The last few months have been whirlwind for Dmitry and me. In spite of all that you hear about the crummy housing market, we, through hard work, good fortune and a bit of creative thinking, find ourselves square in the middle of our best year in real estate-EVER. Yes, you read that right. Our best year EVER.
We started the summer with over 30 listings. Most of those homes have new owners now. Some sold in a few days. One half million dollar Birmingham home sold in less than a week at full price. A few more will close in August. A few unsold listings remain, and that leaves us with those to focus on now.
But we are also at the point where we have the capacity to begin helping more sellers (and buyers) reach their goals, whether it be moving up, moving down or moving out (we hope that is not the case).
I have heard plenty of groaning Realtors around Birmingham, who are saying they are sick of this market, and tired of going without paychecks. I am not unsympathetic. However, the most important message I can leave sellers with right now is that HOMES ARE SELLING! Sales are actually up (in units) throughout Metro Detroit. There are buyers out there who want to buy homes like yours.
Today I had a call from a reporter from Money Magazine. She asked what we are doing to get homes sold. I would say there are a couple of things that have proven successful for us:
- “Right pricing” from the start, which means carefully looking at the comps and trends in the market and helping our sellers to understand the market like we understand it.
- Innovative Internet marketing for maximum exposure.
- Staging. Marianne Sweet, a contributor here on miOaklandCounty.com, has shown us the light and done wonders with our listings.
- The Birmingham Bloomfield Realtor Network, our tight knit group of 13 top producing agents from competing offices. We meet to create marketing events for our listings and share ideas in a very collaborative manner.
- We have a strong brokerage behind us. SKBK Sotheby’s International Realty has provided us with great support and with great marketing for our sellers.
I don’t pretend that this market is not without challenges. Most brokers will say they have never seen anything like it. Yet I see plenty of hope and success out there. I want you to see it too.
P.S. We need more listings :-)
Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
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