Ron Brown
A Flash Sale is defined as a listing that goes into Pending status within one day of being placed active in the MLS.
When a listing is in pending status, it is considered off the market, and the MLS system’s Days on Market count will stop. Today, many sellers are choosing to keep their homes in active status during the escrow period, referred to as Under Contract—taking Backups, or UCB. This is to troll for backup offers online, through Zillow, Trulia and other websites, in case the transaction should fall through. Not only does this practice keep the Days on Market count rolling until the property is finally placed in pending status and closed, but it also pushes the overall average calculation higher, confusing many buyers online when they find out there is an accepted offer.
That being said, the number of sellers accepting contracts and placing their property in pending status immediately has been growing every month thus far this year.
While it is not surprising to see the majority of Flash Sales under $200,000, they are not isolated to any particular part of town or price range. This supports the theory that a properly priced and marketed listing will sell quickly in today’s marketplace. While selling in one day is the exception rather than the rule, it is not unreasonable to expect the most amount of buyer activity within the first few weeks of your active listing status. Therefore, it is important to set the price well, from the very beginning, to minimize your time on the market.
It may come as a surprise to see so many listings under $200,000 that sold after six months or longer on the market. This is reflective of a market transitioning from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market. As the supply of listings continues to decline dramatically in this price range, those properties once rejected on price or condition are now suddenly attractive again in the absence of buyer choice.
HOW MESA COMPARES TO THE OVERALL MARKET
Mesa is reflecting the overall market in terms of Days on Market by price range. The city accounted for 13 percent of all flash sales in the last 90 days and 11 percent of sales that went pending in under two weeks. The majority of listings under $300,000 (67.5 percent, to be exact) were off the market in 60 days or less. Even the luxury market in Mesa had some fast sales this last quarter, with nearly half of those over $750,000 going to pending status in less than six months.
As we head further into the heat of summer, expect to see buyer activity relax a little bit but not too much. It will be similar to turning the oven burner down from high to medium-high heat.
For additional information, call Ron Brown at (602) 618-9512, or visit the website at TrailsAndPaths.com. Coldwell Banker Trails and Paths, serving the East Valley for the past 16 years, is located in The Village at Las Sendas.
