Speaker 1: My next guest is here to talk about something. And
Speaker 1: I said this at the very beginning of the show.
Speaker 1: I realized that a lot of people in this listening
Speaker 1: audience don't like love real estate and don't follow it
Speaker 1: like I do so obsessively. But ultimately, our homes are
Speaker 1: our largest asset for many of us, right they are
Speaker 1: our wealth building tool. And if you think, Okay, I've
Speaker 1: got this much equity in my house and nothing can happen,
Speaker 1: you're crazy. Because I lived through the housing crisis in
Speaker 1: two thousand and eight and two thousand and nine in
Speaker 1: the number one market in the country for foreclosures. I
Speaker 1: saw houses that sold for nine hundred thousand dollars sell
Speaker 1: again for three seventy five. So do the math on
Speaker 1: that in your head, and then you begin to understand
Speaker 1: why I obsessively follow the real estate market, because this
Speaker 1: is not just about what homes are selling and how
Speaker 1: much you're selling for. It's about how much my assets
Speaker 1: are worth. And joining me now to talk about that
Speaker 1: is my realtor and smart guy himself, Ed Prather. And
Speaker 1: before we got on the air, Ed you and I
Speaker 1: were chatting about the fact that from a purely spectator,
Speaker 1: you know perspective that this is what I have. Just
Speaker 1: as a hobby, I follow the real estate market. This
Speaker 1: market is fascinating. There are a lot of things happening
Speaker 1: in this market that almost shouldn't be happening, but are.
Speaker 1: And it really goes to show that you better have
Speaker 1: a plan if you want to sell your home. But
Speaker 1: if you have a good plan and you have a
Speaker 1: good strategy and you have an aggressive reealtor, you can
Speaker 1: sell your home in this market. So let's do a
Speaker 1: big overview right now of where we are.
Speaker 2: Well, absolutely, and you know, Mandy, first and foremost, thank
Speaker 2: you for having me. It's always a pleasure to be
Speaker 2: on And you know, you and I were just talking
Speaker 2: about the fact that some of the properties that hit
Speaker 2: the market, you know that are are priced well, you
Speaker 2: know that that look good, are the ones that sit,
Speaker 2: and then other ones that you wouldn't expect to move
Speaker 2: quickly move move very quickly. And you know, I think
Speaker 2: it's more important, you know, first and foremost, we need
Speaker 2: to remind ourselves. I mean, homes are selling each and
Speaker 2: every day, but it is more difficult, and it's more
Speaker 2: difficult because we've got more inventory than we've had for
Speaker 2: many many years, and so when you've got you know,
Speaker 2: instead of in your neighborhood you've got a few for sale,
Speaker 2: maybe you have a dozen for sales. So you need
Speaker 2: to be able to differentiate as a seller. You know,
Speaker 2: when people are walking into the property down the street,
Speaker 2: how is yours going to compare her?
Speaker 3: And you know whether that be finishes.
Speaker 2: The lot the curb appeal, you know, because the last
Speaker 2: thing we want to do is to get to that
Speaker 2: point where we have to differentiate through price, and that's
Speaker 2: where you see reduction after reduction and properties sitting for
Speaker 2: longer than they should.
Speaker 3: But you know, overall, what I will say is this.
Speaker 2: You know, on the sales side, we are seeing seller
Speaker 2: sitting more than they have in the past. But historically speaking,
Speaker 2: you know, it's still I hate to say it because
Speaker 2: it seems crazy, but it is a seller's market. And
Speaker 2: I say that based on the three point eight months
Speaker 2: of inventory that we have. I mean, historically speaking, in
Speaker 2: four to six months is a balanced market.
Speaker 3: So we're still below that, but it's just so.
Speaker 2: Different than it has been over the last few years.
Speaker 2: It's hard not to notice that contrast, and especially when
Speaker 2: you're trying to sell your home and it's taking longer
Speaker 2: than you want.
Speaker 1: So from my perspective, and I told Ed, I watch
Speaker 1: my neighborhood. I've been watching my neighborhood for the twelve
Speaker 1: years that we live there. I want to know what
Speaker 1: people are selling their homes for. What I am seeing,
Speaker 1: what I am perceiving to see. If your house in
Speaker 1: pictures looks like it needs a lot of work, it
Speaker 1: is not necessarily going to sell unless it is something
Speaker 1: that can be flipped, right, unless you're going to get
Speaker 1: those investor dollars. But say it's a great home in
Speaker 1: an older neighborhood that is just super dated. Those are
Speaker 1: the ones that are sitting in my neighborhood. Is that
Speaker 1: what you're seeing in other places as well.
