Home Sales Data Can Make You the Warren Buffet of Your Market
There’s a reason they call Warren Buffet the “Sage of Omaha.” The guru/billionaire has an uncanny ability to make accurate financial projections. He just made one on real estate. And there’s a home sales data tool than can help local agents and brokers back up what he says.
Every year, Berkshire-Hathaway holds their annual shareholder meeting, just like every other public company. But for BH, it’s a huge media event. The media, investors and the general public hangs on every word coming out of Buffet’s mouth and what he writes.
Obviously, there’s a reason for that. His fund, which he started from zero, now has a $316 billion market value. His company owns such heavyweights such as Geico, Fruit of the Loom and Burlington Northern. It employs 316,000 employees and is ranked No.3 for World’s Most Admired Company.
Yes, I would say the guy has the ability to make some smart decisions.
In this particular meeting, he was quizzed about real estate prices. They are bouncing back nicely from the Great Recession of 2008 and when they bottomed-out near 2011. It was an ugly time. Millions of foreclosures.
But here we are in 2016 and home prices have continued to advance upward.
In urban areas, if you watch those New York real estate shows, valuations almost seem insane. Apartments with 1200 sq. feet are selling for millions. People are starting to get worried we are in another over-inflated real estate market.
But, again, Buffet has a great ability to see the reality through the hysteria. Sure, in some markets, such as New York or San Francisco, home prices are outrageous. Scary. Could be time for a correction. But that’s Wall Street and Silicon Valley.
Buffet, who still lives in the same house in Omaha he has lived in for years, says things are just fine on Main Street. He doesn’t believe there is an issue.
“I don’t see a nationwide bubble in real estate right now at all,” Buffet said.
Sure, he pointed out, housing is probably not as good of a deal as it was a few years ago. But he doesn’t believe it is severely overpriced, especially again, on the NATIONAL level. Some analysts disagree and are starting to send up warning signals (again, it’s tough to argue against Buffet).
Here’s the point for local brokers and agents.
Obviously, people are concerned about home price trends. Again, there are stories circulating about outrageous escalation in certain markets.
But you are mainly concerned with your market. One smart way to address this concern in your area is to have your own supply of hyper-local real estate data that addresses the pricing concerns. There are home sales data providers out there, such as Home Junction Inc. who can supply that information.
In fact, they can embed a data feed into your site so it shows you are the local real estate expert with the local knowledge.
Display a chart for local Market Trends. Show sales activity by quarter.
Display another chart for Price Trends. Point out trends by quarter with average and median home prices.
(There’s a complete package of additional real estate data – Schools, Business, Cost of Living Index, etc).
If your local home sales data shows prices are steady, assure buyers it still is a good time to buy. The market has not peaked. Homes are not overpriced.
If trend lines on your local charts for that market are taking off, perhaps use that home sales data to show sellers now is a good time to sell. Also, let home buyers know they need to move quickly before those home prices do get out of reach.
You have the data. Promote it. This is a hot news, top-of-mind item people are thinking about.
What a great opportunity to mention the latest stats on Facebook. Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.
What’s even better, with the Home Junction home sales data feed, people need to go to your site to read that data. Kapow! You could generate a newsletter subscriber or better yet, a lead or a phone call.
You can be sure, Buffet doesn’t just look at some tea leaves and comes up with his forecasts. The guy is notorious for being able to wade through massive amounts data to get a concise picture of opportunities and trends.
Adding hyper-local homes sales data to your web site can make you the “sage” of your local marketplace. Click here to see how easy it is.
