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Is Now the Right Time to Sell Your Condo?

Sellers often ask me when is the best time to list their home for sale. The conventional wisdom seems to be that listing sometime in the spring or early summer is best. However, that begs the question, “what exactly is meant by “best?” In my experience what most sellers are really concerned with is selling their home for as much as possible. What many people don��t seem to think about though, is that they usually aren’t just selling a home, but are often buying a new home at the same time.

If you are a seller that is is also planning to be a buyer, then you need to look at both the sale and the purchase to figure out if you would rather buy/sell when prices are higher or lower. For example, if you are selling your home with plans to purchase a larger and more expensive home, then you would be better off selling at a time when you will make less on your sale, but also pay less on your purchase. If instead you are downsizing, then the opposite is true. As you’ll read below though, it might not matter either way.

So it seems that this is a more complex question than it might have initially seemed, and the common refrain of “spring time” is probably not an acceptable answer. If you’ve read my blog before, you probably picked up on the fact that I’m a numbers geek. I came to the real estate industry from the finance side originally, and whenever possible I try to use my analytical skills to assist my clients in their decision making process. With that goal in mind, I spent some time crunching numbers for this post today.

I looked at all of the condo sales in the greater San Antonio market over the past 3 years. There were approximately 2,500+- transactions reported. This was a lot of data, but with the help of my assistant, I calculated the average price per square foot for each month during that period, and used that data to create the chart above. The curved line shows the monthly fluctuations, and the straight line shows the long term trend.

Of course this is not a perfect sample set of data. I’m just using the reported sales in the MLS, and I’m not making any adjustments for size, location, or condition to the reported sales. However, I believe due to the shear size of the sample, we can still draw some useful conclusions, despite the noise. It appears that there is not a clear pattern to the monthly price fluctuations, and you cannot reasonably predict what season will yield the best price for your condo. I’m sure this will come as a surprise to most. However, there is clearly a long term trend towards higher prices. Of course, this trend will change over time as well.

It seems like maybe the conventional wisdom related to seasonality has failed us, and timing the market is not a simple task. If that is the case and we can’t just rely on the numbers, then when is the best time to sell your condo? What I usually tell my clients is that their decision to move/sell should be based on their life’s demands and not on trying to time the market. Have they added a member to their family and need more space? Have they taken a new job? Is it time to downsize to reduce their monthly costs? These are all the best reasons to make a decision to move. 

There are several aspects of selling your property that require a hard look at the numbers (think setting the right price), but I don’t believe market timing is one of them. Even professional investors struggle with timing the market. The best time to sell your condo is when the property you are in no longer suits your current needs, and you can afford a property that will be a better fit for your life.

If you think the time might be right to sell your condo, please feel free to contact me.

Based on information from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® MLS for the period 01/01/2016 through 12/31/2018

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Condo Sales - San Antonio, TX - 04/21/19 - 04/27/19

16 condos sold last week in the greater San Antonio area with an average sale price of $207,530 and an average price per square foot of $154.31. Both the average price per square foot and the average sale price rose this week. It’s still too early to tell if this is a real price trend, but it is definitely something worth keeping an eye on. The sale prices ranged from as low as $70.06 per square foot to as high as $283.54 per square foot. This is a very broad range, and illustrates why it’s so important to look at the individual aspects of your condo when trying to decide on a sale price.

The average condo sold for 96.69% of the list price, and the median condo sold for 97.46 % of the list price. There was only a single condo that sold for a significant discount from the asking price. Sellers still have a strong bargaining position in this market, which is in line with my recent experience in this market. 

The median days on market was 72 days, which was another significant increase. However, there were some outliers that were either waiting for a premium price and/or had large amounts of deferred maintenance or other issues slowing the sale process. There were still several condos that were put under contract within the first month of listing.

This week’s average seller concession dropped to $886.80, but the median was still $500. A home warranty allowance of $500 still seems to be the typical seller concession. I expect that this will continue to be the only concession as long as it continues to be a sellers’ market.

If you’re interested in finding out what condos are selling for in your particular community, please feel free to contact me.

Based on information from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® MLS for the period 04/21/2019 through 04/27/2019.

