Interest Rate Changes to Be Aware of in 2018

Though interest rates have risen, the introduction of new lending programs and the loosening of lending guidelines mean now is a great time to buy or sell a home. 

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One of the most common questions we’re getting right now is how interest rates are affecting buyers and sellers in our market, so I’ve once again brought in our preferred lender Brandon Moss to shed some light on this topic. 

Interest rates have gone up by roughly 0.5% since the start of 2018, and they’re still sitting in the mid-4% range for 30-year fixed mortgages. Stocks have also continued to hit all-time highs, and the 10-year yield nearly reached 3%, which is the highest point it’s been in four years. 

According to Brandon, this means it’s a great time for buyers and sellers to get off the fence while affordability is at an all-time high. If you’re a seller, you can get top dollar now while buyers can still qualify for higher-priced homes and afford low interest rate payments.  

There have been some notable changes to conforming loans that are advantageous to buyers. Their guidelines have become more flexible, and their limit was raised from $634,000 to $679,000. This helps buyers qualify for higher loan amounts with less of a down payment and, due to rising prices in LA County, increases their purchasing power. 

It’s a great time for buyers and sellers to get off the fence.

If you’re a buyer, Fairway Mortgage is offering some new programs this year that you might be interested in, including programs designed for self-employed buyers who can’t show enough income to qualify, reduced documentation programs, and reduced down payment programs.

Though interest rates have gone up, the introduction of these new programs and the loosening of lending guidelines has opened up more doors for buyers and made now a great time to get a loan and buy a house.

“You’d be surprised what you might qualify for nowadays and how easy it might be to get a loan,” Brandon says.

If you have any lending questions for Brandon, you can call him at (818) 256-4330. If you have real estate questions for me or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to help you.

Do Fewer People Want to Buy Homes Since the Tax Reform Bill?

Will The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act keep more San Fernando Valley buyers on the fence? C.P.A. Issam Aljaber is here to discuss this and other concerns about tax reform.

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Today I’m joined by C.P.A. Issam Aljaber to discuss some of the concerns we’re hearing from home sellers about the new tax reform act. 

Do buyers really want to buy a home right now after the tax reform act? 

Issam believes that buyers will still want to buy a home regardless. Although there may not be as much of a tax incentive to buy a home, homeownership is still exciting. We haven’t seen any less buyer demand in our market. The tax deduction was more of an incentive rather than a dealbreaker for people planning on buying a house. 

That said, there are a few points in the tax reform act that buyers and sellers in California should know about. 

One of them is the mortgage interest deduction. Under the previous tax law, up to $1 million of mortgage interest was deductible for the personal income tax. The new limit is $750,000. 

If you are buying in the $1 million range and putting 20% down, Issam believes you are still safe in that range and able to deduct mortgage interest. Once you are over that price point, a lot of the homes sold in that price point are often cash transactions anyway. 

Although there is less of a tax incentive to buy, people still want to become homeowners.

Price points under $900,000 are not affected that much by this change. People used to feel more of a tax savings when they bought a $200,000 or $400,000, so there is not much of an incentive there anymore. Like we mentioned earlier, though, tax incentives are not necessarily make-or-break for those planning to buy a home. 

Finally, sellers have also been asking if the capital gains exemption was affected by the tax reform. 

Although there were talks in earlier versions of the bill about changing the capital gains tax exemption, no changes were made in the final bill. If you are thinking of selling your house, single taxpayers can still get up to $250,000 in capital gains tax-free, and married couples can still get up to $500,000 in capital gains tax-free.  

If you have any other questions about the tax reform act, you can contact Issam Aljaber at (818) 383-8029. As always, if you have any real estate questions, just give me a call or send me an email. We would be happy to help you!

Three Reasons We Are Still in a Seller’s Market

Even though interest rates have shot up considerably since December, we are still in a strong seller’s market. Homes in the San Fernando Valley and Porter Ranch are selling quickly and we expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. 

