09 April, 2012

WEEK IN REVIEW AND EFFECT OF PRIVATE SALES ON THE PALO ALTO MARKET


The listing inventory in Palo Alto continues to be at an all-time low. Private sales (off-Multiple Listing Services ("MLS") sales) are more frequent this year. These private sales are reducing the listing inventory on MLS and eventually will adversely affect sale prices.

As a general rule I advise my clients to give their home maximum exposure before accepting an offer, in order to obtain the highest possible sales price. Achieving maximum exposure requires a complex marketing plan, an integral part of which is listing the home on MLS.
  
By listing a home on MLS, a seller ensures that it will be available to the hundreds of agents who subscribe to and use the MLS as the main source to find properties to their buyers. Conversely, in an off-MLS transaction a seller is relying only on one agent to market their home. 

The Private sales transactions, which are not recorded on the MLS ,often indirectly affect the public market activity and property values for other homes. For example a seller may get an acceptable offer from a buyer, but because of the lack of reported sales on the MLS the appraiser will not be able to appraise the house at the offer price. This in turn may prompt the buyer and seller to negotiate a lower sale price in order to close the transaction.

We have only 29  active listings in Palo Alto as of today. The broker tour had only 2 listings because of the spring break. The listing inventory continues to be at a historic low; the market remains a seller market 
Only 5 new listings of single family homes were listed on the MLS last week as oppose to 15 the week before. 9 listings changed status to pending as oppose to 10 listings the previous week and 8 closed escrow as oppose to 5 the previous week
If you are planning to sell your home it is an opportune time to sell.

Please contact me for a free market analysis to your home and to help you achieve your goals quickly and stress free .

Following is the detail of the market activity in Palo Alto for last week:

ACTIVE NEW LISTINGS:
Address
Area
4
2
0
2
1
0
4
2
0
4
3
0
2
1
0
4
3
0
5
3
0
3
3
1
5
3
0
SOLD LISTINGS:

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