Housing Inventory Near All-Time Low, Buyer's Edition

You've heard it on the news, you've read it online but how does low housing inventory effect the average consumer?

For buyers, this is one of the most competitive buying markets you'll ever come across. Homes for sale that are priced near market value are breaking out into crazy bidding wars where some houses have sold for up to 20% above asking price. Don't worry too much though because you have some options.

1) Make your offer stand out from the competition. Whether it means waiving various contingencies, putting down a larger down payment to give the seller confidence that your deal will hold firm and not fall apart at the closing table, or even just meeting with the seller face to face to explain why their home is so special to you (yes, some sellers take emotion into consideration). Find different ways to make your offer stand out from the rest in a multiple bid situation.

2) Hire a realtor who actively seeks out off-market properties. With the shortage of inventory I've been prospecting for a minimum of 3 hours per day for my buyers looking for off-market homes that might be open to offers. Basically, I have my buyers tell me exactly what section of town they are looking in and their housing preference and I will call every house in that area and even door-knock the houses that I feel are the best fits. In North Caldwell alone I was able to find 8 homes off of the market that were open to offers for my clients. What it comes down to is actually working and seeking out business rather than waiting for business to come to you.

By the way, I recently launched my website, check it out! NorthJerseySuburbs.com

-Kyle Kovats, New Jersey Realtor

VIP Buyer's List

With the inventory crunch we've seen over the past couple of years, Realtors must begin finding innovative ways to find their clients the right home. 

Many of my clients are faced with the problem of knowing where they want to move but not being able to find the right place. At this point in time with interest rates rising, time is of the essence and as a buyer you must seek out an agent who is going to expose you to more than just the homes that are on the market that everyone has access to. 

I recently had clients looking in North Caldwell who did not like anything that they came across on the market. It was at that time I began actively prospecting for them and I was able to find six (yes, six) homes off the market that were open to offers. They weren't just open to offers for the right price, these were people that were actually ready willing and able to move when a buyer was brought to them. 

If you're a buyer and you're having a tough time finding a place, give me a call. After we discuss your search parameters, I will be sure to find you a home that suits your needs. 

-Kyle Kovats, New Jersey Realtor 

E-Mail: KyleKovats@Gmail.com 

Cell: 201-403-1314 

Getting Homes Sold Before They Hit the Market

In the market that we find ourselves in right now where inventory is low and buyers demand is high, it's becoming increasingly tough to find buyers a quality home. To solve this problem, I don't wait for the quality homes to hit the market, I find them myself.

For three to four hours daily I call and door knock areas that my clients are interested in to find out what homes are off of the market that might be open to offers. This has been a huge part of my business lately and has really opened my buyers to more homes to choose from. Any agent can just look on the MLS and see the homes that are there, but if you want an agent who will find you a home that fits within your search parameters, seek out an active agent like myself.

If you have any questions about my services or any questions on the market in general, feel free to reach out to me, KyleKovats@gmail.com.

-Kyle Kovats, New Jersey Realtor

Consumer Confidence on the Rise

In a recent study released by Prudential Real Estate, the company found that 80% of all millennial's (ages 25-34) surveyed had a favorable view of the real estate market. This demographic is particularly important as they have been labeled as renters with home ownership not being a priority to them, a stark contrast to their baby boomer parents.

So, what does this mean for the average consumer? If millennial's come out in bunches to take advantage of the market conditions we're going to see housing prices rise at an even faster pace. Millennial's would fit into the first-time home buyer demographic and as we saw in one of my previous blogs, only about 25% of all buyers in this market are first-time home buyers.

In essence, whether or not the market can keep it's pace could come down to the millennial's, it's something worth keeping an eye on.

-Kyle Kovats, New Jersey Realtor

Should I Wait Until Next Spring to Sell my Home?



Now that the spring selling season is coming to an end, homeowners who have not been able to get their homes sold are asking themselves whether or not they should just wait until next spring to put their home on the market. There's really two ways to look at this.

In the spring you open your home up to more out of town buyers who have kids in school and are waiting until the summer to close so they can start their kids out fresh for the new school year.

On the flip side many people have a pre-conceived notion that the only time you'll sell your home is in the spring, and therefore that's a huge advantage to selling your home in the fall/winter. In the fall/winter, inventory is tighter than usual with less homes for sale. While interest rates slowly rise, buyers are still looking to take advantage of the mortgage market. With a steady influx of buyers and shrinking inventory in the fall/winter months it's a simple case of supply and demand that will cause your home to sell for top dollar.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me, KyleKovats@Gmail.com


-Kyle Kovats, New Jersey Realtor

As Interest Rates Rise, so do Mortgage Applications



Over the past couple of months interest rates have been on a steady rise. During this time mortgage applications have also been on the rise as homeowners race to take advantage of historically low rates. So, what does this mean for the real estate market?

Inventory is staying just about the same but buyers are flooding the markets while interest rates are low. This is all leading to home prices rising and bidding wars breaking out on almost every home that is priced right. Even homeowners who bought at the peak of the market in 06-07 are selling their homes and taking losses because they realize that if they wait for their home's value to rise, their replacement home's value will rise as well essentially evening it all out. However, they actually save money rather than lose money when selling now because they can buy their replacement home with a low-interest mortgage.

In my opinion until mortgage interest rates hit 6% (the point where renting and buying are equally affordable), we will continue to see home prices rise.

As always, if you have any questions about my services or the real estate market in general, feel free to reach out to me. KyleKovats@gmail.com


-Kyle Kovats, New Jersey Realtor

Large Percentage of Move-Up Buyers

The Realty Times recently did a study that showed that roughly 75% of all buyers in today's market are "move-up" buyers. In other words these are buyers that are either moving into a bigger house or moving into a better district. I've noticed this myself as I specifically target move-up buyers with my marketing efforts.

For example, I market many of my listings directly to Clifton, Nutley, Belleville, and Bloomfield. Research indicates that a great deal of move-up buyers come to the West Essex area from those four towns. This has been a great source of business for me because any agent can just throw your home on the MLS and market it locally to the local agents. However, by directly contacting these homeowners myself, I have been able to increase my sellers pool of buyers immensely. This leads to more looks on the property, more offers, and the end result is having my listings sell for top dollar.

What is comes down to is going above and beyond for my clients, and that is something that I will always do.

-Kyle Kovats, New Jersey Realtor

How to Effectively Use a Property Website

Just because you're making a website for your listing doesn't guarantee that it will be exposed to the masses. So, how do you go about getting your home exposed to the most buyers possible? It really just comes down to hard work and endless promotion.

Any marketing piece that I send out with your properties information will include a link to this website. This website will include not only information about your home and it's features but also information about the area in general. The reason it is important to include information about the area is because you want to have your home exposed to the most people possible. I tend to market my properties directly to Hoboken and NYC because research shows that a great deal of these people move out to the suburbs. Being that some of these people are not familiar with the suburban towns that I list properties in, it is important for them to have all information on hand in order to make an educated decision.

To expose this website to the masses I directly contact people selling their units in Hoboken and NYC using mojo power dialer. Through this system, I will inquire where these individuals are considering moving then I will provide them with the personalized url to your home. Anyone that does not answer the phone will get a pre-recorded voicemail about your listing as well as your homes personal website.

As always if you have any questions feel free to reach out to me, KyleKovats@gmail.com

-Kyle Kovats, New Jersey Realtor