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One question that we’ve been getting bombarded with on pretty much a daily basis is, “Why are we still in a seller’s market if the rates have gone up dramatically since December?” 

There are several reasons why the San Fernando Valley and Porter Ranch areas are still in a seller’s market. A few of them stand out in particular.

First, we have extremely low inventory. Right now, we have just 1.5 to 1.7 months of available inventory in most neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley. In Porter Ranch, there are just about 60 properties for sale out of the 11,409 single-family units that are in the area. For comparison, there were over 300 properties for sale during the foreclosure crisis in 2008.

Secondly, you are seeing a situation where homeowners are moving up but not selling. They were able to secure such a low rate when they bought the property originally that it makes sense for them to keep it, rent it out, and qualify for a new home. As a result, there is less inventory coming on the market.

The lack of new construction at entry-level price points is disappointing.

There isn’t a lot of new construction taking place right now, either. Part of it is because of zoning laws, part of it is because there isn’t any more space to build out in the San Fernando Valley. The homes that are being built don’t cater to the largest pool of buyers in the entry-level market. This includes buyers who are coming back into the market after a past foreclosure and buyers who are coming from other areas in the market like Pasadena, Burbank, and Glendale. The latter group is getting a lot more bang for their buck in areas like Porter Ranch and Granada Hills.

Don’t anticipate anything changing in the near future. We should be in a strong seller’s market for a while now. Despite the fact that rates have gone up a bit, we are still seeing more and more buyers come to the market in order to lock in rates before they go up even more.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. I would love to hear from you.

How to Give Your Curb Appeal a Boost This Spring

 Ryan La Fleur from Four Seasons Nursery shares some tips on how to spruce up your landscaping with fresh plants.

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Spring is here! That means it’s time to start adding some plants around your home. Today, Ryan La Fleur at the Four Seasons Nursery is going to share some tips on the best ways to spruce up your landscaping. 

The plants you should choose to add a little pizzaz to your home have to do with timing. Right now is the best time to plant pretty much anything. If you get plants from a nursery, you need to keep in mind that they have been babied. Keeping up with the care of those plants is going to take some time and energy. 

The good news is, spring allows plants to adapt to their surroundings. Instead of experiencing a major climate change, the weather gradually increases. Spring is like a training period for summer, which means if you plant them now, your plants will thrive in the hotter weather. 

Planting in the spring allows plants to adapt to their surroundings before summer hits.

If you’re selling a home, your plant selection is a little more focused. Although flowers can add a great pop of color for home showings, they will die very quickly and need to be replaced if the home doesn’t sell that particular weekend. It’s better to buy a plant that offsets the color of your pre-existing landscaping. For example, if you have green bushes, get a few plants with red or gold in them that will stay that color. You won’t have to replace them as often, and you still get a great pop of color. 

If you have any questions for Ryan, you can reach him at (818-700-0092). 

As always, if you have any questions about real estate, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! 

Tips for Preparing Your Home for the Spring Market

Today I’m going over a few tips for preparing your home for the spring market. 

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With spring right around the corner, I thought today would be a good time to give you some tips on how to prepare your home to sell in the spring market. 

First, you need to neutralize and depersonalize your space as much as you can. Buyers want to be able to walk into a house and visualize themselves there, which means it’s time to start decluttering and stowing away items you don’t need either in the garage or in a storage unit. You don’t need to take down every personal photo, but toning down the personal items is a must. 

Next, now is a good time to replace any flooring or touch up any areas that need new paint. A fresh coat of paint goes a long way in making your home feel move-in ready. Remember to stick with neutral paint colors! 

Remember to stick with neutral paint colors!

You also need to to make sure you clean up the outside of your home. The outside is going to give off the first impression, which means you need to cut back the shrubs and put away any lawn decorations.

It would also be a good idea to power wash your exterior and give your front door a fresh coat of paint! 

