Zillow Made a Mistake Buying Homes

Here’s why Zillow shuttered their home-buying program at the end of 2021

Something happened at the end of 2021 that you might not have heard about. Many people visit one platform when they look for available properties. The name of that platform is Zillow, and for the last few years, they have been not only marketing homes but also buying them.


Zillow would make an offer on a property without seeing it, close that transaction, and send someone out to renovate it. They were buying and rehabbing houses all over the country, but at the end of 2021, they shut down that program.

At the end of the day, nothing can replace a seasoned agent.

It’s funny because clients used to bring up Zillow’s estimate at listing appointments. To me, those numbers felt like they were as much as 25% over or 35% below the actual price. It was interesting when Zillow announced that they would start buying properties based on these estimates.


After a couple of years of trying this, it turns out Zillow was losing money on almost every house they bought. They obviously hadn’t gone the right way with their algorithm. At the end of the day, nothing can replace a seasoned agent who knows the market, lives in the area, and works in it every day.


On top of that, every market is different, and every market changes. It can depend on what’s in the newspaper that day or what announcements were recently made. There are just too many pieces for an algorithm to put it all together. It was interesting to see if Zillow could succeed, but they couldn’t, and that’s why you still need to depend on your local experts.


If you have any questions, or if you truly want to know what your home is worth, please call or email me. I’d be happy to do a home valuation for you.

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How Buyers Can Navigate This Market

Here are some tips and strategies to help you make offers in this market.

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Today I’m talking about how buyers in this market can navigate multiple-offer situations. 

So you're a buyer looking for a home, and maybe you work Monday through Friday, 8 p.m. to 5 p.m., and your agent texts you at 10 p.m. saying the perfect house just hit the market. If you've been a buyer for a little while in this market, you've probably gotten to that house at 6 a.m. only to find that it's already sold. We’re seeing buyers getting burned out from things like this. How do you handle that?

I always want to inspect a house before putting an offer on it. Any Arkansas real estate association contract is going to have an inspection period. If a good house hits the market at 10 a.m. but you can't get there until 5:30 p.m., go ahead and write the offer at whatever price you're comfortable with. It may get rejected or thrown out, but at least you're on the hunt.

"We’re seeing buyers getting burned out from things like this."

Write the offer contingent upon your inspection. Having an inspection doesn't mean you have to find something majorly wrong with the house to walk away from that contract. Your inspection can be you walking in and saying that the bedroom's too small, the layout doesn't work, or the kitchen's just not exactly what you wanted. The inspection contingency is a strategy that we have used in the past, and it works out very well, especially in a hot market like today.

Another trick we have is when you write an offer, be flexible on the closing date. If you can tell a seller that once we close you’ll give them X more days to move out, that won’t cost you any money, and it will make your offer look so much better. If you have kids, write a letter to the seller about how you can see your kids playing in the backyard and all those memories being made. A heartfelt letter will go a long way with an offer as well.

If you have any real estate questions, reach out to me and let me know; my cell phone number is (870) 919-4968. If you're thinking about buying or selling, I’m here to help. Have a blessed day, and we'll talk soon.

A Brief Message About Home Preparation

How do you prepare your home for sale in today’s market?

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Homes have been selling with multiple offers, many of them getting well over their asking prices. Truth be told, I don’t know how long these market conditions will last, but I don’t see them slowing down anytime soon. 

That said, it’s still a good idea to get your home ready for the market. Buyers may be hungry for properties, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll make offers on homes they deem in poor condition. Walk around your home and look for any cosmetic issues that need to be addressed. Cosmetic issues could include paint, floors, countertops, and so on. Be sure to touch up any scratches or scuffs.

"It may take some time for subcontractors to get around to the small jobs."

You should know, however, that subcontractors in our area are very busy, so if you don’t have any major renovation plans, it may take some time for them to get around to the small jobs. I also can’t tell you exactly how much you’ll be able to recoup in this market, but you’ll probably be able to price your home at a number you’re comfortable with and still leave enough money on the table for your buyer to go in and make the changes they want.

If you’re in the market to sell a home or have questions about specific ways to prepare your home for the market, please reach out to us. We’re here to help.

My Advice for Handling Multiple Offers

Here’s my advice on how to handle multiple offers in this market.

