Years ago, I realized that the number 20 is very powerful in real estate. It applies both when buying and when selling.
When Buying
I think most people do the bulk of their house hunting online. The Internet is an amazing tool. However, it is also super important to physically visit houses. I think you need to go into them to get a feeling for value. What does $500,000 look like? By the time that you have gone through 20 houses you will have a strong sense of value. You’ll know what feels like a good deal and what feels like it is overpriced.
This does not mean that you absolutely have to see exactly 20 houses. No. In fact, the first house that my husband and I bought was the first house that we looked at. We walked in, fell in love, and made an offer.
20 is simply a good guide and a way to set some expectations for the experience of house hunting.
When Selling
When selling, you need about 20 showings to get an offer. Again, it can happen faster than that, but 20 is a good barometer.
So, if you put your house on the market and you get 20 showings in the first few days, you are going to get an offer quickly.
If the reverse happens and you get 2 showings the first week, and then 2 the next, this means you’re going to be on the market for about 10 weeks to get an offer. If you need an offer more quickly, then you need to drop the price or fix what people are objecting to.
If you get 20 showings and no offer happens, again, you need to drop the price or fix what people are objecting to.
I hope you find this concept useful. As always, thanks for reading the blotter.
Dianne