Ask a Real Estate Agent | Robert Lewis

Top agent Robert Lewis joins Matt Curtis to break down current trends impacting home sales and what sellers can expect in today’s real estate market. Covering everything from buyer behaviors and pricing strategies to the critical importance of the first 30 days on market, Robert provides insight drawn from his years of experience in house flipping, rental investments, and data-driven listing strategies. The discussion addresses rising inventory, shifts in buyer interest, and the growing prevalence of withdrawn and expired listings, offering sellers practical advice on how to navigate these conditions and secure a sale. With projections for late 2024 and 2025, this article sheds light on strategies that help homes stand out in a competitive market and emphasizes the importance of choosing the right agent to ensure success.

Getting to Know Robert Lewis

Matt: I'm excited! We’ve got a special guest today. Robert Lewis, one of our top agents at Matt Curtis Real Estate, is here to talk with us about the listing market and what he’s seeing for sellers. Robert’s been with our team for about four and a half years now. He’s sold hundreds of homes for our clients and is on pace to sell around 50 homes this year. Let’s start with something personal – what do you like to do outside of real estate?

Robert: Thanks, Matt. Glad to be here today. Outside of real estate, I stay pretty busy. I do a lot of running, mainly at the half-marathon distance. My wife’s been nudging me to aim for a full marathon, so I’m considering it. We also have an RV, and my family and I love taking trips in it – it’s a blast. I do most of the cooking for the family too, trying to keep us all eating healthier meals, which is fun and keeps me busy.

Matt: Sounds great! I think sellers will appreciate that you come from an analytical background. You have experience in house flipping and rental investing as well, right?

Robert: Yeah, that’s right. I got into this industry eight years ago through rental real estate investing, starting mainly as a house flipper. I’ve done house flipping, rentals, wholesaling, and renovating houses. That experience carried me through my first few years in real estate until I joined Matt Curtis Real Estate as an agent.

Matt: And that’s a big advantage for sellers because you really know the numbers inside and out. When sellers are interviewing agents, one of the most important things is finding someone who truly understands market analysis. And Robert is a pro at that.

Robert: Exactly. Selling a home is a numbers-based process. It takes specific data to sell a house, and it’s a skill I’ve honed as a listing agent. I enjoy tracking the data and making it work for my clients.

Current Market Trends

Matt: Speaking of numbers, we’re in Q4, and as of this recording, the election is coming up soon. What are you seeing in the marketplace right now?

Robert: Right now, it’s taking about 45 days on average to sell a home. What’s unique is that only 20% of the homes currently for sale are actually being bought by buyers. So, recently, just one in five homes has gone under contract. Those homes typically go under contract around the ninth or tenth showing, after an average of 45 days.

When I list your home, we aim to hit the averages seen in recent contracts, meaning one showing every five days. If we’re hitting that rate, you’re likely in good shape to sell within a few weeks. If we’re not, that’s when we’ll consider making adjustments.

Matt: So, about one in five homes is selling each month. Does that mean around 20% of the market is active?

Robert: Correct. Right now, pending sales are about 20% of total listings.

Matt: You mentioned the magic number is around 9-10 showings to get an offer. Historically, I’ve seen around eight showings before getting an offer. Are you seeing it closer to 9-10 now?

Robert: That’s correct. It used to take fewer showings, but with increased inventory and less buyer pressure, people are taking their time. They’re more selective, viewing more homes to find the perfect one. This has raised the average number of showings per contract.

Pricing Strategy in Today’s Market

Matt: So, 9-10 showings for an average-priced home. Pricing, of course, varies by market segment. For higher or lower price points, you may be looking at different averages, which is why it’s so important to have a listing consultation. Talking to Robert or our team is key to understanding what applies specifically to your area, as submarkets vary by price and school district. How important is pricing right now?

Back during COVID, you could almost throw out any number and see if it worked. Now, what happens if someone overprices?

Robert: That’s a good question. Right now, pricing is more important than it has been in years because the window of opportunity to attract buyers is smaller than it used to be. Currently, only 20% of homes on the market are being bought. Another interesting stat is that a third of all listings have been on the market for less than a month.

So, those 20% of buyers are seeing more options compared to the number of buyers than in the past. They have plenty of choices, so if a home is priced too high, it may get overlooked. Of those new listings, about 40% are sold in the first 30 days, which equals roughly 12% of the market. This means that in the first month, 12% of homes are bought, leaving fewer buyers for the remaining inventory. Your odds are highest when your home first hits the market, but in this environment where new homes are listed faster than they’re being bought, your listing can quickly get lost and end up buried in the search results.

