Mortgage Matters

Roland Daniels 0:28
Good morning Las Vegas. Welcome to mortgage matters. I'm your host. Roland Daniels, a certified mortgage advisor with Geneva financial. My NMLS number is 355859, our company, NMLS, number is 42056, and of course, I'm here this morning with my fantastic co host, Heidi Griffith, good morning. Heidi, well,

Heidi Griffith 0:51
hello, good morning. Roland, good morning. How are you this beautiful Sunday. I am doing awesome. I am glad to hear that I am Heidi Griffith, I also a mortgage advisor and your Director of Client Services. My NMLS number is 2247754, just want to thank you for tuning in this beautiful Sunday morning. Yep, yeah, yeah. We've got a very special guest in studio with us this morning. We do. I'd like to introduce you to my long time friend and Las Vegas real estate professional, Starla Jordan, with Coldwell Banker, good morning. Starla, good morning. Thanks for being here with us today. Thanks for having me. Yeah, super excited. So before we jump into the conversation, I just want to remind everybody about our next path to home ownership workshop that's going to be with HUD, certified counseling agency, CPLC. That's right, that's our monthly class, right? It is, and that's happening in two weeks on Saturday, April 5. That's from 830 to 3pm and I really believe that this is probably the most comprehensive home ownership workshop in town, don't you think so? I am in 100% agreement, yeah. I mean, it really is such a great class. You've been to the class before, haven't you? Starla, I have so you've got the HUD counselors there, and they go through so much. I know we talk about this a lot, but they talk about budgeting, and they talk about the steps that you need to take prior to even think about owning a home, right? And once they get into it, they talk about homeowners insurance and the benefits of having that, because that's required. A lot of people don't know about homeowners insurance. They really do a good job with that. They do roll in teaches the mortgage portion of the class

Roland Daniels 2:24
I do, and they also will cover credit, and they won't teach you how to improve your credit. They

Heidi Griffith 2:30
will, they will. And outside of that, if your credit needs a little bit of help, right, or even if it needs a lot of help, you can actually meet with them for free, and they'll do a full credit assessment with you, go over your entire report and let you know all of the steps you need to take to build your credit. Yes, they'll come up with a plan. They will. They will. Now there is a $25 fee that is for your soft credit pool, so that's for your credit report, which you will leave with, as well as a game plan. But there is no cost for the service, and it really is a wonderful thing, especially because when you start looking at credit repair services and all of that kind of stuff, a lot of times you really don't know who you're working with you're gonna pay. And you know, you could pay anywhere from 100 to several $1,000 that is correct for exactly the same thing that these guys do, and they do it for free. Yeah. So if you're interested in the path to home ownership workshop, you're more than welcome. You can give us a call or text us. We'll get you registered. You can also go to our Facebook page, mortgage matters radio, and there'll be links to that class, as well as all of our upcoming classes. You can give us a call. Our number is 702-210-2057, again, that number is 702-210-2057, 702-210-2057, so, Starla Roland, let's talk real estate. Take it away. Let's talk. Let's do this. So okay, so we're so you talk to so many different people, and everybody has their opinion of what the market is like, right? That's the number one question I bet you get, yeah, what's what's the market like? So tell me what's the market like?

Starla Jordan 4:00
Well, you know what to answer that question. It depends on what price range that you're looking to purchase or sell in, because different price ranges have different quote, unquote markets. But in general, I can go over my most recent market update from our company, the median home price in that closed out in January was $485,000 so when a typical person wants to purchase a home, if they're looking for something in that price range, that's where they're gonna find, kind of like the sweet sweet spot. Okay,

Heidi Griffith 4:36
so when you say that's the median price, just so that we kind of all understand. So median doesn't mean the average price right. That means that's the middle price that sold. That's right. Half were higher, half were lower, absolutely,

Starla Jordan 4:48
okay. And with that in mind inventory, we're about at 5600, it hasn't really moved much from that number since. Last year, which in a normal market, will

