The Summer I Turned Mean (Again)
I made my career being mean. Well, I’m always polite and respectful, but I’ve had a reputation among sellers that, if they hired me, they would need to do more work to prepare their home. It might be tough, but the results were worth it. Many years ago, Phyllis Browning herself asked me to speak to the other agents about how to prepare a luxury home for sale because my results were beating the market.
I even had a slogan, “Px3” to describe my methods: price, presentation, and pitch (marketing) all had to be perfect for a luxury home to sell at a premium. Thankfully, the results led to a higher net return, fewer days on market, and happy clients. Sellers who wanted the best result sought me out not because it would be easy, but because it would be worth it. In sports, many elite players want to be coached hard to reach their potential. I thought of myself like a local real estate Nick Saban.
For example, I wouldn’t allow my client to offer an allowance for filthy carpet; I’d make them replace the carpet before it came on the market. I discovered that painting the 1980s and 90s “orange-red” stained cabinets a warm white was like printing money because it improved and modernized the look drastically. Many of the homes I was tasked with selling were faux-Tuscan, so as that style fell out of favor, my goal became to de-Tuscanize them. I was also a tyrant about having landscape neat and trimmed, with beds freshly mulched. If a seller wasn’t on the same page, then I told them I wasn’t the best fit and I walked away.
Here’s the reason I leaned into asking for perfection. San Antonio has always been one of the weakest luxury markets in the country. The Alamo City generally has 90% fewer sales over $1 million than DFW, Houston, and Austin. Our corporate base and per capita income is much smaller. However, my specialty is selling the top one percent of homes here. 15 years ago, a million-dollar home could be lovely yet still sit on the market for over 300 days. Demand simply wasn’t high enough. Then COVID-19 happened.
2021-22 created an illusion in the high-end market that was largely temporary. Buyers could tap into sub-3.5% interest rates, and, the pandemic created opportunities for people to live well outside of areas where they worked because offices were closed. With people wanting to be outdoors, enjoy large yards, plus, our affordable market, the San Antonio area became a target for many buyers from California and other more expensive markets. This increased demand dramatically. That’s when my methods became obsolete. Why do the most when multiple offers could come in without much effort?
Starting in 2023, interest rates rose sharply. Then companies started making employees come into the office again. On top of that, many of the buyers who moved here in 2021 realized our weather wasn’t to their liking. The economy is confusing to most people with tariffs, oil prices, employment, and inflation leading the uncertainty.
This summer it became apparent that it was a buyer’s market. The most recent stats show nearly 20% more inventory on the market than last year with a 25% dip in pending sales and a 15% increase in days on market. It’s difficult to get buyers into contracts but even harder to keep them in contracts. A study just came out showing that San Antonio has the highest percentage of contract terminations in the country, yikes!
So, I went back to being mean. I’m asking sellers to get an inspection and have repairs completed before coming on the market. I am once again enforcing the importance of clean, uncluttered design inside and out and updating dated spaces before coming on the market. Pricing today must be more precise, perhaps focusing on 3-6 months of analysis instead of 12. Homes are still selling, but sellers need to know it’s tougher to get it done in 2025.
If I can be a resource, please reach out at 210.386.1833 or jg****@*************ng.com.
Sincerely,
Jason Glast, Realtor®/ Attorney
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