mls

Metrolist Sacramento MLS Pending Sales March-May 2020

Metrolist Sacramento MLS Pending Sales March-May 2020

Metrolist Sacramento MLS pending sales March-May 2020 is a clear snapshot of the current surge in pending sales. Clearly, May 2020 forward shows increased buyer confidence. We would customarily see an uptick this time of year; however, Covid19 has some buyers nervous about home buying. Many buyers we talk to are surprised when they see the reports like this graph. If they are out shopping, they know as buyers are only allowed two at a time, so buyers are waiting outside in a line on some listings. The above market snapshot is a good example of simplicity and EZ to follow. The inventory is increasing slowly, but not by much.

The buyers are out looking, and our phones are ringing off the hook! Today we have offers on several of our listings; one, in particular, may have multiple offers. It is like a switch came on. Many of the buyers who were waiting to buy since the Covid19 shelter in place occurred in March, decided they had waited long enough. It’s time to take advantage of the historically low-interest rates. The market is hot right now. Since May 1rst, the pending sales are on the rise. Don’t miss your opportunity, as it is knocking at your door.

Metrolist Sacramento MLS pending sales March-May 2020 shows it’s time to buy, and an excellent opportunity exists to sell your property right now while there is little competition. Call us today. Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with RE/MAX Gold can help you navigate the market successfully to achieve your real estate goals. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.

— JaCi Wallace

JaCi Wallace Weintraub & Wallace
Weintraub & Wallace Realtors

How Networking Sells Homes Outside of MLS

Networking Sells Homes

How networking sells homes outside of MLS. This is an article written by Elizabeth for another website. It is an important topic. There are many marketing actions that sell homes besides just putting a listing into mls. Enjoy as it is a good read.

— JaCi Wallace

When I analyze my last year’s sales — in particular my listings — in about 80% of the cases, I can say the homes were pursued because I networked with the selling agent. I talk about my listings to every agent I meet. After showings, I call the agents to find out what their buyers thought, and I give them suggestions, overcome negatives and encourage them to write an offer.

Agents like to work other agents who are polite, professional and fun to work with. I believe in selling benefits over merely pointing out features. Agents who are excited about a home for their clients pass on that excitement to their clients. Networking is what makes this business work. No agent is an island working all alone. Real estate is truly a people business, and agents who like each other will do favors, push that envelope a bit harder and make deals happen.

I’d venture to guess that more than half of the sales in my office are sold within the company, if not within the office. That’s because we pitch homes at our office meeting and support each other. But I also believe in supporting my competition, especially those who work in the neighborhoods where I specialize.

If my listing isn’t a fit for a competitor’s client, I might suggest that agent take her buyer to see another listing that she might not have thought about. There is nothing wrong with asking an agent to talk about her buyers and their needs to figure out if a listing might fit those buyers. Even if it’s not my listing.

Read more about how Networking Sells Homes. If you want to sell or buy real estate call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with Remax Gold. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.

Elizabeth Weintraub

Elizabeth Weintraub
Weintraub & Wallace

How Cheating Realtors is an Upfront Disclosure From Sellers

is cheating an upfront disclosure

When is cheating Realtors an upfront disclosure in the home selling process from a seller’s point of view? I had a phone call today from a future seller who had already talked to and chosen a Realtor. So why was he calling our firm to ask me questions, why didn’t he ask his Realtor?

His first questions were about what types of agency did we use when when listing a home. What he wanted to really know was if he could get the home listed and not pay a Realtor under certain circumstance. It got me to thinking about an old boyfriend who told me upfront about potential cheating and he asked questions about how I felt about cheating. I told him I would drop him like a rock in a deep pond! Why go into a relationship with someone devaluing you up front?

This seller’s second question what if he is out front on his sidewalk when someone stops to talk to him and he gets them to write an offer, does he owe commission? YES. Does he have an exclusion? NO. Under an Exclusive Agency listing agreement, he would owe a commission no matter who brought a buyer.

A better answer here is if a buyer is standing in front of a listing, did she already find the house on the MLS, or did she drive by first and see a sign, or view it on Zillow, Trulia, Metrolist, Realtor.com, RE/MAX Gold, or or any other online listing-based marketing company. So do you think cheating Realtors is an upfront disclosure from sellers? None of these websites are seller-generated opportunities.

Then the seller wanted to know how to access MLS and read what agents wrote in agent confidential remarks. So it is getting clear he doesn’t really want full-service real estate. He was nice enough and perhaps didn’t understand we don’t work for free. Agents spend time and money, we pay employees, also, we are running a business. We pay errors and omissions insurance, self employment tax, membership dues, health insurance, advertisement fees, professional photos, drone photography, association fees, and so much more. Our time and efforts are value added.

When a seller is already trying to get out of paying the listing commission, it is like they are already disclosing they are going to cheat on their agent.

