Matt Joy, Princeton Mortgage
It’s September, and Pumpkin Spice Season is in full affect. Cheerios, Pringles (I know — what?!), Oreos, ice cream… You name it, and they've created a pumpkin flavor product for it. It’s not just food either. The pumpkin craze has reached Febreeze, candles, and booze, too. It’s really incredible how fast this trend spiraled out of control.
You know what else has spiraled out of control… housing prices.
As a result, we’re going to need realtors to start encouraging sellers to drop their home prices so they can sell before the end of the year. Is this a pipe dream?! Probably… but it makes sense. Hear me out. It’s no secret that buyers have struggled to find affordable housing in 2018. Values are up, which means home prices are up. Then, we have the highest interest rates we’ve seen in a while, and we've created the perfect storm.
Look at this past July, when signed contracts to buy existing homes were down 2.3% compared to July of 2017. Home sales are declining all across the country — the Southern and Western regions are being affected the most. Something has to give.
So… what's the solution? Easy — LOWER HOME PRICES. For my brokers and LOs, it will be your responsibility to help communicate this message to your borrowers. Push them to exercise their negotiating power. Historically, September is the start of the housing price dip, so let’s get these people into homes before the holidays!
Sellers will be eager to sell their properties before year end for taxes purposes, and nobody wants to do anything after Black Friday (November 23rd for those keeping track). That gives us almost three full months to hit the gas pedal and push for a strong year end close out!
It’s going to be a team effort across the board. Realtor relationships are huge, and you have to be partnered with a company that realizes the importance of that relationship. Your origination team must understand the urgency and care that goes into closing these purchases on time. Commitment dates are a MUST and every CD needs to go out with time to spare.
Operational efficiency, competitive price and most importantly relationship management will be KEY for brokers and LOs alike to make money before our industry goes into hibernation after Turkey Day. If you’re thinking, “Man, this is a shameless plug for Princeton Mortgage and Princeton Mortgage Wholesale"… you’d be right. We will be that lender for you. I’m confident about that.
Phew… okay. So, on a less serious note… Football is back!! What an amazing time of the year. On Saturday, almost every channel had a game playing, and the NFL season kicks off this Thursday! Now, if we could just get the weather to cooperate... I can’t stand the lingering humidity, and I’m officially over summer weather. As we enter fall, remember that nothing goes better with a bowl of pumpkin spice fettuccine (it’s a real thing… trust me) than a cool breeze, a pipeline full of signed purchases contracts, and some football!
Talk to you soon!
MJ
Photo by David Lezcano on Unsplash
The opinions expressed in this post are the sole view of the writer and do not reflect the opinion of Princeton Mortgage Corporation.