LIVE BOZEMAN STYLE

Remember the days when a full price offer would guarantee a Seller's signature on the purchase agreement, without even considering the rest of the terms? Oh, those were the glory days!

Todays buyers are experiencing an uncharted market, often digging deep personally to buy;  offering terms that max their comfort level and financial limit. And even with that, they are riddled with doubt, knowing another buyer could be willing to pay more or waive additional contingencies than the offer they presented; and their absolute best offer could not be enough to secure the property. Ouch!

This dynamic leaves us agents with a conundrum, how do we help our clients find peace with the offer they are able to present? First, we make sure they've crafted their personal best offer to buy for that individual property. How do we know we've drafted your best offer? Does the offer turn your stomach? Stop just before that! If the idea of paying more, or waiving that inspection contingency just makes you ill, we've found the limit for this property for you. But is that the only litmus?

No! Breathe.There is another way, information! While offers do need to be drafted at your personal best price to stand a chance, I also support my clients by providing market data to help with their decision making process. I am a stats nerd. Statistics help me unstring the nuances of what is happening in Bozeman, and in each micro-market (or neighborhood) within our community. With a deep dive into each individual property that has piqued my clients interest,  I can help my client understand that particular home with tangible data. Giving my clients something more than just their gut instinct to guide them in their purchase terms. Remember though, the historical numbers can tell us what been happening but they are not a crystal ball for what will happen with an individual property. The best offer for the active property is a mystery, until it closes.

A fun fact about statistics, they can be manipulated or taken out of context and made meaningless. We've all seen it, right? Current COVID numbers published without a context of how many folks are currently vaccinated. Or, stats of how many homes were listed, pended and closed in the last week, without a framework of parallel timelines.

So, how do I transform the data available through a statistical analysis into tangible and meaningful content for my client? By evaluating at the information, one data set at a time. What do I mean by that? A broad stroke market wide analysis can tell you that in the last 180 days in Bozeman's city limits, 221 single family homes have sold. By itself that information is meaningless, at least to me. So here is a little more to give it context: in the same period, October to April of 2019, 239 homes sold. Still doesn't mean much, does it? If you are like me, you are thinking, 18 transactions shouldn't make the pressure cooker that is our current market? But here is a third string to that data - the median number of days on the market in 2019-2020 was 32. For the same period of time in 2020-2021 the median number of days was 6. That means homes today are pending 80% faster this year than last year. Now I know where the pressure is coming from!

Is time the only pressure point? No. We still have price. Of course, price! The median sold price in the winter of 2020 was $458,500. The median close price for the same period, and same type, today is $614,550. One year later, you will pay 26% more and you'll have to have decided to buy it 80% faster than last year. Another way to look at it: each month you don't purchase could increase your acquisition cost 2.2% more than the month before. That is pressure!

So where is the good news here? Inventory is loosening. That is good news. In January of 2021, 68 homes were listed the Bozeman City Limits. That equalled 2.1 houses a day. Not much to choose from! In February that number increased to 75 homes, or 2.6 houses each day. In March of 2021, 100 homes were listed! That is an increase to 3.1 homes a day. In the first week of April we have already had 22 homes come to the market in the City Limits. That equals 3.6 houses a day, or nearly 60% more inventory than we had in January. This is great news! Your perfect house is coming... are you prepared to move quickly to secure it?

Whether your are a buyer or seller today, more than ever the right team at your side is everything. An offer is more than the purchase price, and your home is more than a piggy bank. It is security for your future. Let HoM 406 be your personal real estate advocate, and Live Bozeman Style!