Take a Swing  at Real Estate in CT!

Spring is really in full swing! We sponsor  Mansfield, CT Little League,  AAU Team Connecticut Baseball, and sell a lot of homes throughout the year, but Spring is typically the busiest real estate (and baseball) season. It seems like hundreds of CT kids are swinging bats and yelling “heads up” when the ball goes flying!  The CT real estate market is in full swing, too…and what about the similarity between a pitcher trying to get a batter to take a swing and a home seller “pitching” to a buyer hoping they take a swing!  

CT Real Estate Optimism?

For real estate, we have a cautious and yet optimistic outlook by the National Association of REALTORS economist, Lawrence Yun. He states:  ”Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, but now the $8,000 first time buyer tax credit is beginning to impact the market.  Since first-time buyers must finalize their purchases by November 30th to get the credit, we expect greater activity in the months ahead and that should spark more sales by repeat buyers.”

Northeastern Pending Home Sales are UP!

Real estate in the northeast part of the country in general?  Get this – The Pending Home Sales Index went up 32.6%  in April. How is that for a whopping increase!  This is very important because it tells us what to expect for closed sales in the next few months. I am confident that as the buyers see more and more ”sold” homes, they will become even more motivated to move forward instead of  continuing to “wait” to see what happens. What is it they say? Once everyone says we have hit the bottom of a market, you have probably already missed it?

Real Estate Markets are Regional

A very important point to pay attention to: real estate markets are regional.  This means that each and every region in the country can be vastly different and have very different rates of recovery. Some real estate markets may even continue to decline while others see a rapid recovery. You really need to pay close attention to what happens in “your” CT real estate market.

CT Baseball – Batter (or Should I say Buyer) UP!

Now, back to CT baseball. I have to say having a 12 year old in the house who LOVES playing baseball, along with the adults who love to see him play, makes for some dizzying schedules this Spring .  Mansfield CT Little League is more than half way through the season and Little League All-Stars are getting ready to gear up in a couple of weeks as well. We don’t expect to do anything except sell, sell, sell real estate and watch, watch, watch baseball games for many weeks to come. Whatever works……we enjoy it all!

Anyway,  I think we will have a bit of a break by late July in regards to baseball, but given the current market trends we are seeing, it looks to be a very busy summer of real estate.  Did you know that typically the real estate market in CT slows down in the summer?  Seems odd doesn’t it? If you think about  it though, people go on summer vacations and families want to have made a decision on their home purchase by the end of June to accomodate moving before the start of the next CT school year.

CT Real Estate Looks to be Busy

So, we expect a busy CT summer real estate season. Our company has grown significantly - even in this tough real estate market, our clients are overwhelmingly successful (which I am happy to say is a result of our never ending quest for the highest quality and best cutting edge home selling marketing ideas and materials), and we are prepared for a busier than ever summer season. 

CT Baseball… Pitching… Buyers….

I was comparing the coordination of baseball schedules and real estate transactions. Keeping uniforms clean and organized as to what team is playing where in CT and when, what color shirt is needed (never mind which hat, pants and socks)  for which game…..sheeeshhhh….could really use a personal organizer.  Then we have cleats, bats, gloves, snacks, coolers with cold drinks and all necessary accessories!  And of course, when more than one team plays on the same day…….are we out of our minds? Good thing we have a great team both on and off the field!

The preparation and coordination reminds me of the attention to detail that is needed in a real estate transaction!  Even the game is sometimes similar…who’s on first, are they making a run for home plate, will they try and “steal” a base (similar to real estate negotiations these days – oh, the various positions both buyers and sellers take thoughout the negotiations!).  And of course the pitch….. the marketing and pricing used to get those buyers to take a swing at the house!  And if they make contact, we  hope for one that will hit it out of the park and go to closing!  Now that’s what I call a grand slam!

Grand Slam for CT Real Estate

The CT buyer team…the CT seller team…will it be a tied game?  Will the closing be delayed and the game go into overtime?  You never know until you get “in” the game!  Try it – you may end up winning  a CT or UConn area home you really love!