With so many new homes coming on the market, buyers don’t have to scroll through to page 10 to find a home they like. They can just wait until the next day for fresh options.

Matt: So it sounds like that first 30 days is a crucial period for getting a lot of activity, which has always been the case, but now it’s even more significant. What I tell sellers is that when their home first goes on the market, there are buyers out there who have seen everything else and are waiting for new listings. That’s why there’s so much more showing activity in those first 30 days. But if you’re mispriced, you risk missing that initial wave of interest.

Robert: Exactly. When inventory is rising, this effect is even stronger. In the past, when inventory was shrinking, missing the first month wasn’t as damaging, and sellers could still capture interest in months two, three, or even four.

Rise in Withdrawn and Expired Listings

Matt: With all this extra inventory, we’re back to more normal levels, like we saw in 2018 and 2019. It’s a huge increase from where we’ve been, and that number keeps climbing. We don’t know where inventory levels will ultimately settle. So with the increased inventory, what are you seeing with withdrawn and expired listings? Those haven’t really been a factor in recent years, but what’s happening now?

Robert: Great question. Withdrawn and expired listings are currently at an all-time high. I see a withdrawn or expired listing as a seller who tried to sell but couldn’t and decided to pull the listing. I use these as a metric to understand the gap between what sellers and their agents expect versus what the market requires to get a home sold. With withdrawn and expired listings at a peak, it shows that more sellers than ever are entering the market without a realistic sense of what it will take to sell their home.

Matt: We’re getting a lot of calls from homeowners whose listings have been withdrawn or expired. If that’s you—or if your home might be withdrawn or expired soon—we’re here to help set new expectations and get you on track toward your next step, whether it’s buying a new home or relocating.

Choosing the Right Real Estate Agent

Matt: I heard a stat over the weekend: that roughly 1.8 million real estate agents in the U.S. that in the first seven months of this year, none of them sold a single listing. Many of these agents entered the industry during 2020 and 2021 when sales were easy. They didn’t have to learn essential skills like accurate pricing, effective marketing, or building the right support system to get a home sold. Unfortunately, many of these agents are now falling short of expectations because they lack the right skill set for today’s market.

As you consider hiring an agent, we encourage you to interview multiple options, including us at Matt Curtis Real Estate. We even provide a list of interview questions to help you assess agents, and we offer answers to those questions ourselves. This has helped many people avoid hiring inexperienced agents, like a friend’s cousin who just got their real estate license, for example. Instead, you want an experienced agent like Robert, who sells 50 homes a year, or like our team, which sells about two homes a day. It’s important to choose an agent who knows how to succeed in today’s market because there are many disappointed sellers out there right now.

Key Advice for Sellers

Matt: So, Robert, as we wrap up, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to sellers in today’s market?

Robert: Sure. If your home has only been listed for a short time and you receive an offer, that first offer is usually the best one. I’ve worked with sellers who wanted to start at their ideal price, and when we had to adjust the price due to low showings, we were essentially playing catch-up. At that point, buyers were looking at their home after it had been on the market for 100 days or more. In many cases, a seller may pass on an offer over a small amount, like $5,000 or $10,000, but looking at the broader picture and the current market uncertainty, this year has been a time to make a move if you really want to sell.

Matt: 2024 is shaping up to be an interesting year. Nationally, the average number of home sales is around 5 million, but during 2020 and 2021, we saw over six million homes sold. Last year, sales were closer to 4 million, and this year might end even lower—maybe around 3.8 or 3.9 million.

For those looking to sell, we’re entering a slower season from November through February. On the plus side, buyers in this period are usually more serious and ready to act, not just browsing. I think we’ll see some good selling opportunities, especially post-election. Interest rates are starting to come down and are expected to continue declining, which should strengthen the market through the end of Q4 and into 2025.

If you’re thinking of selling your home in late 2024 or into 2025, we at Matt Curtis Real Estate, along with Robert, would love the opportunity to interview with you and earn your business. We also offer interview questions to use when considering other agents because we believe that who you hire matters. Our marketing, admin support, and track record—selling a home every 12 hours—speak for themselves.

Check out our online reviews, and if you’re interested, give us a call at 256-333-MOVE.

If you would like to contact Robert Lewis directly, you can text or call (256) 426-9495 or email him at robert.lewis@mattcurtisrealestate .

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