I did my best to explain why this type of listing arrangement was not possible. Top producers earn our commission. Is cheating Realtors an upfront disclosure? Yes, absolutely, in my opinion, it is. I talk to so many sellers who hire our team and are very happy to do so, and to pay us, as they have seen our results online and our mile-long Zillow reviews of happy past clients.

To hire a full service Realtor team who earns their fees, please call Weintraub and Wallace today at 916-233-6957.

— JaCi Wallace

Hidden Inventory
Weintraub & Wallace

Blogging From My New Command Center

blogging from my command center

Blogging from my new command center, I feel a bit like the Captain of the USS Enterprise. Beam me up, Scotty! With my new 42-inch monitor, I can view multiple screens open while I’m uploading photos, researching links, and writing — all at the same time. As if that isn’t enough, I also have my laptop on my desk, so I can also work on my email. Whoa, talk about multi-tasking! This is just so awesome.

Blogging at my new command center is just a part of what I can do using this 42 inch monitor. I can now write contracts, have MLS open, keep my eye on email, and watch our Sacramento real estate ads on social media. This not only saves time, it creates more efficiency in my task schedule. Thinking over each day, jotting down a few blog ideas, and taking photos of our daily work adventures, reminds me how much our team does as a collective, each day, for our clients.

My friend and partner, Elizabeth Weintraub, of Weintraub & Wallace Realtors, inspired me to blog. She has been encouraging me for over 10 years to write a daily blog. So, I owe her a huge shout out for helping to make this happen. Watching Elizabeth blog on her large screen monitor, was like watching a technology movie! She had so many screens opening, copy, paste, edit, upload, link, so I knew right then I need a new technology center. My old 20-inch monitor would just not do. This monster size monitor is so much fun to work on.

My friends, family, and our clients tell me they enjoy reading our blogs. I know the beauty of this first hand as I have read Elizabeth’s blogs for so many years. Reading them each day I felt more connected and current on what ever she was doing. So, Elizabeth, this blog is for you my friend. You have been an inspiration and your encouragement never wavered.

Blogging from my new command center has certainly enriched my work and my life. No matter how tired I am at the end of a 16-hour day, I’m totally inspired to write. If you want this kind of dedication and tireless effort to work on your behalf, call the top producers of the Weintraub & Wallace team today at (916) 233-6759.

–JaCi Wallace

Weintraub & Wallace

Problems with MetroList Status of Sacramento Homes for Sale

problems with MetroListThe discussion erupted over the way MetroList allows agents to report the status of homes for sale in Sacramento, and the options available to real estate agents. The buyer’s agent huffed and puffed about the X number of real estate offices he has managed, the X number of corporations he has headed, the X number of agents he has supervised, and the X number of years he has been in the real estate business. I listened to him because that’s what I do. He finished by stating his objection:

In all of this, he has never, EVER run into a Sacramento listing agent and seller who, in collaboration, refused to change the status in MLS from ACTIVE to PENDING upon offer acceptance by stipulating such in the counter offer.

Welcome to the wonderful wacky world of Sacramento real estate in the fall of 2014.

To give myself credit, I did not point out that the buyer had written multiple offers when the buyer could afford to only buy one home, nor how that kind of nefarious thing could be justification why a seller may possibly elect to wait for the buyer to lift contingencies before changing the status to pending in MLS.

Nope, instead, I relied on history from the past few months in which the scenario goes like this:

  • Buyer writes offer.
  • Seller counters offer.
  • Buyer accepts counter offer.
  • Escrow is opened.
  • Buyer cancels offer.

The problem with this is the agent changes the listing in MLS to pending, and when the buyer flakes out, the listing then is changed back to the awful status, that dreaded garlic-waving status, that kiss of death walking zombie status: back on market. It’s like tearing off your clothes in public to reveal you have herpes and asking who would like to have sex with you.

See, in California, our purchase contracts give a buyer 17 days by default to cancel the contract for just about any reason: It’s too hot today. I don’t like the garage. There’s a plane overhead. The next-door neighbor is grumpy. I just don’t feel like buying this house. It would make more sense if MetroList would give us the option for status by allowing us to leave the “pending” listing active through a modifier, so if it fell out, the active status would remain intact. Like a virgin listing. Yeah.

Because pending ain’t pending if it ain’t closing. Pending happens after the contingencies are released. Until then, just about anything can occur. Oh, I realize changing the status in MetroList would mean pointing out clearly to buyers that they can cancel, and not everybody wants to be that direct with a buyer (holy cow, I can cancel?), but it just makes sense, doesn’t it? I’d like to rid of that back-on-market stigma, but I don’t run MLS. I just gripe about crap.

The best we can do at the moment is put a pending rescission modifier on that listing so if the buyer cancels, it can just be removed and the listing stays active. But you’ve got to have written permission from all parties to do that.

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