[joesellscondos]

3 Reasons Selling a Condo is Different From Selling a House

A friend of mine recently asked me why I’m writing a blog devoted to selling condos in San Antonio. She was curious if selling condos was really any different from selling houses. It’s a fair question, and led to a long discussion. I’m not going to bore you with all the details today, but I thought I’d share 3 reasons why selling a condo is different from selling a house:

1. Payment Over Price - From a buyer’s perspective, one of the main differences between detached homes and condos is the condo fee. Every condominium association collects a fee to maintain the common areas and amenities of the community.  Often times the condo fee makes up a large portion of an owner’s monthly payment. However, the amount of that fee can vary widely among different communities, even within the same area.

Because the condominium fees vary, two similarly priced condos can have significantly different monthly ownership expenses. This means that condo buyers are much more likely to compare the monthly payment of your condo to that of another, than they are to compare the prices. This added wrinkle makes pricing your condo more complex than pricing a single family home, because when you are pricing your condo for sale, you can’t just look at what similar properties in your area sold for. To be competitive in the market, in addition to looking at what comparable condos sold for, you also have to look at what the total monthly payments of those properties were, and price your condo accordingly.

2. Common Areas - Another aspect that sets condos apart from single family homes is the shared ownership of the common areas. These common areas may just be the roof and structure of the building, but they may also include parking, swimming pools, play areas, laundry facilities, and other amenities. Condo buyers are often just as interested in the community amenities as they are in their individual unit. 

One common mistake when marketing a condominium for sale is to focus only on the unit itself, and to neglect the common areas and amenities. When selling a condo, it is imperative to provide as much detail about the amenities as possible. It’s also important to provide pictures of the common areas, as these help buyers picture the property as a whole.

3. Contract - The Texas Real Estate Commission promulgates contract forms for the purchase and sale of different types of property in Texas. Although other contracts can be used, the promulgated forms are used in the majority of offers that I receive on behalf of my sellers. There is a form for 1-4 family homes that is used for detached properties, and a different form for condos. Although the contract forms are similar, there are important details with the condominium form that are often overlooked. 

One of the more common issues that I have encountered is related to the timing of providing condominium documents and resale certificates. When you are selling your condo, you will be asked to provide these documents to your buyer. However, you have to obtain them from the condominium association, and the association does not always provide the documents quickly. Therefore, when reviewing offers for your condo, it’s important to be aware the timeline that you are agreeing to for providing these documents.

These are just 3 of many reasons that selling a condo is different from selling a single family home. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in discussing the topic further. Also, because I was discussing the contract documents used in purchase transactions, I thought I would take this opportunity to mention that you should always have your attorney review your contracts if there is anything you don’t understand. Nothing I’ve discussed today was intended to be legal advice, and should not be relied on as such.

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Condo Sales - San Antonio, TX - 04/14/19 - 04/20/19

Last week 13 condos sold in the greater San Antonio area with an average sale price of $155,862 and an average price per square foot of $142.17. I found it interesting that the average sale price fell slightly from last week, while at the same time the average price per square foot rose significantly. It’s too early to tell if this is a price trend or simply normal market fluctuations. The sale prices ranged from as low as $90.76 per square foot to as high as $238.56 per square foot. There are a lot factors that go into the price per square foot that a condo will sell for, including community amenities, location in the complex, condition of the property, and the amount of the condo fee to name a few.

The average condo sold for 96.27% of the list price, and the median condo sold for 95.8% of the list price. This indicates that sellers have a strong bargaining position in this market. There were a few outliers that sold for significant discounts. I happened to represent the buyer on one of these properties. What all three appear to have in common is that they were in need of significant updating or repair. When those 3 properties are removed, it becomes clear that sellers have real pricing power in the current market.

The median days on market was 36 days, which was a significant increase over last week. It appears that some of the higher priced condos, along with the 3 condos mentioned earlier, skewed this figure higher than what I would have expected. In general well priced and maintained properties are selling very quickly in the current market.

This week’s average seller concession rose to $1,812.12, but the median was still $500. The average appears to be skewed higher by a few outliers. In general the $500 home warranty seems to be the typical seller concession today. This is in line with what I have been seeing as well.

If you’re interested in finding out what condos are selling for in your particular community, please feel free to contact me. 

Based on information from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® MLS for the period 04/14/2019 through 04/20/2019.

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Selling Your Condo Requires the Right Plan

There are a lot of older condos here in San Antonio that might not necessarily live up to the standards of today’s home buyers. Many of these units are small, outdated, and lacking some of the conveniences that most people have come to expect, like washer/dryer hookups or dishwashers. Some sellers worry that they won’t be able to sell their condo without first spending the money to fix these deficiencies. Sometimes this may be the case, but often all you really need is the right plan.

