Hiring a Realtor®? Consider Their Knowledge

If you are currently selling your property or planning on listing it, you need to consider hiring a Realtor®. Your quest for a qualified professional should include making sure he or she knows what’s going on in the market and keeps informed on the latest real estate news.
One of the places I find my intel is through the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, ILHM, Luxury Market Report, the only real-time national index and report covering the luxury market. This weekly report is a snapshot of the national luxury market.  Like the Case-Shiller Composite Index and other national indices, it is a bundle of data from markets around the country that give a simplified view and answer the question of what’s happening in the marketplace.
Unlike other reports and indices out there the ILHM Luxury Market Report is focused exclusively on THE TOP OF THE MARKET.  Luxury homes at the top of the market might be in high demand and setting new price records, while starter homes might be experiencing major downward price pressures (or vice versa).  Most major indices ignore this fact and lump all market segments together to get at some sense of overall market trends.
If you want to take a look at just the top of the market, so that you can see more clearly what is really happening in luxury markets around the country and the overall luxury trend at the national level, this report is for you.
The editors of the weekly report start at the zip code level, looking at all the zip codes in 31 metro areas around the country. For each metro area, they rank the zip codes by median price, take the market data from the top ten zips with median prices above $500k, and create a local composite that is representative of the top of the market.
I find that by watching this report each week, I can discern luxury market trends before I read about them anywhere else. I pay close attention to the Days on Market to figure out the health of the market, but also to share with my clients who are selling their home so they have a good idea what the national trend is and how long they might expect it to take to sell their home. My buyers, on the other hand, can see how quickly they should make an offer on a luxury home.
If you are listing your property or looking for a new home in Montecito or any of the upscale communities in Santa Barbara and you’re considering hiring a Realtor®, make sure he or she knows about the Luxury Market Report. Or keep it simple: just give me a call at 805.886.9378 or email me at Cristal@montecito-estate.com. I am happy to put my knowledge and contacts to work on your behalf!