Santa Clarita Valley Home Sales Activity - November 2021

Yes, of course, inventory is down right now. We just had Thanksgiving, Hanukkah is happening right now, Christmas is just a few short weeks away!

You may be surprised to read this but sales are still robust. Yep, I like that word! LOL

Reminder, I include Acton, Agua Dulce, Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, Valencia, Stevenson Ranch, Val Verde, & Castaic as SCV. So, the below numbers are with those areas included.

As of this moment:

Coming Soon: 13

Active: 217

In Escrow: 518

Closed in the Last 30 Days:

I have no idea what/who this little guy is, but the number on his hat worked for this post!

I've got 2 Sellers working on the list of things I suggested to get their home market ready. I've got a couple back-burner buyers.

Really looking forward, so bad to say this, for the holidays to be over so we can get back to selling homes for people! 

If you have questions about Real Estate, whether Selling or Buying, just give me a shout. 

Lauren@KeepYourWitz.com / (661) 313-5470

What to do With Your Home Equity

4 Ways Homeowners Can Use Their Equity

Your equity is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your goals as a homeowner. And chances are, your equity grew substantially over the past year. According to the latest Equity Insights Report from CoreLogic, homeowners gained an average of $51,500 in equity over the past year.

If you’re looking for the best ways to use your growing equity, here are four options:

1. Use Your Equity To Buy a Home That Fits Your Needs

If you’re finding you no longer have the space you need, it might be time to move into a larger home. Or, it’s possible you have too much space and would like something smaller. No matter the situation, consider using your equity to power a move into a home that fits your changing lifestyle. Moving into a larger home can provide extra space for remote work or loved ones. Downsizing, on the other hand, may mean saving time and money by caring for a smaller home.

2. Move to the Location of Your Dreams

If the size of your home isn’t a challenge but your current location is, it could be time to relocate to a new area. Maybe you enjoy vacationing in the mountains, at the beach, or another area, and you’re dreaming of living there year-round. Or perhaps the distance between you and your loved ones is greater than you’d like, and you want to close the gap. No matter what, your home equity can fuel your move to the location where you really want to live.

3. Start a New Business

If you’re not ready to move into a new home, you can use your equity to invest in a new business venture. As the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy says:

“There is an estimate of 31.7 million small business owners in the United States, many of them started their business with the equity they had in their home.”

While it’s not recommended that homeowners use their equity for unnecessary spending, leveraging your equity to start a business that you’re passionate about can potentially grow your nest egg further.

4. Fund an Education

Whether you have a loved one preparing to head off to college or you’re planning to go back to school yourself, the thought of paying for higher education can be daunting. In either situation, using a portion of your growing equity can help with those costs, so you can make an investment in someone’s future.

Bottom Line

Your equity can help you achieve your goals. If you’re unsure how much equity you have in your home, let’s connect today so you can start planning your next move.

Totally My Opinion Here... On The Zillow Mess.

So, by now, everyone and their brother has read about the Zillow fiasco. I've decided just to blog about that elephant in the room today!

Maybe you don't consider it a fiasco, but most Realtors are actually tickled pink that Zillow got egg on their face. I mean, the meme's going around are hilarious. The Realtor networking groups are making them up daily.

For me? I'd say it's about time they took a tumble. A very big, financially challenging, tumble.

As long as I've been a Realtor, and Zillow has been around, I've done battle (practically) with clients over those Zestimates. I've told clients time & time again, use them for their easy navigation, but look at other sites for reality, etc.

Recently Zillow became a brokerage. They got 'in-bed' with one particular company and they tried to do a bit of monopolizing the market. They also did some scandalous, completely against the association of Realtor code of ethics, things that I blogged or YouTubed about before. No need to repeat.

Recently I became involved in one of their iBuying fiascos. It was awful. And, later we found out that they paid way too much for the house. Not sure if they used their Zestimate, but they over paid by about 60k if I'm remembering correctly.

My eldest son even got wind of Zillow buying up properties for more than they were worth. What did I think of that he wondered. 

We agents all figured they were just trying to gain a market share. Say, look at us, we buy & sell sooooo many houses! Hah.

So, here we are now, they have stopped doing the iBuying, have admitted to a financial fiasco, and have let go of quite a large chunk of Zillow employees.

My take on this? Well, the only thing I love about Zillow is my profile on their site. It will keep track of my sales, allow my clients to post reviews, heck I've even got my Love-My-Peeps party video on there!

But, when a company tries too hard to be the best, without having the experience, expertise, and ethics, to truly be the best....you know what happens.

And, it happened. Happened as large as that elephant in the picture. Not sure what their recovery is going to be like, but for now.....let this serve as a reminder that not all realtors are created equal. And, needless to say, the bigger is certainly not always the better. IMHO.

~ Lauren Witz Greber ~ (Licensed as Lauren Lefkowitz) ~ Lauren@KeepYourWitz.com ~

Yep, They Still Do!

Sellers Have Incredible Leverage in Today’s Market

With mortgage rates climbing above 3% for the first time in months, serious buyers are more motivated than ever to find a home before the end of the year. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), puts it best, saying:

"Housing demand remains strong as buyers likely want to secure a home before mortgage rates increase even further next year."

But the sense of urgency they feel is complicated by the lack of homes for sale in today’s market. According to the latest Existing Home Sales Report from NAR:

“From one year ago, the inventory of unsold homes decreased 13%. . . .”

What Does This Mean for Sellers Today?

With buyers eager to purchase but so few homes available, sellers who list their houses this fall have a tremendous advantage – also known as leverage – when negotiating with buyers. That’s because, in today’s market, buyers want three things:

• To be the winning bid on their dream home.
• To buy before rates rise
• To buy before prices go even higher.

Your Leverage Can Help You Negotiate Your Best Terms

These three buyer needs give homeowners a leg up when selling their house. You might already realize this leverage enables you to sell at a good price, but it also means you can negotiate the best terms to suit your needs.

And since buyer demand is still high, there’s a good chance you’ll get offers from multiple buyers who are willing to compete for your house. When you do, look closely at the terms of each offer to find out which one has the best perks for you.

If you have questions about what’s best for your situation, your trusted real estate advisor can help. They have the expertise and are skilled negotiators in all stages of the sales process.

Bottom Line

Today’s buyers are motivated to purchase a home this year, and that’s great news if you’re thinking of selling. Let’s connect today to discuss how much leverage you have as a seller in today’s market.