If you have any questions about the market or real estate in general, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’m always happy to help! 

Why the Winter Is an Ideal Time to Sell Your Home

Sellers want to know if they should sell their home now or wait until spring. I’m here to let you know why listing now is a much better option. 

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One of the most popular questions we get this time of year is whether sellers should wait until spring to sell or sell their home now. It is actually much better to list your home now than during the spring season, and here are the reasons why. 

There will be way more competition in the spring. It’s true that more houses sell during the spring, but that statistic won’t always work in your favor. For example, we had a client earlier this year wait to sell during the spring and six houses with the same floor plan popped up on the market. This decreased competition for their home drastically. 

The numbers really do indicate that it is better to sell during the wintertime. Over the course of the last three years in the San Fernando Valley, during the winter, there are about 2,400 to 2,700 total homes on the market. Compare that to 3,500 to 3,700 homes on the market during the summer months. That’s a huge difference in the amount of inventory and in turn, a huge difference in competition. 

It’s better to list your home now than during the spring.

Interest rates might also be higher in spring, which means fewer people will be able to afford your home. If the Fed raises interest rates, it is likely that trend will continue well into 2017. 

You will also get more serious buyers in the wintertime. Listing your home in the colder weather means avoiding the “open house crowd,” which consists of people strolling in to eat the free cookies and probably haven’t even gone through the pre-approval process yet. 

Finally, there are lots of job transfers happening at the very end and very beginning of the year. These people need to get into a home fast, and catering to that demographic is a smart move for the seller. 

If you have any further questions about selling your home this holiday season, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. Happy holidays! 

What Repairs Should You Make Before Selling Your Home?

Whether you are selling your home this year or next spring, there are a few repairs you should make now in order to maximize your home sale. I’ll go over the top repairs today.

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Whether you want to put your home on the market before the end of the year or you’re waiting for 2017, there are a few repairs that you can make right now to have a successful home sale. 

First of all, fix your flooring. Refinish hardwood floors and replace old carpeting with neutral white or tan carpeting. If there are stains on the carpet, buyers will think the carpet needs to be replaced; unfortunately, buyers tend to overestimate the cost of replacing flooring. It will be less expensive for you to take care of the flooring yourself. You should also replace chipped or cracked tiles. 

You should also paint the ceiling and the walls. Touch up worn spots, get rid of wallpaper and dated wood panelling, and apply a fresh, neutral coat of paint to make your home look brand new. 

When it comes to kitchen improvements, don’t spend thousands of dollars renovating the entire room. Instead, replace old cabinets, add new hardware to your cabinets, and replace leaky faucets or sinks. 

You don’t have to completely renovate your kitchen to maximize your home sale.

The same holds true when it comes to remodeling the bathroom; you don’t have to redo the whole room. Just invest in a new floor, update the fixtures, or install some new lights. 

Finally, don’t forget curb appeal. You may or may not need to replace your roof, but you should definitely patch up any cracks in the cement, resurface your driveway, and repaint fences so that your home is more appealing to buyers. 

Taking care of these things now will pay off when you sell your home later. If you have any other questions about putting your home on the market, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How a Cluttered Garage Can Affect a Home Sale

If you’re selling your house, an overly-cluttered garage can affect the process in two different ways.

The first is by prolonging the general home inspection. If you have a ton of items along the walls, that will make it extremely difficult for the home buyer to conduct the inspection. They will most likely have to reinspect the property after you’ve removed those items. This can become an issue if you have a short inspection time period that’s been requested because the buyer will ask for more time until you actually clear everything out.

Inspectors need room to do their jobs.

The second is by obstructing termite inspections. If a termite inspection has been requested for the garage, the termite inspector has to be able to poke into the garage walls to check for subterranean and dry wood termites. If they can’t do that and then report that they were unable to complete the inspection because of too many personal items impeding their work space, the buyer will once again request that the inspection contingency not be removed until everything is cleared out.