Heidi Griffith 5:05
call it a normal and this, but this is really not normal,

Starla Jordan 5:08
right? Definitely not normal this. We would call it a balanced market. And the reason why we call it that is because sellers and buyers are negotiating. It's not heavily on buyers, it's not heavily on sellers. So there's that's a good thing, and the reason why that is, as we all know, is

Heidi Griffith 5:27
interest rates, right? Of course, of course. And we understand that. So there's a lot of sellers that might have sold their home and haven't, just because they've got two and a half, three and a half, even four and a half percent interest rates, right? And it doesn't make sense unless there was a need to sell, and that that makes total sense. So how many houses Did you say we're currently on the market? There

Starla Jordan 5:45
under 6000 so about 5600,

Heidi Griffith 5:48
and when you pull those numbers, what? What area are we just looking at Las Vegas. What's the Greater Las Vegas? Okay, so Vegas, North Las Vegas. Henderson, okay, okay, that's interesting, because Roland and I talk about this lot, and you and I have had this conversation probably several times. We're close to 3 million people in this valley, so there's less than 6000 homes available for 3 million people. Still a clear need for housing, right? Absolutely. And interestingly enough, and Roland and I on air talk about negotiating and seller credits a lot, because they really are useful. And I suggest anyone looking to purchase home, it doesn't hurt to ask, does it? No, not at all. No. And your agent will let you know. You know, hey, this house has five offers. This probably isn't gonna fly, but you're not seeing that many homes with five offers, are you? I'm

Starla Jordan 6:37
not, but I know that it's happening just speaking with other realtors, you know, out there. Man, it just depends. It depends on where the house is and the buyer demand in that specific area, right? So, for example, if you had a buyer that was looking for, let's just call it a $450,000

Heidi Griffith 6:54
house, and they looked at a property and I don't know, Summerlin, versus looking at a property in Spring Valley, the demand might be different, absolutely, that's correct. Oh, okay, that's interesting. So with that, where are you seeing by Are you seeing buyers still out there wanting to move forward? When they are moving forward, are they looking at, you know, because there's not that many homes available. So that's kind of the weird part of it all. Are you seeing it taking longer to find a home or, you know, just based on your experience, what are you seeing with buyers in this market? So,

Starla Jordan 7:27
you know, it's a funny thing. It depends on the type of buyer that you're working with. I do work a lot with first time home buyers. So typically, they want to see more homes to be able to develop what they're looking for before they pull the trigger. So it takes, it takes a little bit, but I will tell you this, homes are sitting a lot longer than than they used to

Heidi Griffith 7:52
when you say that. So when you say a lot longer than they used to. Are we talking in the past six months? Are we talking the past couple of years?

Starla Jordan 7:58
I would say the past maybe year, really a half. Yeah, right now the average days on market is about 47 days. And you know what? That's important for buyers to know? Because when they ask, you know, well, how long has it been sitting on the market? And you say 30 days, they're like, Oh, we can get a deal on this one, right? That's not necessarily the case. That's just the average days on market. So homes are just sitting longer these days.

Heidi Griffith 8:25
Interesting. So are you seeing because they're sitting longer? So I don't know. You know, here I sit, enroll in sits, you know, from the lender side of the desk. So we're getting people pre approved and getting them out into the market. Do you think that sellers are we talked about it, sellers are more willing, in many instances, to, you know, come to a meeting that mines, maybe come down in price, maybe offer seller credits, concessions, that kind of stuff. Are you seeing those homes that are sitting longer? So let's just say, in a certain area, you've pulled up listings in a certain area, and you know what the average day is on market for that area, right? Is, if the home's sitting longer than that, are you pretty confident, or is it just going to depend on the seller, what they're willing to do, whether it's come down in price, whether it's, you know, offer seller credits to the buyer.

Starla Jordan 9:16
So that's a good question. So one of the first things I do once my buyer points out the home that they're interested in is I will reach out to that listing agent and just find out what the seller's motivation is. And a lot of times we can get a feel from that agent whether that Seller is motivated, whether they will budge on price or give any kind of concessions, and then we just go from there. Once I have that information, I do still go to my buyer, I take that information to the buyer, and I say, Hey, this is the information that I have. Based on this information, how would you like to structure your offer? Right?

