Jan. 11, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Amy Stockberger Real Estate.

By Amy Stockberger

Nearly one in 10 Sioux Falls residents plans to look for a new home this year, according to a new survey from SiouxFalls.Business and the Augustana Research Institute.

Five hundred readers responded to the open survey conducted December 13-23, 2020. It is not a scientific survey, but it does include representation from all age groups. Respondents were 55 percent female and 45 percent male.

While many said they like their current home, nearly one in 10 said they plan to look for a new one in 2021.

“We are planning on building a house because the interest rates are so good,” one person said.

“We were outgrowing our home before, and spending so much time in it has made us want to invest,” another said.

A third respondent added it’s a “good time to sell.”

If that sounds like you, here’s what you should know.

The Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire just reported there is only 1.5 months of inventory on the market, meaning if no other other homes were listed, it would take only 1.5 months for all of the homes to be bought.

This is the lowest amount of inventory our area has ever seen, which makes it even more imperative to align yourself with an experienced Realtor® who not only specializes in connecting buyers and sellers but has out-of-the-box strategies to find you homes on the market and off the market.

You need a Realtor® who can expertly assist you in arriving at a price to buy and/or sell that doesn’t leave money on or off the table, offer bold marketing, a proven track record of success in negotiating and have systems for repeatable excellence in tracking the myriad of moving parts.

If you’re moving up or down in price and have a home to sell, point A is getting the value of your current home. Home prices have increased by 8 percent in 2020 and likely your home is worth more than it ever has been.

Amy Stockberger Real Estate can do a free, no-obligation market analysis in two easy appointments. We have a systemized plan for full virtual appointments to get our sellers their home values that requires no home visits.

Getting your home ready to go on the market is easier than ever now with sellers driving the market. With little to no competition, having a home in “perfect-show condition” is not mandatory. Sellers are loving the stress that takes away from major decluttering to unfinished projects.

In another effort to get more homes into the market, Amy Stockberger Real Estate created a buyer-targeted version of the Multiple Listing Service.

It is called our Buyer Match Service. It functions like an online dating site, where participants enter in the parameters of what they are looking for in a mate and then results are sent to them of possible matches that meet those parameters.

With this service, homeowners go to our website, fill out a form with the basic parameters of their home, and all buyers we have who meet their parameters are queried for them. The info can be basic: number of bedrooms, baths, garage stalls and area. Or it can be granular, including school districts, developments, etc.

 

Coupled with low inventory, having a marketing plan that includes a systematic pre-marketing period is essential in getting the most amount of buyer attention to leverage the best offer. Adults are like kids — they don’t always enjoy sharing their toys, and what makes buyers write good offers is when they feel someone else may get it before they do. Leverage is key.

Amy Stockberger Real Estate helped almost 600 families reach their real estate goals in 2020 and was able to sell 63 percent of listings at over list price, resulting in more money in clients’ pockets. Our pre-marketing system gave our sellers the edge to get the best value and parameters that matched their goals, while leveraging out as much risk as possible for them.

No matter what type of market — a low-inventory seller’s market or an abundance-of-inventory buyer’s market — your next step should be determining your buying power by meeting with a reputable lender.

Check here for our One Roof Solution to begin getting connected with a lender.

The lending arena has seen some changes since the onset of COVID, along with a handful of constant loan products that have been champions. Most interesting are not only the historic low rates with a 30-year loan as low as 2.25 percent and a 15-year loan at 1.875 percent but also the options available for buyers in each stage.

Jumbo loan amounts were increased significantly, helping the luxury market. FHA loan limits also were increased, giving lower down payment options — as low as 3.5 percent down — and this loan product gives buyers with lower credit scores good options. First-time homebuyer and repeat homebuyer loans offer down payment and closing cost assistance programs while rural development loans require zero down payment — all products that are uber-helpful to that buyer demographic.

It is extremely important to know which option works best for your goals and to have it explained as clearly as possible. Also, when inventory is low, buyers need to be ready to make an offer as early as immediately after the first in-person or virtual showing. The lender letter is essential to even be considered by the seller.

While quick decisions are often necessary in our current market, Amy Stockberger Real Estate has a unique value proposition that helps alleviate that stress.

We take the risk out of buying a home by offering our Love It or Leave It Guarantee. Buy a home with confidence, knowing that if you don’t absolutely love it within the first 12 months, we will sell it for free on our side and help you find a new home. We put our money where our mouth is and will make sure we find the best home that meets your budget — or we sell it for free.

If you are looking to make a home change in 2021, call us today, and we will guarantee your goals are not only met but also exceeded and join our long list of VIP clients getting Lifetime Home Support.

Looking to buy or sell a home? Visit Amy Stockberger Real Estate here.

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