Residential Property Data API Helps Explain Market Anomalies
Sometimes there are strange variances in real estate that a residential property data API with pricing trends can help agents provide explanations about what is going on. Let’s talk about the current situation.
Sure, during Covid 19, the real estate industry ground to a halt for a few weeks as the country adjusted to this health crisis. Now, markets are slowly opening up. So, with the current situation, especially with the large number of unemployed, one might think home prices would drop significantly. But just the opposite is occurring.
For the week ending May 23, according to Realtor.com, home list prices nationwide actually jumped up 3.1%. In fact, home prices increased in 75% of the 77 biggest metro areas.
Wait what? Why? Blame it on lack of inventory. “There are still buyers in the market,” said Senior Economist George Ratiu, “But given the very limited number of properties available, buyers are willing to pay more.” That’s quite a jump when you consider before all this, back in March, home prices were increasing at a 4.4% annual rate.
There are some very positive factors out there pushing those prices. For one, mortgage rates are at record lows. It’s still less expensive to take out a home loan today than many other times in history. Secondly, Millennials have caught the home-buying bug. After years of renting and sitting on the fence NOW they want to buy. Plus, it’s the home buying season time of year.
However, the challenge most agents face is that listings are few. Realtor.com reports the number of homes for sale during that same week in May dropped 22% year over year. “The mix of homes that are on the market now is a little bit different,” reported the Economist. “What’s really selling at a premium are lower-priced homes. The higher-priced homes are sitting on the market longer.”
Residential Property Data API Points Out Pricing Trends
Buyers and sellers will look for the agents who can offer an explanation of this anomaly. And they will want statistics to back it up. The Millennial who wants to buy that house, will wonder why during these times, they have to offer more for a home? Home owners, who have expressed an interest in selling, will surely want to be notified that pricing trends right now are actually in their favor.
There’s a tool for that – a residential property data API.
A residential property data API (Application Programming Interface) is simply some snippets of code that a data aggregator provides to an agent to insert into their website. That little bit of code opens up a huge door to an enormous database of hyper-local data. An agent can then display this relevant data on any page on their website.
One of those data points is local pricing trends. An agent can have those price points converted into a handy and easy to grasp chart. That agent, and this is a MAJOR point, can also have those data points customized all the way down to the neighborhood level they are farming. This is huge. This is what local knowledge is all about. With this data, the agent can point out how home prices in general in XYZ neighborhood are going up, despite the economy.
If a buyer sees a home they like, that data suggests they might want to jump on it NOW. There’s more power in owning that data.
For example, say there’s a buyer out there who is interested in ABC neighborhood. But prices there for some reason are flat or have actually dipped. Show that buyer pricing trend data – nationwide – and in nearby neighborhoods. Point out how these homes are priced reasonably, maybe at a bargain level, compared to the rest of the country and frankly, the rest of that town. Again, this could be the persuasive tipping point to get that buyer to act.
Agents know they can reverse the use of this data and apply it to homeowners. Many homeowners may be under the impression, given the circumstances, that now is not a good time to list their properties. Au contraire! The data shows home prices are going UP. Mr. and Mrs. HomeOwner, why wait? The data shows conditions are favorable to list your home NOW.
In this topsy-turvy economy, who knows what those home prices will be next year? (Of course, the agent with the data will know). Speculation and misconceptions will always create a murky atmosphere during times of uncertainty. Facts and data can cut through that fog. Those same facts and data can also be used in social media posts and other marketing to help generate leads and inquiries.
Agents: give consumers something solid to help with their decision-making – a residential property data API that displays those pricing trends right on their website, by target neighborhoods.