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Whether you’re listing your home in Northeast Arkansas or anywhere else in the U.S., there’s one trend I keep seeing over and over: If the home is clean, neat, and ready to sell, most of the time it’ll get multiple offers. What’s the best way to handle multiple offers, though?

For starters, hopefully your listing agent lets other agents know that there are multiple offers on the table. Sometimes this scares other buyers off because they don’t want to get into a bidding war. However, we’ve found that after these same buyers have lost out on a house or two (or three), they’re willing to step up to the plate because they understand they’ll have to engage in a bidding war if they want a house in this market. 

"When you have multiple offers, why not play them against each other?"

That said, my team and I use the ‘highest and best’ method when handling multiple offers. Let’s say one of our sellers gets three offers for their home: one for $10,000 over asking price, one for $11,000 over asking price, and one for $12,000 over asking price. Let’s also imagine that one of these offers is an excellent offer—an offer the seller might even be willing to accept. When you have multiple offers, though, why not play those offers against each other?

In this case, we’d contact each agent, tell them we have multiple offers on the table, and give them notice that we’ll go over all the offers at, say, 5 p.m. If they want to leave their offers as they are, that’s fine, but now they know there are multiple offers on the table, and there’s a good chance the seller won’t counter any of them. They’ll probably just accept one of them because they’re all at or above list price. Now their client has the opportunity to put their best foot forward. 

Three to six months ago, if a buyer would’ve written an offer for a property, they probably would’ve gotten a counteroffer detailing which terms the seller would accept. Nowadays, the seller doesn’t have to do that. You can basically say that you have other offers and need the highest and best brought to you by a certain time. At that point, you can go over the offers and pick whichever one suits your needs. 

If you’d like to know more about juggling multiple offers, know what your home is worth in this market, or are thinking of buying a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.

Come Join Us at Our Next Client Appreciation Event

As a token of gratitude for all the support you’ve given us over the past 13 years, join us on November 20 for a meet-and-greet and free pie.

 
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We’re so blessed and fortunate to have been able to work in real estate for 13 years. Even now, it amazes me to say that it’s been that long. But the truth is, we couldn’t have made it this far without all of you—our current and past clients, our friends, and our families.

So, to show our appreciation for your contributions, we’re once again inviting you to our upcoming client appreciation event.

“

We’ve helped 3,000 families in the past 13 years, and it’s been an amazing ride.

”

On Tuesday, November 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and again from 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., we’ll be holding a meet-and-greet at our office (2408 Phillips Drive, Jonesboro) and we’d love to see you there.

We’ll have refreshments available, and you can take a free pecan pie home with you to enjoy over the holidays. This gathering will give us an opportunity to say thank you in person; we’ve helped 3,000 families meet their real estate goals in the past 13 years, and it’s been an amazing ride.

We sincerely hope to see you there! And as always, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, we hope you’ll think of us and reach out for any assistance you need. We’d be happy to help you.

Join Us and #XploreJonesboro

Today we’re going to talk about #XploreJonesboro and what you need to know about this exciting, interactive competition.
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There’s a new exciting competition going on that I want to tell you about today. #XploreJonesboro has just kicked off, and we need you to get involved. The goal of this program is to expose any and every little secret about the best places in Jonesboro.

It’s fun, interactive, and interesting. You’ll even learn stuff about Jonesboro that you never did before. I’ve been here since 4th grade and I’m still learning new stuff about Jonesboro every day.

This is a totally interactive competition. You’ll be challenged each week to go out into the community and send pictures in with the hashtag #XploreJonesboro. We are all going to learn some amazing things about Jonesboro over the next month and a half.

“

We are all going to learn some amazing things about Jonesboro.

”

The winner of the grand prize will be announced at the BBQ Fest on Friday, September 28, right before the main act.

If you have any questions about #XploreJonesboro or about anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
 

A Brief Explanation of the MLS

You’ve probably heard of the term “MLS.” But, what does it actually mean?

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In the past, you’ve probably heard me throw around the term “MLS.” Today, I’d like to explain what exactly the MLS is.

First of all, MLS stands for “multiple listing service.” The multiple listing service is what agents use when they list a property for their clients. Listings are put into this system when they go on the market.

The multiple listing service is what agents use when they list a property for their clients.

Northeast Arkansas actually has its own MLS, with an office located here in Jonesboro. Over 400 local agents are members of this MLS.

Now that you understand what the MLS is, I’d also like to share a warning with you. Certain companies will tell you that they can put your home in the MLS if you pay them a certain flat fee.