Heidi Griffith 9:52
Because it's all about giving facts, and you're not driving your buyer. Your buyer is making their decision. Absolutely. That's right. Yeah. It's awesome. What

Roland Daniels 10:01
about homes that that's been on the market for like 200 and some days? How does that come into play? Because we know that if the average is like 47 days, but if you have a home that's been on the market for over 200 days, does that mean maybe something is wrong with that home? Or that's

Starla Jordan 10:18
a great question. You know what? When it's that many days, normally the buyer is wondering, what's wrong with it? Okay? And then that's when the real estate agent should be doing a little bit more information, kind of digging in to ask the listing agent, like, what happened? Why is it on the market that long they could have gone in under contract and then fallen out of contract? So all of those things take time, right? And so there's normally a backstory to that, and I bet it's not always, because I know from back in my real estate career, right? Because I used to be out there doing what you do

Roland Daniels 10:53
a long time ago.

Heidi Griffith 10:55
What are you saying? Think he's saying something. But with that, just because the home has been sitting a while, does it's not an automatic there's something wrong with this property. A lot of times. What could be wrong with it is the seller wants a specific price, and the market isn't saying that's the price that you should get, right.

Starla Jordan 11:15
That's absolutely right. And then in some cases, there might just be a lot of homes. That's the that particular homes competition. So it's saturated, and yeah, so there's going to be homes that may be moving faster, maybe because they undercut the price of that home. They come in, they get purchased, and that home just sits

Heidi Griffith 11:34
right, right? Because, have you seen that as because you are a seller's agent as well, right? You list homes for sale too. So what are you seeing from that angle, when you're going and meeting with sellers are so obviously we know that they're sitting a little bit longer. Has that been your first hand experience? Yes? Unfortunately, yeah. Unfortunately, yes. And so what are you seeing with pricing and that kind of stuff? Because I know I remember, and things could certainly be different now, but I remember I used to have a conversation early on with the seller, because all of us, when we're selling our properties, we kind of have a number in our head, right? And we all believe, and I was that seller, but we all believe that we have the nicest home because of and we can point out 10 million features as to why it's nicest. We put in this, you know, pink flooring. That's lovely. And not everybody likes pink flooring, right? Exactly. Or, you know, we put in a pool, and it cost us $80,000 for the pool. Well, are you gonna get that $80,000 back in the sales price? So I remember that is that still happening? Are you seeing sellers that are saying, you know, I need to get this much, not because I need it for the dollars, but because I feel it's worth that much.

Starla Jordan 12:44
100% Yeah, sellers, that's just how sellers move. That's how they they think. And so as a real estate agent, our job is to set the expectation and make sure that they have real expectations. And sometimes it takes a little while for the home to sit, for the seller to realize this is what's happening in the market right now. Because

Heidi Griffith 13:06
tell me this, I believe, and I could be completely wrong, but I believe in any real estate market that everything boils down to price. Now, you know, if you wanted to be in a very specific area, then you're gonna deal with whatever that looks like in that area, but does it not always? I mean, if your home isn't selling now, it could certainly be, if you know your carpet needs to be replaced because there's a big stain, and it could be that, but if the price was correct with that stain in the carpet, is that still the kind of the case that it's always going to be about the price,

Starla Jordan 13:36
it does eventually boil down to just price, even if you know, you tackle that condition, and you make sure it's in the best condition, depending on where it's located, price rules, everything it does, doesn't it? It does well,

Heidi Griffith 13:52
that's good. Thank you for that market update. Anything you see that's going to be weird with the market coming up, aside from rates and all of that kind of stuff, anything that you know about in things that are going on around town that could affect housing. Well, I mean,

Starla Jordan 14:04
you know, with the way that Las Vegas is growing, we're hoping that, you know, we'll have enough homes on the market to meet the demand. And should those interest rates drop down, competition is going to get real stiff out there. So I still say, you know, find, especially if you can get pre approved, find a home, get in that home, and then you can get, what is it? Refinance? Yeah, finance, absolutely.

