Jefjen Way is a street in Elk Grove that backs to a school in Quail Ridge. This means the playground and the noise that goes along with that can be disturbing to residents who live on that side of the street. Fortunately, the last listing I took on Jefjen Way sold within 3 days with multiple offers, even in today’s softer buyer’s market.

We went on the market in early December, a time of the year when sales typically slow down. I would have preferred to list and sell the home in April, when our market was much stronger, but that did not happen. Oddly enough, I’ve been expecting to get the listing since April of 2018.

I’m not 100% positive, but if I recall correctly, it was one party’s parents who called me, and it was not the party who was on title. They wanted to talk with agents and help the party in title to obtain an independent and trustworthy agent. Somebody they at least knew, I suspect. And it was through those parents that I was introduced to the actual seller.

Last April, I would have pegged the home to sell for a lot more money because buyers were more willing to overlook homes that needed work at that point. However, by the time the home became available to sell, in early December, we had moved into a remarkably different market.

Homes without updates, such as certain homes in Elk Grove that feature oak cabinets, white tile counters, white appliances and laminate floors, are not in high demand. Throw a little deferred maintenance, a badly needed paint job that wasn’t gonna happen, on top of stained carpeting, and the price needed to come down even more.

I looked at the homes for sale in that neighborhood, in particular a similar home on Jefjen that was not selling, even though it was priced exceptionally well. It was about the same size but it had a much smaller lot than our subject property. However, it presented the same dilemma of no updates. But it was in better condition and it had a 3-car garage. My listing was a 2-car.

The last home I sold on Jefjen Way took almost two months, and the present competing home had already been on the market for two months without selling. My advice to the seller was to price it tad under the competition, which theoretically should attract a lot of attention. We also made it clear the home would be sold AS IS, and to sell AS IS in today’s market, it absolutely MUST be priced right.

My point is always to maximize seller profit potential. The strategy we use is different depending on the competition, the recent sales and the overall temperature of the market.

Sure enough, within days we received an offer. Followed by another offer. They were close in price to each other. However, the second buyer wanted the house a lot more than the first buyer and suddenly bid several tens of thousands of dollars more. Much more than the first offer.

This pleases me to no end to get more money for the seller. Especially when my strategy pays off. It can be a bit risky when moving into uncharted territory, when the methods used over the past 10 years no longer work. You adapt to the marketplace or you get left in the dust.

In the end, the buyers were ecstatic, the seller was thrilled and the home sold for exactly what the market would bear and then some. You can play this market to your advantage. Which it felt good to prove.

This was my first closing of 2019. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about another 2019 closing, a home that I sold three times.