I want to let you know that these companies are not affiliated with our local MLS.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help you.

Have You Been to Gigi’s Cupcakes?

Today, Brittney McKee from Gigi’s Cupcakes is here to discuss everything this amazing bakery has to offer.

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Today I’m here with Brittney McKee from Gigi’s Cupcakes. We partnered up with Gigi’s Cupcakes a couple of years ago, and they have some amazing treats. 

Everyone who buys a house or closes a transaction with us gets surprised with a sweet treat from Gigi’s Cupcakes at the closing table. It’s always a great experience, and the clients rave about the cupcakes.

Then, they go to Brittney’s store to see what else Gigi’s Cupcakes has to offer! “Our Gigi’s looks different than other locations,” Brittney says, “So they are excited to see that.”

It’s definitely been a win-win situation.

Gigi’s Cupcakes started in 2008 and arrived in Jonesboro three years ago on November 3. “We just had our third birthday,” says Brittney. Gigi’s Cupcakes is located on Red Wolf Boulevard, so the store is right next to some great restaurants, like Cheddars. “We’re cutting their dessert game short, because people come in after their date or birthday,” says Brittney. “We love being part of people’s special celebrations.”

“We’ve gotten to pair up with people like Burch & Co., and we do fundraisers in our community. It’s astonishing to see how much money someone can raise for their organization with cupcakes,” says Brittney. “We also do dozen boxes and full-size pies.”

When it comes to cakes, the sky's the limit.

Six months after Gigi’s Cupcakes opened, Brittney wanted to be part of the weddings in the community. “We love being part of their celebration. We’ve done six-foot tall wedding cakes and dessert bars big enough to serve 350 people, so we can definitely do it all.”

Gigi’s Cupcakes is perfect for any special occasion, such as birthdays, holidays, and closing a real estate transaction.

They even made some awesome cookies with our logos on them, so you can get your company logo on a cupcake or cookie as well.

“We are a full-service bakery, from our all-natural, organic, gluten-free French macaroon to six-foot wedding cakes,” says Brittney. “The sky’s the limit on cakes.”

We love partnering up with local businesses. Make sure you check out Gigi’s Cupcakes at 2203 Red Wolf Boulevard, Suite 3. If you have any questions, you can check out their website or call the store at 870-336-4660.

As always, if you have any real estate questions, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Why We’ve Teamed Up With eXp Realty

What’s the deal with all the “eXp Realty” signs around town? The deal is we’re about to get even better at serving our clients. 

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Every day we get out of bed, we try to figure out the best way we can serve our clients, whether they’re homebuyers, sellers, or the other agents in town helping us sell all the homes we do.

It’s with that sentiment in mind that I’m proud to announce that our team has recently merged with eXp Realty, a cloud-based real estate company.  

I was introduced to eXp Realty a few months ago. In that time, I’ve met with their owners, the CFO, the CEO, and the president of the company. Now, we’re bringing that company to Jonesboro.

How will this affect us? How will this affect you?

This will allow us to service our clients even better.

The opportunities this merger has opened up for us have been truly unreal in terms of training, exposure, and the access we have to some of the top names in the industry that we didn’t have before. In fact, the former educational director of Zillow is with this company. 

You can expect to see more “eXp Realty” signs around Jonesboro and at our new office location. Even though we’ve added a brand name, we’re still here for you. We’re still here to serve you just like we have in the past and hope to do in the future. 

If you have any questions about Jonesboro Real Estate and eXp Realty or about the future of real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call. I’d be happy to speak with you! 

Should You Own or Rent a Jonesboro Home?

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Lately, many people have been asking me, “What’s the benefit of owning a property compared to renting a property?”

One big difference between owning and renting is that a homeowner can do whatever they would like with the property. If you want to put in a fence, paint a room, or do anything else, you’re in a much better position to do those things than a renter. You have significantly more freedom in that sense.

Also, as a homeowner, each payment you make created equity in a home. As a renter, that $1,000 monthly payment is essentially going out the window. Yes, that money puts a roof over your head, but you’ll have nothing to show for it when you move. Owning a home is an investment, instead of paying off a landlord every month.

“

Owning a home helps you build wealth.

”

Now, as an owner, if you buy a home for $100,000, you will owe less on the property when you move. Not only that, your home will appreciate in value. You might not get all your money back, but you will be better off than you would be renting.