If you’re putting your home on the market, you need to make sure there’s enough room in your garage for the home inspector and the termite inspector to do their jobs.

If you have any other questions, please give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Why to Get a Termite Report Early in Porter Ranch

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If you’re thinking about listing your Porter Ranch home, you should get a termite inspection, and you should do it before you even list. Most sellers wait until after they’ve sold their home to get this inspection, and more often than not, sellers are sorry they didn't do it earlier.

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You should get a termite inspection before you list

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There are three main reasons why:

1. You need to know exactly where you stand before negotiating the sale price. If you wait until your home is in escrow to get the inspection and find out your home needs thousands of dollars in treatments and repairs, it’s really too late to go back to the bargaining table and ask for a higher price to cover the cost. If there’s nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about.
2. Getting stuck with a rotten wood patio or deck. With the inspection done ahead of time, you’ll know whether or not they need to be replaced. If they’re shot, you can then decide whether to replace or scrap it. In fact, most wooden decks and patios add little to no value to your home. Quite often they are shrugged off as unimportant until it’s too late and the buyer insists that a new one is built.
3. It should be done before painting or replacing your roof. It’s a shame to spend the money upgrading your curb appeal with paint or a new roof only to find out that you’re going to have to spend thousands more dollars to correct termite damage, fungus or dry rot - especially considering a termite report costs less than $100.

If you have any questions about termite reports and inspections or any other real estate questions, give us a call or send us an email! Thanks again for watching our video blog.

Do Open Houses in Southern California Really Sell Homes?

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I think that people often feel open houses are a thing of the past. Before the Internet came around, it was a great way to draw attention to a property. So, why do we still use open houses to sell properties?

We are big believers in open houses, and this is because if they are marketed well, we can often find buyers that are seriously interested. People use so much search criteria when they go online that your home may not even show up in their results. They may never even see your home otherwise!

Sundays are typically when open houses take place, and real estate agents aren’t always available at those times. In an open house you can allow anywhere from 20-100 people to come and see your property. This eliminates the need for many different showings.

Over 80% of our listings sold in 2015 because a buyer came to an open house. This is how we know that our open houses are working.

We would love to help you sell your home in Porter Ranch! Don’t hesitate to contact us.

Don't Forget About Your Online Curb Appeal

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What is online curb appeal? Well, it's the same as old school curb appeal, but it involves marketing your home online. Nearly 97% of buyers look at homes online before they view them in person, so having a strong digital presence is important.

It all starts with your photography. It needs to be professional if you want to stand out. We have a professional photographer on our team, and the difference is amazing. It's so simple, yet so important for your online curb appeal.

When people peruse the listings online, they have to be captivated by your photos.

Depending on the location of your property, we can also use a drone to shoot footage of your home. This will definitely make your home stand out among others on the MLS.

However, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to marketing your property online. The Internet is where most of the action takes place when you sell your home, so you have to invest in an agent that will market your home effectively online.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Have You Missed Your Chance to Sell Your Home?

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Several sellers wonder if they've missed their chance to sell their homes as we head into the winter months. Many people have asked me, "Is it a good time to sell in the fall?"

Actually, fall is a great time to sell. If you look at the numbers, you'll see that inventory in the fall is extremely low. In our last video, we talked about how inventory has dropped by almost 40% across the San Fernando Valley. Right now, listings are at a premium. We have more demand than supply due to historically low interest rates that continue to hover around 4%.

Even if you look at the statistics over the last few years, you'll see that more listings close escrow in November, December, and January than the number of listings on the market.

Because rates are so low, buyers don't want to lose out. If your home is priced right, fall is a very good time of year to sell. If you look at June, July, or August, when our 2015 inventory levels were at their highest, the buyers had a lot of choices. In the fall, with winter approaching, fewer homes are on the market which means sellers will be in a good situation because there is less competition. If you wait until March or April to list your home, then you need to prepare for a lot more competition.

