By Steve Levine, President of Steve Levine Inc., and an agent for REMAX Professional Associates
The statistics for 2016 are in, and the results were very surprising to both economists and real estate agents alike. Statewide, sales in December of 2016 were up significantly over 2015, and January, thus far, has seen tons of buyers hitting the market, making me wonder whether we are heading for another inventory shortage. Even in the bitter cold weather, we have seen a sharp spike in buyer interest over the last week, yet we are not seeing nearly enough sellers coming to the marketplace. Hopefully, rolling out my Homeowners Blend Program will help spike the inventory back to normal levels.
Most homeowners are under the opinion that winter isn’t a great time to sell. After all, they say, aren’t there more buyers in the spring? Well, the answer is a mixed bag. Yes, there may be twice as many buyers in the spring, but there also may be four times as many homes for sale. As such, the winter market often favors the sellers, way more than they think.
That’s why the challenge still remains a critical lack of inventory. Each winter, I open up 10 spots in January and 10 in February for my Homeowners Blend Program. Now in its 20th year, this has been a fantastic opportunity for sellers to save up to 50 percent on the real estate fees when selling their home. I do have a few spots left, so if you’re reading this, and would like one, email me at and I will save you a spot.
Why do some homes never sell?
Each year, in late December, I look back at the year in review, and go through all the homes in the region that sold, as well as those that failed to sell, and try and see if there is any commonality that would explain why some sell and others don’t. In the end, there often are a few critical issues that would have made a huge difference.
This isn’t a small issue, by any means. In fact, last year alone, nearly 10,000 properties in Worcester and Middlesex County that were on the market, came off without selling, which represents almost 40 percent of the total listings taken by agents. After seeing just how serious the issue was, and knowing that it wasn’t happening to my listings, I sat down for an entire day and put together a five page report that details the “Top 10 Reasons Homes in Massachusetts Failed to Sell.” This isn’t some “canned report” purchased online, but really represents the core experience of having done this over 2,000 times, and all that I learned through trial and error along the way. I even took the time to incorporate items specific to selling issues in a particular town or area, creating unique reports for those communities as needed.
Of course, this report won’t be of use ONLY to those who had been trying to sell before. Rather it applies to ANYONE thinking of moving at all. After all, what better way to ensure that you don’t make the same mistakes than to read about what happened to others? If you’re interested in reading it, along with a separate page of helpful tips, just send an email to [email protected] and include your name and the city you live in, and I will email you back automatically with a copy of the report for your individual community.
Steve Levine is president of Steve Levine, Inc. and an agent for REMAX Professional Associates. He has been ranked 10 times as the top REMAX agent in New England, and can be reached at [email protected] or 508-735-HOME (4663).
