Selling in The Current Market

Tony: So Emily, I feel a lot of questions from our sellers about, “When should we list? Is now a good time? Should I wait six months? What's your crystal ball say?

Emily: I wish we had a crystal ball.

Tony: So what do you typically tell them?

Emily: We tell them after we have analyzed where they live, the situation in their neighborhood, interest rates; where are they going? And we also do talk to a lot of the loan managers to find out what's going on, because we want to make sure that whatever information we’re passing on, we are very knowledgeable about that.

Tony: Sure. The headlines are flooded with mostly interest rate related topics right now. Looking at the federal level, people say, “Oh, my goodness, everything's going up up up.” Interest rates are going to go up, interest rates are actually going up. Right now, as of today, we essentially saw a 30-year fixed at around three and a half percent, by the end of 2022, we'll be at four percent. So the driving factors -- right now, at this particular moment in 2022 -- interest rates are top of mind. So basically, our conversations with sellers go a little bit like, “Buyers are very aware that interest rates are going up, we're expecting a very busy first half of 2022,” because purchase power changes dramatically, a half a percent change. So that's why it's going to be busy sooner versus later, maybe this year later. But saying, “Let me wait six months to a year,” I think when interest rates are higher, people may change their mind…

Emily: Right, because it didn’t really help their pocket.

Tony: Or say, “I'm looking in Tribeca, but now rates are a little higher, my purchase power gives me a little bit more square footage across the river in Brooklyn, or more in Long Island City” or “Instead of getting a cushy two-bedroom, maybe I should stick to a large one.” So, all those kinds of dynamics change as purchase power for buyers changes. Inventory is another big topic.

Emily: Inventory, depending on where you are in the city, if you only have, let's say, one other property and you’re building that's on the market or nothing, then it's a great time to put your property on the market because…

Tony: Yeah, and right now, there's relatively low inventory in just about every neighborhood in the boroughs for a lot of it, especially downtown below 34th Street for Prime Brooklyn. There's been low inventory since June of last year. So now, having a conversation with a seller now versus a year ago, you're competing with a fraction of the… It's a one-bedroom, it’s a two-bedroom, it’s a condo, whatever it is that you've got, it's a fraction of the competition. So that coupled with buyers are a little bit more anxious to do something before rates go up, that's why it's a good time now. Let's prep you, get everything ready, launch in the next month, maybe two months.

Emily: And be ahead of other people as well so that you really stick out.

Tony: Absolutely. Because people are waiting for new stuff to come out, new product, especially if it's unique, you're going to get a lot of attention. Now, it's still a great time for a seller to get really appealing numbers. So, I think that that's something that if you have questions, if you're just wondering about, your value, your home's value, what the process is like, we're available and we should talk.