Over the last two months, my daughter and I have talked several of our buyers OUT of buying houses, instead of buying them.

Is that what a buyer’s agent is supposed to do?

If he or she has the buyer’s best interest at heart!

We are in real estate for the long game, meaning, we only want clients to buy homes that we feel confident we could turn around and sell for them at a profit in a few years. Like I often say, “I don’t care if you buy this house from me right now. I just hope you buy from me when the price and the home is right.”

And what we’ve been seeing is sellers who are holding tight to prices they are too attached to because

• They bought at the wrong price and didn’t have an agent telling them to hold out
• They think today’s market is the 2021-22 market when sales prices were overshooting listing prices by double digits
• They are relying too strongly on Zillow values which can’t take in the nuances of a particular neighborhood or market

One house clients were interested in has seen over 25 showings but no offers. “It has only been on the market a couple of weeks,” the seller’s agent explained in justifying why his buyers were not willing to negotiate on price. To which I recounted the wisdom shared with me by one of the best real estate agents ever, Mike Hasson, “If you have seven serious showings and no offer there’s only one reason. You priced it too high.”

While we were living through it, the bullish housing market of 2021-22 was thrilling and fueled sellers with euphoria over the appreciation they’d earned. But that run was actually an artificial market driven by historically low-interest rates of 2.65+. Now with rates at 7%, sellers are needing a reality check. Neither they nor Realtors can do a market analysis based on sales during that time period to justify prices today.

All the more reason you need a hyperlocal Realtor who is willing to talk you out of a sale, when looking to buy a home in Lake Oswego or the Portland metro area and/or be honest with you about how long you’ll most likely have to hold on to a home in order to make a profit. And why you need the same when pricing your home for sale. A good home in good condition that is well priced will still sell in today’s market, and quickly. Just in the last week a couple that met that criteria sold in two days. As Mike Hasson would say, “It was priced right.”

If you’d like to work with a Realtor who will be honest with you about value and price, whether you’re buying or selling, give one of us a call. I’ve been in the business for over 30 years, and have been working with my daughter, Riley, for several years now. Together we bring a level of expertise and enthusiasm that will make your next move your best one!

Kevin: 503.939.9801. kevin.costello@cascadehassonsir.com

Riley: 971.322.6205.  riley.costello@cascadehassonsir.com