Ultimately, if you want to sell your home, now is the time to do so. If you have any questions for me, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

3 Important Questions When Hiring a Home Inspector

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Today we'll be speaking about some very important questions that you need to be asking your home inspector when you have them come out and inspect your property, or your potential property. 

To help us with this, we have my preferred vendor: Keith Morgan of Property Inspection Consultants.

1. Look at their credentials. There is no such thing as a licensed home inspector in the state of California, so you want to look for the California Real Estate Inspection Association. This places credentials on inspectors after a rigorous exam. This is the same exam that home inspectors nationwide must take, and only 50% of people pass it.
2. Review their experience. Everybody has to start out somewhere, but you're better off picking a more experienced inspector. They will be more familiar with structures, as well as different builders in the area.
3. Pick an inspector that communicates well. Written reports are required in California, so you need to have someone who can communicate well in writing and in person. There are many things that you'll have to discuss with the inspector in order to determine if the house is desirable or not, so pick someone that you're comfortable with and able to communicate with.

If you need any more information about this subject, or if you require any other sort of real estate assistance in Porter Ranch, please don't hesitate to contact me!

3 Things to Consider When Selling a Home with Contingencies

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A lot of buyers are out in Porter Ranch right now, and they're looking to purchase a home with contingencies. Today we are talking about the three most important things to remember when dealing with contingent offers. They are becoming more and more common here in California, so we want you to keep these three things in mind: 

1. Be flexible to the buyer's/seller's needs
Buying or selling a home is all about compromise, and being able to be flexible to each other's needs ensures a smooth and successful transaction.

2. You have to be committed to the process
You need to treat your home as a business decision, and be committed to selling for the long haul. Buyers don't want to buy from somebody who is not committed to selling, because they don't want the transaction to be slowed down by the owner.

3. Make sure you are prepared
You should have a good idea of what you want before the home comes on the market. This way when it does, you'll recognize it, and be ready to make an offer. 

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

What Types of Improvements Add Value to Your Porter Ranch Home?

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Now is a great time to sell a home in Porter Ranch. Before you put your home on the market, it's important to have it looking nice and in the best condition possible. Some people believe that making expensive repairs and remodels will net them a lot more money when they go to sell their home. However, this is not the case, and making a lot of inexpensive repairs can actually save you more money.

We're in a seller's market, so even small improvements like improving the carpet, repainting, cleaning, decluttering, and doing some landscaping work can net you a few extra dollars when you go to sell. We have a shortage of inventory right now, so buyers are looking for homes that are in good condition and priced well. There is no need to do a massive remodel, because most of the time that will not net you a lot of extra money when you sell. 

If you're unsure of what to do to your home before you sell it, please don't hesitate to contact us. We don't want you to do a large remodel and then not see any return on the investment. Sometimes what you like in a renovation is not the same as what the buyer likes.

So, if you have any questions about what repairs you might want to make before you sell, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'm always here to help!

How Were We Able To Sell This Home in Just 13 Days?

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We always love it when our clients have good things to say about their experience working with us. Recently, we heard from a home seller client about why he enjoyed his experience working with our team so much. Here's what he had to say:

"We met with several agents before choosing Scott. We chose him because he seemed to have a familiarity with the area and he knew more about the local market than other local agents do. My parents always mentioned for years that he would be the one who they would choose if they ever sold their home. That made him a clear choice as far as I'm concerned. "

"Throughout the process", he continued, "Scott was great about keeping me informed on what was going on regularly. Scott has put together a great team, and the whole process was very professional, and very smooth. "

As you can see, we are always working hard to give our clients the best real estate experience possible. If you’d like to hear more about how our team can help you accomplish your buying and selling goals, give us a call or send us an email today!

Are You Prepared for Escrow?

There are many great San Fernando Valley area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 818-720-9922 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Just because you've made it to escrow doesn't mean the deal is done. Many people are unaware of the handful of things that could go wrong during this stage. Today, we're here to share how to avoid them.