Speaker 2: It's such a good point, Mandy. And in this market specifically,
Speaker 2: you know in the Denver metro area, what we have seen,
Speaker 2: and it's very clear and more so than ever now,
Speaker 2: is that the consumer, the buyer in this market wants
Speaker 2: a fixed up They want a remodeled property. And you
Speaker 2: know that's not to say that a property that is
Speaker 2: priced well or even below market that needs some love
Speaker 2: isn't going to move. But when we start talking about
Speaker 2: the investor route. You have to understand that there needs
Speaker 2: to be a profit involved there. So, you know, if
Speaker 2: we're trying to get the very most for our homes,
Speaker 2: when our sellers, when we're working with our folks, and
Speaker 2: usually that's over months as we get ready to bring
Speaker 2: the property to market, because we want to have it prepare,
Speaker 2: we want it to present.
Speaker 3: To the market the right way.
Speaker 2: Anything that was sort of hey, should we do this,
Speaker 2: should we hold off?
Speaker 3: Should we touch up paint? Should we not?
Speaker 2: Almost always now it's go ahead and do it, because again,
Speaker 2: we want to differentiate through finishes, you know, through the quality,
Speaker 2: through the feel you know, because it's it's.
Speaker 3: Not just the photos. I mean, Mandy, you've seen this before.
Speaker 2: Where you know it looks great in photos, you walk
Speaker 2: into the house and it's something completely different.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: We need that perception, you know, to match the reality.
Speaker 2: So we are making sure that we're presenting and coaching
Speaker 2: our sellers to do those things that maybe.
Speaker 3: They wouldn't have had to do in the past.
Speaker 2: As far as some of the repairs and upgrades, Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean there are.
Speaker 1: Some things that people can do and these are such
Speaker 1: small things. One are the things I always notice ed
Speaker 1: and this is probably just me, like being a neurotic person.
Speaker 1: You know what I notice is old light switches, and
Speaker 1: old light switches make something seen. And by old light switches,
Speaker 1: I mean the traditional ones with the little you know,
Speaker 1: little guy that goes up and down instead of the
Speaker 1: flat switches. Those right a space for me. And that's
Speaker 1: like the first thing I'm like, well, this house was
Speaker 1: built before at least nineteen ninety one or nineteen ninety right,
Speaker 1: So what are there little things do you say to
Speaker 1: people like, hey, you know what, that's not going to
Speaker 1: cost you a lot of money. Maybe change out those
Speaker 1: light switches or something else that other people notice. Is
Speaker 1: popcorn still a huge deal?
Speaker 3: You know it is.
Speaker 2: I don't know that I would say it's a huge deal,
Speaker 2: but it's something that we notice. And just like you said,
Speaker 2: you walk into home and there's some things that sort
Speaker 2: of go oh, this is an older home. And again,
Speaker 2: if we've got a number of properties nearby that are
Speaker 2: are listed for a similar price, you know we want
Speaker 2: to differentiate. And if we can remove popcorn and ceilings that,
Speaker 2: you know, great, Obviously we want to get that tested
Speaker 2: before doing so. The switches, of course, you know, take
Speaker 2: that one further, Mandy. I mean, if they're the beige
Speaker 2: switches in outlet covers and outlets, god is easy to
Speaker 2: switch out to the to the bright white. Also, if
Speaker 2: you're talking about trim and doorcasing, you know, if we
Speaker 2: go to the squared off white versus even sort of
Speaker 2: some of that wood tone. And I always say this,
Speaker 2: you know, when I'm working with our sellers, I say, hey,
Speaker 2: the last thing I want to do is be critical,
Speaker 2: but I want you to understand what the consumer sees.
Speaker 2: And you know, the consumer these days again wants a
Speaker 2: very fresh, new feeling product and it doesn't need to
Speaker 2: be a brand new house. In fact, you know, sales
Speaker 2: in this market in Colorado is huge because people like infill.
Speaker 2: You know, they like the mature neighborhoods, and they like
Speaker 2: the older properties to that extent as well, but they
Speaker 2: need to feel newer, they need to feel fresh, and
Speaker 2: they need to feel well taken care of.
Speaker 3: And you know, good bones go a long way.
Speaker 2: But in this market, I would say, let's go that
Speaker 2: extra mile and freshen up, whether that be even you know,
Speaker 2: going as far as is you know, repainting carpet touch
Speaker 2: or redoing flooring, whether that be wood floor carpet.
Speaker 3: But the biggest thing is we want.
Speaker 2: To be sure that what we're advising and suggesting that
Speaker 2: we're getting a return on because I completely understand it's
Speaker 2: not convenient being your home to market and it's not
Speaker 2: cheap to do this stuff. So we want to make
Speaker 2: sure that we get a return on that effort in time.
Speaker 1: And this is one of those things like what it
Speaker 1: does the neighborhood that you're living in right now or
Speaker 1: you're you know, you're wanting to sell in. Are their
Speaker 1: neighborhoods that are moving quickly?
