Source: Market Watch —
You might have seen Los Angeles-based realtor Aaron Kirman of the Aaron Kirman Group (AKG) at Christie’s International Real Estate on CNBC’s “Listing Impossible.” Or seen his name in print, as his team frequently lists celebrity homes (clients reportedly have included Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez and Nicki Minaj, as well as royals from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait). Or just heard his name around town: Annually, he and his team sell more than $400,000,000 of real estate, according to real estate news outlet The Real Deal. So we decided to ask Kirman: Even if a buyer doesn’t have a ton of loot to drop on a home right now, what should they know about the market? Here’s what he told us.
If you’re planning to buy a home, even if it’s not a mega-mansion, Kirman, 44, says it’s important to consider interest rates (see the best mortgage rates you may get now here), inventory and housing prices — as well as these 4 things.
1. Go deep into the comps
“Comps are readily available and fully transparent. Active or pending sales don’t dictate the market, actual sale prices do, so you should be hyper-focused on sales prices in your research,” says Kirman.