…

It’s been fun to watch my kids flourish too. And I do realize how lucky I am. They are healthy and well-rounded kids. It was this year that I watched Isaac on the baseball field and you could really see the progress of his skill. What a tremendous improvement to see it click, and they actually begin to look, think, and act like a ball player. The love of the game is enticing. Then Emery was moved to the gymnastics team. She attends practice 2-3 times a week for hours at a time. She too is moving like a true gymnast and her love for the sport keeps her going. I guess I didn’t realize how skilled she was until one of the coaches told me that in all of her 38 years of coaching, she has never seen a 5-year-old with such natural ability and drive. I don’t tell you that to boast, I am just a proud parent!

Our clients and family have been good to us, and so has the real estate market for the past few years. We came a long way from the crash. I don’t take anything for granted, and The Suits Team doesn’t take anything for granted either. Tomorrow things could change. And honestly, real estate is cyclical–about every 7 years. The market will shift. We are actually starting to experience this in multiple areas of Atlanta. We don’t take time off during the holidays. We keep plugging away more than ever! You see, real estate isn’t a hobby for us or a part time job, we live it and breathe it. For a couple years now, Gary Keller of Keller Williams, has been preparing us for a shift again. It was explained to me this simply, imagine you are on a roller coaster. As you approach the top of the hill, there are a couple cars hanging over the top, yet not starting to go down. That is where our market is right now, those first couple of cars. Once we feel the market has shifted, we will already be well on our way. We are also seeing rates creep up. So while people might sit here and say we will wait for home prices to soften, remember if rates go up your purchasing power goes down, and you might as well have already bought because it is pretty much a wash.

With all that said, I want to give you some perspective of the market through the 3Q compared to 2015:
 
  • Monthly sales are up 6.5%
  • Median sales price is up 5.8% (avg in the $ 250 which is up over $100K in the past 9 years)
  • Our listing inventory is half of where it was in 2009
  • If you price right and look perfect, you can get 99.3% of list price, and sell in 10 days on market
  • If you don’t do it right from the start, you will get 90.8%, and sell within 141 day on market
  • 1/3 of all listings fail (don’t sell whether removed from the market or reduced)
  • Only 4% of all sales were distressed (short sales or foreclosures)
  • In 3Q, 28% of homes sold list price or higher
Those numbers are really strong. It is interesting because in the actual market areas right now we are seeing price reductions and longer days on the market. That tells us a couple of things. Buyers are taking longer to make decisions. And the market could already be starting to shift. One thing is guaranteed, The Suits Team is always watching the market for you.

I am excited as we enter the New Year. For those of you who follow us or me on Facebook, you know my husband has joined our team. Having the two of us in real estate is scary for the Harris household. I ask now more than ever that you will support us and help us make this transition work. So far so good!
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas (+ all holidays celebrated), and Happy New Year! May your holidays be filled with joy, laughter, and all warm comforts of the season. I hope to hear from you soon.
 
Happy Holidays!

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