How to Analyze Market Trends to Make Informed Decisions

   The real estate market can be ruthless to people who don’t understand it. If you are a buyer or a seller that is new to real estate, you might be intimidated by a lot of things that the broker is saying to you.

Don’t let this fear push you into making an uninformed decision that you might regret later on. 

While you should trust your broker, it is helpful to know and understand the fundamentals of real estate so you can make an informed decision regarding your property. 

How to Make an Informed Real Estate Decision?

The best way to make an informed real estate decision is by gaining a basic understanding on how the market works. 

A basic understanding requires you to know common real estate terminology and some of the market forces that influence real estate sales and purchases. These can also be known as market trends.

How to Analyze Real Estate Market Trends

Analyzing real estate market trends often involve a step-by-step process that helps in the decision-making regarding your property. Here are a few of those steps to help you in making better and smarter decisions for your money:

1.Identifying Market Trends

First, you need to identify where the market stands currently. In real estate, the market can be in one of the below three states:

●The market can be steady or stable;

●The market can be in growth;

●The market can be in decline.

If the market is in growth, market trends would include a higher number of transactions, while if the market is in decline, it would mean the opposite. On the other hand, a stable market is the safest option for people who do not want to undertake a lot of risk.

2.Property Demand and Supply

The second factor you need to analyse is the demand and supply. You can easily determine this if you have already identified the state of the real estate market. 

To ensure that you can analyze accurately, you will need to estimate how many buyers and sellers exist in the market, and what kind of properties are in demand at the current time. This will help you in closely determining the worth of your own property. 

3.Current Market Prices

Current market prices are an easy way to analyze market trends, this data is often easily available online for access. Try to visualize this data so it is clearer and easier to understand. 

If the prices are rising, it might be a good idea to sell rather than to buy. However, if the real estate prices are declining, it would be a buyers’ market and people would generally not be looking to sell their properties.

4.Legal Environment

Lastly, in order to accurately analyze market trends, ensure that you have kept yourself updated with related news pieces. 

Sometimes legal restrictions or allowances can influence the market and cause property prices to fluctuate. Therefore, be sure to subscribe to real estate-related news headlines. 

What Influences Market Trends

Building familiarity with the most common factors that influence real estate market trends will help you level up your analysis. 

If you understand these factors, you will be able to analyze and predict market trends. This in turn will help you make informed and proactive decisions regarding your sales or purchases. Some of these factors are as follows:

1.Location and Neighborhood

The location and neighborhood of the respective property matters significantly. Every area, location, and neighborhood differ in terms of security, nearby facilities (for example hospitals, schools, and malls etc.), and aesthetics. 

These factors can influence the neighborhood’s value which respectively influences the property’s value as well.

2.Economic Factors

Economic factors influence the market as a whole and mainly impact the growth rate of the real estate industry. Keeping an eye on economic factors like interest rates, general inflation, and market liquidity helps in analyzing and predicting market trends. 

These can help you determine what action you can take now to prevent problems in the future. 

3.Property Features

Like fashion, real estate also has specific features that are sometimes more popular. This can include a certain number of rooms, lot size, the availability of certain amenities etc. 

If your target property is popular right now, you might stand to profit off your property if you are a seller and vice versa if you’re the buyer. 

Bonus: Additional Tips

To help you out, here are 3 additional tips that will empower you to make better decisions:

●Understanding the local market

Understanding the local market can help you grasp how properties are valued in your area. Likewise, if you are looking to locate into a different area, try forming a comprehensive understanding of that real estate market so you know better how pricing works.

●Keep market cycles in mind

There are normal dips and booms in the real estate market that influence prices. These are often irrespective of any controllable factor and occur periodically. Therefore, if there is an expected recession in the market, you should plan and decide accordingly.

●Consult with an expert

Finally, many people try to self-educate themselves regarding real estate. But the truth is, some information simply isn’t available without experience. 

This is why it is better to consult with a realtor or a real estate expert to gain insight into the market. These experts have more detailed information, especially in the local market.

They often also have a wide network of experts who can help you in understanding the pros and cons of any property-related decision that you want to undertake. 

Take Charge of Your Real Estate Decisions

By analyzing market trends like recent property sales, appreciation and depreciation rates you can understand the true value of your target properties. 

While this may seem like a difficult task, it will equip you better in making an informed decision without being entirely dependent on your broker (who often get commissions from successful sales). 

By enabling yourself to form an independent decision regarding your property sale or purchase, you will save money, be more confident in your actions and will benefit in the long-run.