Speaker 3: Still?
Speaker 1: Are there neighborhoods that almost feel like a sure thing?
Speaker 3: Absolutely?
Speaker 2: But I would say it's so specific it's hard to
Speaker 2: say because you've got neighborhoods say like the you know,
Speaker 2: the Highlands or Cherry Hills where you know it's incredible.
Speaker 3: Like in Cherry Hills, you're still.
Speaker 2: Saying very expensive homes move very very quickly because it's
Speaker 2: somewhat of a closed market.
Speaker 3: You know, there's not a ton of these houses.
Speaker 2: But it's it's very specific to the street and very
Speaker 2: specific to the house. And so it is we're beyond
Speaker 2: the time where you can just say, well, you know,
Speaker 2: this neighborhood, no matter what happens, moves moves very quickly.
Speaker 2: Like you know, we do some business in for example,
Speaker 2: apple Wood West, which is a really really nice area,
Speaker 2: and and a lot of the areas that have a
Speaker 2: little bit of land, you know, larger lots, older homes,
Speaker 2: with character. You'll have a lot of desire, have a
Speaker 2: lot of demand. But I'll tell you what, you can
Speaker 2: still mess that up by by marketing, you know, incorrectly, inappropriately,
Speaker 2: and certainly miss pricing. Because if we want a price
Speaker 2: above market and it sits, it's like you.
Speaker 3: And I were talking about before jumping on here.
Speaker 2: You know, the longer it sits, in almost every scenario,
Speaker 2: the property is going to be worth less. Whether that's
Speaker 2: fair or not. You and I see it the same way.
Speaker 2: I mean, why is this house sitting? Something has to
Speaker 2: be wrong, even if there isn't anything wrong.
Speaker 1: Ed, Brather is my gift or my gift. He is
Speaker 1: my gift, he's my guest. Also, we're talking about the
Speaker 1: Colorado real estate market, you know, ed, is this another
Speaker 1: period in your industry? And I'm not asking you to
Speaker 1: disparage anyone else in any stretch of the imagination, but
Speaker 1: is this going to be another period in your industry
Speaker 1: where we sort of separate the wheat from the chaff
Speaker 1: a little bit, where we have professionals that this is
Speaker 1: your career who are going to be around, versus folks
Speaker 1: who may have gotten their license, who previously may have
Speaker 1: sold one house a year. Are we going to kind
Speaker 1: of get rid of that sort of extra in your
Speaker 1: industry if that makes sense.
Speaker 3: It absolutely does, and we already are.
Speaker 2: You know, in twenty twenty towards the end as things
Speaker 2: really heated up with rates going down, and certainly through
Speaker 2: twenty twenty one and part of twenty two, you saw
Speaker 2: a huge amount of folks getting their license and you
Speaker 2: can't blame them, you know. It was almost like you
Speaker 2: could throw a sign in the yard and you'd get
Speaker 2: multiple offers at almost any price.
Speaker 3: That is not the case now.
Speaker 2: So you're seeing a lot of distress in the industry
Speaker 2: where people are sort of looking around and going, well,
Speaker 2: you know, what am I supposed to do now? And
Speaker 2: that's where I would say, also, you're getting you know,
Speaker 2: I mean, gosh, buyers and sellers are smart, and in
Speaker 2: times like this, it's less likely that you're going to say, hey,
Speaker 2: why don't I give my friend of a friend a
Speaker 2: shot who's not sold the house. It is not the
Speaker 2: time for that. You know, we need experience behind it.
Speaker 2: And again you know properties are selling every day, but
Speaker 2: it is it is not through happenstance, and we're really
Speaker 2: intentional on how we bring these.
Speaker 3: Properties to markets. So you're absolutely right.
Speaker 2: I mean you're you were seeing the number of folks
Speaker 2: renew their license and that's kind of what we look
Speaker 2: at and you can kind of see what's happened there.
Speaker 3: Decrease is substantially.
Speaker 2: And to give you an idea, we have about forty
Speaker 2: thousand agents across the front range and just over seven
Speaker 2: thousand agents did one deal or more and a lot
Speaker 2: of those fols only did one, so you can see
Speaker 2: a huge security are sitting on the sidelines.
Speaker 1: Ed is the guy you want to call if you're
Speaker 1: ready to sell your home. He could walk you through
Speaker 1: the process, get you what you need, and I'm relatively
Speaker 1: certain he can get your household or I wouldn't do
Speaker 1: commercials for him. So Ed, I appreciate your time this
Speaker 1: morning or this afternoon. Ed Prather dot com, Edprayther dot com,
Speaker 1: Ed p R. A. T. H. E. R dot com.
Speaker 1: I'll talk to you again through my friend.
Speaker 3: Hey, I appreciate you, Mandy, take care all right.
Speaker 1: Thank you. That is ed Prather