New Listing Market Watch - fewer new listings and fewer price reductions

New listings during the last two weeks were up a bit compared to the previous week but still well below compared to the same period a year ago.  There were 133 new listings of single family homes compared to 119 during the previous period and 127 a year ago.  There were 170 new listings of condos compared to 169 during the previous period and 234 a year ago.

Total new listings during the most recent two week period were 303 compared to 287 during the previous period and 361 a year ago.

A much smaller percent of new listing in the last two weeks went into contract (2.3% of single family homes and 5.9% of condos) compared to the previous period (10.1% and 13.7% respectively.  A year ago the percentages were 10.2% and 7.7% single family homes and condos respectively.

The total number of price reductions was slightly lower than during the previous period and significantly lower compared to a year ago (55 vs 58 vs 71 respectively).  The change was almost entirely in the condo market.

There were 22 price reductions of single family homes and 33 price reductions of condos during the most recent two weeks.  During the previous period the number of price reductions were 20 and 38 and compared to a year ago 23 and 46 single family homes and condos respectively.

Inventory - not much sign of improvement

Inventory is down compared to this time last year after a noticeable inventory increase (2016 compared to 2015) in two of the three condo configurations we track

Total active listings in the San Francisco MLS at the beginning of June for the five categories of single family homes and condos we track was lower than it has been since we began tracking this information in 2010 (376 units).

• Survey is usually done within 5-8 business days of the beginning of the month.
• These five configurations represent approximately 60% of residential real estate sales in San Francisco.

Why Listings Don't Sell

Occasionally we see property listings that are "still available", or "price reduced" and its various euphemisms ("price improved", "price adjusted" etc).  There's an interesting article in RISmedia that attempts to outline the major reasons why listings don't sell

The number one reason:  "You overvalued your property".   I would word it a bit differently:  "Your property is overpriced given it's current condition" which takes into account reasons 5-10:

5. You haven't had your home professionally cleaned. A dirty house is going to leave a bad impression on buyers. Make sure you have a professional clean your carpeting and windows before you begin showing your house.

6. You haven't staged your home. If you've already moved out, then don't show an empty house. This makes it difficult for buyers to imagine living in it. Stage your house with furniture and decor to give buyers a better idea of how big every room is and how it can be used. You want the buyer to feel at home when they are taking the tour.

7. You kept up all of your personal décor. Buyers are going to feel uncomfortable touring your house if you keep all of your family portraits up. Take down your personal décor so that buyers can have an easier time imagining themselves living there.

8. Your home improvements are too personalized. You might think that the comic book mural you painted for your child's room is absolutely incredible, but that doesn't mean potential buyers will agree. If your home improvements are too personalized, it can scare off buyers who don't want to pay for features they don't want.

9. Your home is too cluttered. Even if your home is clean, clutter can still be an issue. For example, maybe you simply have too much furniture in one of your rooms. This can make the house feel smaller than it is.

10. Your home is in need of too many repairs.

It may seem counter intuitive that in a seller's market such as we have in San Francisco right now, but 5-10 matter.  In our market where the majority of listings sell for over asking, many buyers and agents who perceive your property is over priced won't even consider offering something less.  Better to slightly under price your property and let the market and competitive offers decide.  

After all, there is truth to the old adage: a property is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it.  

New Listing Market Watch - fewer listings, fewer price reductions

New listings for the most recent two week period are down compared both to the previous two week period and compared to the same period a year ago.  New listings of single family homes was 119 compared to 144 in the previous period and compared to 135 a year ago.  For condos, new listings were 168 compared to 203 in the previous period and 190 a year ago.

The percentage of new listings that went into contract dipped slightly for single family homes (10.1% compared to 11.8% in the previous period and compared to 10.4% a year ago).  For condos the percentage of new listings going into contract was down slightly compared to the previous period (13.7% vs 14.8%) but up compared to a year ago (13.7% vs 10.0%).

The number of price reductions of single family homes was up compared to the previous period (20 vs 16) but down slightly compared to a year ago (20 vs 22).  For condos the number of price reductions is down very slightly compared to the previous period (38 vs 39) and down more significantly compared to a year ago (38 vs 46).

The entire report can be found at our web site www.boldsf.com/Statistics.