Your plan to sell your condo should include strategies to address any of the deficiencies or shortcomings that buyers my perceive exist. For example, I recently listed a condo in Alamo Heights. Despite the fact that it was small and did not have washer/dryer hookups, we were able to obtain an offer above the asking price in about 2 weeks. This was possible because we had a simple, but effective pan to address these deficiencies.

First, to address the fact that the condo was on the small side, we did three things. One, the sellers removed 100% of the clutter in her home. Removing clutter is always important in selling a home, but is especially so for smaller condos. Two, the seller only kept furniture in her home that was size appropriate. It’s often the case that a large couch or table should be removed, or replaced with something smaller, to match the scale of the room. And three, we emphasized the outdoor space associated with the unit. This was accomplished by keeping the views of the outdoor space wide open, having multiple photos of the outdoor space as part of the listing, and mentioning all of the outdoor amenities in the listing description.

Second, to address the lack of washer and dryer hookups, I included information in the listing both about the proximity of the unit to the community laundry facility and about several possible solutions for adding hookups in the condo. Some of this information came from my own experience with these units, and some came from research done by the seller. Although the lack of washer and dryer hookups was the number one complaint on my showing feedback, we were still able to find multiple buyers that were comfortable enough to make full price offers, after we discussed the possible solutions.

Regardless of the price point, every home has some flaw or shortcoming. It’s important to be aware of these issues upfront and to devise a plan to both minimize the deficiencies and highlight the positive features of your condo. Also, the plan you devise is only as good as your execution. My example above came together so well, because I had a client that was very responsive and proactive. She already had taken a lot of the steps in her decorating to maximize her space, and was very helpful in researching solutions for the washer and dryer.

If you have a condo that might require a specific plan to sell it for a good price, please feel free to contact me, and we can make one together.

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Condo Sales in San Antonio, TX 04/07/19 - 04/13/19

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m planning to provide weekly updates on condo sales in San Antonio, TX. So here goes... 

Last week 7 condos sold with an average sales price of $160,143 and an average price per square foot of $124.60. The sales prices ranged from as low as $78.14 per square foot to as high as $282.89 per square foot. There are a lot factors that go into the price per square foot that a condo will sell for, including community amenities, location in the complex, condition of the property, and the amount of the condo fee to name a few. 

The average condo sold for 96.31% of the list price, and the median condo sold for 98.06% of the list price. This indicates that sellers have a strong bargaining position in this market. I’ve experienced this firsthand, seeing several recent properties receive multiple offers within weeks or even days hitting the market.

The median days on market was only 21 days, which means that half of the condos sold last week in San Antonio were only on the market for 3 weeks or less. This is consistent with my recent experience with the condo market, as I’ve seen well priced properties properties moving very quickly.

Another indication that this is a great market for sellers is that we are seeing very little seller concessions. The average condo sale last week only had $487.50 in seller concessions. I would assume that the most likely concession at this price is the provision of a home warranty, but the aggregate data doesn’t provide that level of detail.

Overall these factors as a whole indicate to me that it is a great time to sell your condo here in San Antonio, TX. If however, you’re a buyer, it’s imperative to have all your ducks in a row and be ready to move quickly when you find a home that you like. In either case, please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance.

Based on information from the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® MLS for the period 04/07/19 through 04/13/19.

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The San Antonio Condo Market

Hello. I’ve been involved in the real estate business since 2005. I’ve bought, sold, and/or financed everything from single family homes to shopping malls, and yes even a few condos along the way. I’ve always had a particular interest in condos, because I’ve found that they have a plethora of benefits that are often overlooked by many home buyers. I don’t think they get their fair share of attention from first time home-buyers, from people considering downsizing, or from active duty military and others that travel a lot for business. Condos present many benefits to each of these groups.

I have spent a lot of time with both buyers and sellers of condos lately, and have come to realize that there are a lot of misconceptions about condominiums. I’ve also found that market data for condos is not readily available to the average condo buyer or seller here in San Antonio, TX. So, I decided to start this blog to share some of my thoughts and opinions about condo ownership in general and the San Antonio condo market specifically. Please let me know if there are particular topics that you would be interested in reading about.