Heidi Griffith 14:29
And we, you know, we talk about that a lot, because it does seem scary rates to some people, because we saw, you know, right after COVID, interest rates were, money was on sale. And will that happen again? Probably not. Will rates come down. They probably will. Do we know when Roland, do you know when rates are coming down? Unfortunately,

Roland Daniels 14:47
my crystal ball is still broken. Did you put it in the shop? I did, but it still hasn't been repaired. I don't think that there's a crystal ball repair, man.

Heidi Griffith 14:57
So you know, there's something I really want to talk about. Charlotte with you? Okay? Because I actually have gotten questions about this. When we do the path to home ownership workshop, I actually, because I still have my real estate license, I don't actively sell or purchase real estate, but I use it for teaching and things like that. I talk about this a lot in that class, because it's important. But let's talk about the National Association of Realtors, right? The settlement that recently happened, it was, it just went into effect in August, I believe, right. So let's talk about that for a second. Okay? Because I know it's sometimes, you know, the big white elephant in the room. And if listeners, if we're, if we're not aware of what this settlement was, was, there was just a handful of sellers that originally got involved in it, right? They came together and they said, We don't understand why we have to pay the buyers, real estate professionals commission. That's basically what the lawsuit right was, right? Then a bunch of the bigger real estate firms in the country kind of said, well, we don't want this heat over our heads. Big lawsuits, we're gonna settle and walk away quietly. Some didn't. Many didn't. And it ended up being that there was a whole slew of changes from this very large settlement that NAR, the National Association of Realtors, had, right, right? So the way it works today, why don't you explain to me, because you've been in real estate a long time. Explain to me what's different since August of 2024 and prior to that, with with how this settlement has affected buying and selling in the real estate world.

Starla Jordan 16:33
So the main difference out of that settlement was, prior to August 2024 the listing agent negotiated the commission for both sides. So basically, I'm just going to throw out a number. There's no rhyme or reason to it, but let's say 6% and let's say that listing agent negotiated 3% for the listing side and 3% for the buyer side. So

Heidi Griffith 17:03
let me just make sure that we get this right. So I'm gonna list Mrs. Smith's home. When we're sitting down and we're going over all the paperwork, because I'm her representative, I say, hey, I want to be able to offer the buyer's agent and like in your situation, 3% and then I earned 3% so the commission would be 6% that's right. Okay, just want to make sure I had it good. Okay, continue.

Starla Jordan 17:27
Thanks. So let's say that the seller is okay with that. They move forward. So that information would be put in our MLS Multiple Listing system, and so from there, the agent who brings the buyer would know right off the bat what their commission would be, because it would already be set up in the system, and then it's just a matter of negotiating the numbers and the terms between the seller and the buyer. Okay, that was prior to August 2024 Okay, so now fast forward today. So now today, that has all been changed, so that conversation is more just about the seller's side. So the listing agent will say, you know, hey, I want to list your home. I work for whatever percent they work for. But what we will say is, keep in mind, although this lawsuit has been settled, you may need to have a number in mind that you're willing to pay the buyer's agent, and the reason that is is because a lot of the homes are still being sold, whereas the seller is Paying both commission sides, so we just kind of prepare them for that conversation. The it was never mandatory that the seller had to pay the buyer's agent prior to August 2024 it was all negotiable, just just like it it is now. So everything's negotiable regardless, but now it's no longer in our MLS, so it has changed our contracts. And so when a buyer puts in an offer, they're not only negotiating for the price and the terms, but they're negotiating to get that agent paid. Because if they don't, then that's one more expense that the buyer has to pay for,

Heidi Griffith 19:19
right because they have to sign something. When you meet with a buyer right now, it's required that every buyer. So when you're out looking at homes, and you meet your realtor, you know, you call starlap, and you're like, hey, I want to go look at homes, the first conversation that you're going to have is that

Starla Jordan 19:33
we need to meet and have a conversation, because before we can show you homes, we have to be officially hired, and that is by signing the buyer brokerage representation agreement. Okay, so,

Heidi Griffith 19:47
and that's called, you guys call it the

Roland Daniels 19:48
B, B, R, A, and what if I refuse to sign it?