Finally, owning a property comes with certain tax benefits, like writing off mortgage insurance. You can’t take advantage of those benefits as a tenant.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How to Win a Bidding War in Jonesboro

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If you’re looking for a home today, you’ll realize there aren’t many properties available. Inventory is low in the Jonesboro area. Often, another buyer is looking at the same home you are. You won’t always know this, though.

We prepare our buyers ahead of time. We equip our clients with a pre-qualification letter early on if they’re not paying with cash. This shows a seller that a buyer is committed and serious. Think about that for a moment. If you were accepting bids for a home, who would you choose, a pre-qualified buyer or just your average buyer?

This is a simple strategy to help our buyers compete in multiple offer situations. If you or someone you know is looking to purchase a home this year, give me a call or email today!

Do Open Houses Really Sell Homes?

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Open houses are a thing of the past. They're not particularly common anymore, and that's largely due to the popularity of the Internet. However, we hold at least two open houses every weekend, usually on Sundays.

We try to drum up business on a stale property with an open house. This is only when our guerrilla marketing tactics have not been met with a good response, and that's when we have to hold an open house. 

Typically open houses will not sell homes, but they will generate a lot of buyer activity. This means that we can collect cold leads for the future, and possibly even find a buyer for your property. 

Overall an open house isn't a great way to sell a particular property, but it does provide extra exposure and allows us to secure future home buyers.

If you have any questions or concerns about open houses, please don't hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you!

How to Prepare Your Jonesboro Home to Sell This Spring

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Today we are just going to take a few minutes to answer the question, “What do you need to do to prepare your home for the spring market?” There are many things you can do to entice buyers into purchasing your home, here is where we suggest you get started. 

Curb appeal is essential to a successful home sale. You don’t have to spend a ton of money on renovating your yard or your front porch, but adding a pop of color here and there and making sure everything looks good goes a long way. If anything is torn, tattered, or broken, fix or replace it. You want the buyers to see a pristine home on the outside, so they will be more likely to visit and examine the inside of your home. 

We specialize in getting your home ready for sale and would be happy to give you a honey-do list of sorts of things you can do to be ready. It’s usually nothing too big, and sometimes nothing at all, but there are a lot of ways to add value to a home and we like to do our due diligence.

If you have any specific questions for us or want more advice on getting your home ready to sell this spring, give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to hear from you!

Sell Your Jonesboro Home This Winter

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Happy holidays, everyone. We hope the season is going great for you and your family. Today, we wanted to talk to you about a common question we hear this time of year: Why wait to sell in the spring? Why not sell this winter?

Most people wait to sell until spring because of the holidays. While it can be trickier to list this time of year, let's look at the numbers.

There are fewer homes on the market in the winter. This is great news for sellers, because of decreased competition. When buyers don't have a huge selection, it makes your property look even better. Your home stands out on the market.

Additionally, prospective winter buyers are serious and motivated. Most people think homes are only purchased in the spring or summer, but people buy homes when they have to. Life changes such as a new job, job transfer, or new baby on the way can come any time of year.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the list to sales price ratio is better now compared to the spring. If you sell during the winter, buyers are more likely to pay closer to the list price. During the winter, you have a better chance to sell quickly, for top dollar.

Now is a great time to list. If you have any questions for us, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Make Sure Your Closing Process Runs Quickly and Smoothly

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Today we are here to give you four great tips on how to keep the closing process moving when buying a home. At this point, you’ve had your offer written and accepted, but today we want to let you know about some potential hurdles you may come across, and how to overcome them.

We want you to get through the closing period without any hassle, and here are four ways to do that:

1. Have us stay on top of it- When you hire our team to sell your home, you are hiring our entire team. That includes our closing coordinator, who has the job of orchestrating your closing from start to finish.
2. Keep your lender in the loop- It’s good to keep in touch with your lender on a regular basis. In this case, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so to speak.
3. Be aware of last minute surprises
4. Keep your finances stable- Don’t go out and buy a house full of furniture and appliances or a new car. We have had clients in the past fail to close on homes due to mistakes like this, and we don’t want to see it happen to you.

Thanks for hanging out with us today. If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you soon!

Four Ways to Get Value Out of Your Home Inspection

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Any time that you're seriously considering buying a property, we recommend that you get a home inspection done. They do cost about $400, but they are well worth your money to ensure that you're not buying a broken home. I have four tips to help you get the most out of your home inspections.