So, you have a fully executed contract and have opened up escrow - now what? Lately, we've seen an increasing number of homes fall out of escrow once a deal has been accepted, which is a frustrating experience for the buyer and seller alike. 

This can happen for several reasons - the dollar value of the transaction, physical inspections, buyer's nerves, and loan issues are just a few examples. We typically tell our seller clients that they need to treat everyone like they're a customer. Even if a buyer throws a really lowball offer at you, it's important to remain respectful because the buyer will often come up in price.

There are two BIG issues that may keep the sale from going through once you've reached escrow: the home inspection and the loan. Something usually comes up during the inspection, and as a seller, you need to realize it's understandable for a buyer to have a problem with a defect and be prepared to renegotiate if necessary. As a buyer, you need to realize that no house is perfect and that the house you're living in now probably has defects of its own. 

Whether you're buying or selling, keep in mind that it's not uncommon for there to be bumps in the road during escrow. When they inevitably come up, think them through, don't make a quick judgement, and keep the bigger picture in mind. Take a deep breath, a step back, and make a smart decision for everyone involved.

Here at the Scott Himelstein Group, we're really good at coaching our clients through situations like this, as well as negotiating through these mitigating circumstances so escrow closes with as few complexities as possible.

If you have any questions about the process, or would like real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to hear from you! 

Thanks, and have a great day! 

How Can You Know if You Have a Good Offer in Hand?

There are many great San Fernando Valley area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 818-720-9922 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

When selling your home, you need to be savvy about the offers you receive. Knowing what a good offer looks like will go a long way in helping you make a profitable sale. Here are 3 tips on how to do just that:

• Look at the purchase price: Buyers will often try to submit a lowball offer. It's important that you don't get offended or emotionally involved. At the end of the day, it's just a business decision made by the buyer, who is trying to see how you will react. Many times, especially in multiple offer situations, the offer that is accepted was originally the lowest - the buyer usually comes up near the original list price because they really want the home. In short, always submit a counteroffer because you never know what the buyer is willing to do unless you try.

• Make sure the buyer is pre-approved: If the buyer is just buying in cash, make sure you get a proof of funds. On the other hand, if they require financing, we recommend that they get pre-approved with our lender so there are no surprises. If they own another house, their debt ratio is too high, their Fico score is not high enough, or they had a distressed home sale, they will not be able to purchase your home. To save you time and stress, we require buyers to get pre-approved with us free of charge and obligations.

• Take a look at the FICO score: This will give you a good idea of where the buyer stands and gives you an inside look of what their debt ratio will really be. Again, it's just another way to make sure you're negotiating with someone who can actually afford to purchase your home.

If you follow these 3 procedures, you should be able to determine whether you have a good offer in hand. If you would like help with the process or have any questions about the Porter Ranch area market, don't hesitate to give us a call. We would be pleased to give you a hand.

When is the Best Time of Year to Sell Your Home?

There are many great San Fernando Valley area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 818-720-9922 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

We get asked all the time whether now is a good time to buy or sell. While most people think the spring and summer are the best times to sell, the numbers suggest the later months are a pretty great time to sell. Many homeowners take their home off the market because they think they'll get a better price come spring. With more sellers sitting on the sidelines, those who decide to go ahead and sell in the fall benefit from a lack of competition.

Homes sold in January often sell for a lot higher and with multiple offers because there is less for buyers to choose from. Interest rates are still quite low, hovering just above 4%, so buyer demand is still quite high. When looking at the numbers for last December in San Fernando Valley, we noticed more listings closed escrow than were on the market. We saw a similar trend in January and February of this year, before things started to change when March came around.

The months of December, January, and early February are perfect for maximizing your home's value. Competition is low and buyers are serious, giving you an upper hand in negotiations. If you want to take advantage of these favorable conditions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to assist you in any way possible.