Starla Jordan 19:51
Well, and that's your right. But me, as a real estate agent, the way that I'm trained, I can't take you out before you sign. Not. Okay? So, you know, a requirement. It is. It's a requirement. And honestly, the way that I was trained from the time that I started with my brokerage, we always did that anyway. It's a great way to meet with your brand new client, and I get a feel for you. You get a feel for me, and we see if this is going to work for us in the first place. Because from meeting one, we'll kind of have an idea, and I think that's the best way to do it anyway, perfect.

Heidi Griffith 20:26
Well, yeah, I mean, and I always stress to folks, because, you know, unfortunately, the real estate industry as a whole gets a pretty bad rap. There's a lot of real estate professionals, a lot, right? And there could just be a handful of bad apples that can ruin it for everyone. And I will tell you, I've met some amazing you real estate professionals. I gotta tell you, surly takes her job seriously. She takes her clients. It is, you know, one of the things that I talk about when, when I talk about this, from an educational standpoint, is we have to get paid. Just like when you go to work, you have to get paid. Obviously, everyone understands that. I think as prices rose throughout the years, people then saw these big numbers and they understood. But you know, everybody was always throwing that 6% out there. That's not always the case, and that has never been a solid set rule, because negotiations could never be set right, right? Those kinds of things were always negotiable. Yep. And when I talk about this in class, we talk about, well, what if I don't have the money to pay my agent? And one of the things, and, you know, please correct me if you feel that I'm wrong on this, but, but the way that I kind of approach it with them is, and that's true. You know, there's a lot of people that are, you know, with if you're looking at your down payment and closing costs, or even if you're using a down payment program, you still got some money that you've got to come up with. If you don't have all of that money, yes, your agent deserves to get paid. They're not going to work for free, as we wouldn't work for free. But I tell buyers all the time. That's a conversation you have on day one. And I, you know my suggestion always is, and you explain, we can only work with a seller who's willing to compensate you. So if, in fact, we find a house that we like and they're not willing, then we're going to have to understand that, and we're going to have to then go just look at the next house and find the seller, that is. But you're seeing correct me, if I'm wrong, but you're seeing that sellers, in most instances, are still paying that

Starla Jordan 22:27
they are, they are, and they're willing to pay the buyer's agent. Now, that number varies, depends on the seller, of course, depends on the conversation that the listing agent had with the seller, and you know, out of that negotiation, then you'll see, you know what you're going to get and whether you move forward or not, right?

Heidi Griffith 22:45
Because, as a buyer, you know, until all terms are agreed upon, you don't have a contract, right? That's right. Okay, so, so those are the things that you could still counter offer and do that, okay? That's that. That's awesome, because the way I see it, and this is just my opinion, my opinion means absolutely nothing. But the way that I see it from being in your seat so many years ago, thanks, rolling, you're quite welcome, is that I've been a seller several times. I think that you've been a seller, so you've been a seller several times. Rolling, the buyer always paid the commission, because without the buyer, we didn't sell anything, right? So, yeah, it's coming out of the seller's proceeds. But again, without that, there was, without that, there was no commissions for anyone. There was no sale for anyone, no transaction. The you know, the way that I could see it being more of a pain today versus pre August 2024 is that in the MLS, right, and our multiple listing service, it said that yes, the seller is paying commission. Now you can tell your buyer, yes, the seller is paying a commission, and he's paying my full commission. Now you've got to either pick up the phone and call, or you have to put it in the contract, or you got a text, and sometimes people aren't getting back with you. So just making it a little bit more difficult for both parties, right,

Starla Jordan 23:58
right? And most likely, we just put it in the contract, because nothing's done until it's in writing. Anyway, so I don't even bother to call or text and ask, because I just know that we're going to negotiate and I just take it from

Heidi Griffith 24:14
there. I love that good anything else that you have on the on the settlement, anything else that you think our listeners should know

Starla Jordan 24:20
about, you know, I just think that all in all, it became, it's a good thing, because it makes it more transparent for everyone, for anyone who didn't know how the process worked or or who was getting paid and what amount, it just spelled everything out. So it's a good thing.