1. Hire a professional: Research the Arkansas Board of Home Inspectors and find a professional in your area with the proper credentials and experience. Don't let your relative do an inspection for you. Cutting corners like this can end up hurting you in the long run.

2. Come prepared to the inspection: We encourage you to be there during the inspection, and you should be ready with questions for the inspector. Get estimates from the inspector about what they think it might cost to repair damaged items.

3. Compile a maintenance plan: Once you have the report from the inspector, create a list of things that you need to fix, and things that you can expect to fix in the future.

4. Look at the major items on the list: Make sure that you understand the condition of major mechanical items like your AC, roof, plumbing, electrical, and more. If one of these systems is damaged or needs replacing, you will definitely want to know about it.

Hopefully these tips have been helpful for you. If you have any questions about inspections or if you would like to know of a good inspector, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Should You Be Cautious about Making an Offer on a New Listing?

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We want to take a few minutes today to answer a question we have been getting a lot lately: “Should you wait to make an offer on a new listing?"

Recently, we’ve had a few homes that we have listed in the morning, scheduled multiple showings in the afternoon, and sold in the evening, all on the same day. It’s not uncommon for a few agents to call us the next day, wanting to put in offers for their clients. We are definitely in a seller’s market right now, as there is not a ton of inventory out there.

We are working with a lot of buyers right now who are looking for that perfect property. In this type of environment, we suggest making an offer right away on a home you like. It doesn’t mean you are 100% going to buy it, but it still gets the ball rolling and allows you to get your foot in the door if there is going to be a bidding war. Don’t hesitate, because you will lose the property if you do.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to send us a quick email or give us a phone call. We look forward to speaking with you soon!

Three Ways to Buy the Home that You Want

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We're seeing a competitive real estate market right now, and in order to help you compete with other buyers, I'd like to give you some tips on how you can make stronger offers to win the home that you want.

Making a solid offer:

This means that you're pre-qualified, you're putting down a nice down payment, you're ready with your paperwork, and you're coming into negotiations without a lot of contingencies.

Keep the offer clean and neat:

What I mean by this is that your offer should be clear, and if possible, it should have as few contingencies as possible. To ask for new flooring and a new fence would weaken your offer over others that aren't asking for these things, so try to avoid asking for too much.

Writing a personal letter to the seller:
If you take the time to write a heartfelt letter to the seller explaining why you like the home and why you want it, your offer will surely stand out. You will no longer be a number - you'll have a face and a story to go along with it. This can help to tug on the heart strings of the seller.

Hopefully these three tips can help you to strengthen your offers so you can win the Jonesboro home that you desire. As always, if you need any help buying or selling, please don't hesitate to contact me!

What's the Difference Between an Inspection and an Appraisal?

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Today, we cover a topic that confuses many people in the area. Home inspections and appraisals are often seen as interchangeable, but these are two very different processes that occur during a real estate transaction. 

In some ways, these two processes are the same: a third-party walks through the property and makes an assessment. However, the similarities end there. Appraisers work for the bank to determine the value of the house. Their job is to check out the house and ensure it's worth as much as the contract says it is, so the bank feels comfortable lending that amount of money.

The home inspector is going to give a more detailed look through the property. They're there to make sure there aren't any structural defects that could cost you down the road. You write them a check to do this for you, so they are representing you and your interests! 

We recommend all of our buyers get a home inspection to get a better idea of what they're buying. You don't want to purchase a home with defects that might cost you a lot of stress, time and money down the road! 

If you have any questions for us, or if you would like real estate assistance of any kind, we would love to hear from you! 

Why is a Pre-Approval So Important?

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A lot of clients have been asking me whether or not they should be pre-approved before they go out and search for homes.

You absolutely need to be pre-approved for a home loan, and this is true for many reasons.

1. When you walk into a home you want to know that you can afford to purchase it. Otherwise, you're just wasting your time looking at homes.
2. When you're preparing an offer, you look much better in the eyes of a seller when you have been pre-approved. It's important to prove to a seller that you have the funds to buy the home.
3. This helps in multiple offer situations, which have become more common lately.

It doesn't take a lot of time to get pre-approved, and we can direct you to one of our local lenders to assist you with this. 

Whatever you do, it's absolutely imperative that you get pre-approved before you even start looking for a home.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have about real estate in Jonesboro!