Heidi Griffith 24:37
So when they sign a contract with you, I just had a question, when they when they sign this buyer's agreement with you, is it for a set amount of time? Or, let's just say, I saw a house that I liked and someone said, Oh, call Starla, and I called you and but I wasn't sure. I don't know you yet. I don't even know if I'm going to buy a house yet, but I want to look at this house. I still have to sign it just to look at this house. Right, that's correct. So what if I said, Hey, I only want to look at this house. I don't know what I'm going to do yet. Do you have to sign like, a six month or 12 month or 18 month contract with you? Not

Starla Jordan 25:08
at all. Oh, you could do it for a day. You could do it for that specific property. Oh, it there's ramifications in the contract for just those instance, instances. Oh, that's

Heidi Griffith 25:19
that's good to know, so you're not tied to you for life, if for whatever reason. Oh, okay, wonderful. Okay, so as we talk about that, I think that let's roll into this, because I feel like this is one of those things that's near and dear to my heart, and that's representation, and I know it doesn't mean a lot to most people, but in the real estate world, right? You've mentioned the listing agent a lot in these conversations. So the listing agent is the seller's agent. That's the seller's agent. Then you have the buyer's agent, right, right? So there's a listing agent and the buyer's agent. So I know that I've heard this, I should get a nickel for every time I've heard this, I could probably be wealthy. Dollar,

Roland Daniels 25:57
$1 $1 well, you give me a dog

Heidi Griffith 26:00
bucks, two dogs. He's going up

rowland's gonna give me some money. So I hear, I've heard, I don't need to use a realtor, because I'll be able to negotiate with the seller for a lower price. What do you think about that? You

Starla Jordan 26:15
know what? That's their right, if that's what they want to do. I've heard that too, but I wouldn't want to go into a transaction as large as a home purchase without representation. And basically that is what they're doing when they go with the listing agent, the seller's agent, that person is contracted to represent the seller's best interest. So with that in mind, you're going, you're going to go into a large transaction asking for someone who doesn't have your best interest at heart to represent you. Wow.

Heidi Griffith 26:52
Well, and I think the bigger part is we don't, you know, even if we've bought and sold real estate all over the world, we don't do it every day. And if you bought and told all over the world, and this is your first transaction in Nevada, your purchase agreement, your contract, is going to look a heck a lot different. And I bet you know it better than they do, so I really feel like representation is golden. You want someone looking out for your best interest. I know that you do, right? I know that that's that's first and foremost above any financial gain that's involved before you get paid right your clients, because I've had transactions that we've worked together on, that you've said this, this isn't looking right, and had the conversation with your buyer where, you know, you protected them absolutely, and then they went on and just purchased something else that's right. Wow. So we're running short on time. We are, wow, that one, and that goes, I would ask, love to have you back in the studio, because there's so much more I want to talk. I know when you come back and join us, absolutely awesome, really quickly. Why don't you give the listeners your name, your company information, your telephone number, all that good stuff.

Starla Jordan 27:55
Okay. This is Starla Jordan with Coldwell Banker, Premier Realty, and my telephone number, 702-561-3362

Heidi Griffith 28:05
anything else? Nope. I think that's good. Thank you very much. Give me your number one more time, though. That's 702-561-3362

Starla Jordan 28:13
thank you so much for having me. Thanks for being here.

Roland Daniels 28:15
Yes, thank you. So if you have any questions or want more information about anything that we've discussed today, you can always call us or text us at 702-210-2057 that's 702-210-2057 and you can also find us on Facebook at mortgage matters radio, where we will post a Spotify link to past episodes and all of the details for any upcoming classes, workshops or events? Yeah, we've

Heidi Griffith 28:43
got one again two weeks from now. It's actually on Saturday, April 5. Thank you again, Starla, we're so happy that you were here today. Thank you for sharing your expertise and insight. We always appreciate having top professionals just like you on the show. Tune

Roland Daniels 28:58
in next week at 7:30am right here on K, U, N, V, 91.5, until then, stay committed to your dreams. Believe in yourself and take each step with confidence and as always, remember, stay true to yourself and your mind. Bye,

Heidi Griffith 29:14
bye. You.

Music 29:15
Hi.