Why Isn’t Your Home Selling?

For Sale with Price Reduced sign rider

Why isn’t your home selling?  Usually, it’s one of these 3 factors:

• PRICE
• CONDITION
• EXPOSURE

But I’ll let Realtor.com handle the “tough love” this time. Check out NAR’s recent blog post for Sellers here…

http://www.realtor.com/advice/isnt-home-selling/

Secrets of Professional Home Stagers

Know you need some help getting your house ready to Sell?

Don’t know where to start?

But can’t afford a Stager?

This short article from the National Assocation of Realtors addresses some of the major areas that will make the most difference when you list.  This is the short list, which is expanded upon in the full article via the link below.

1. Start at the Street

2. Freshen the Foyer

3. 1/4 to 1/2 Empty

4. Clean ’til you Drop

5. Highlight the Architecture

6. USE ROOMS FOR THEIR INTENDED PURPOSE

7. Fix What’s Broken

8. Update What You Can

9. ERASE YOUR PERSONALITY

10. Get Honest Feedback

11. FIND STORAGE SOMEWHERE ELSE!

http://www.realtor.com/advice/secrets-of-professional-home-stagers/

Buyer’s Market or Seller’s Market?

Buyer’s Market or Seller’s Market?

It’s All About Supply & Demand

Buyer’s Market or Seller’s Market

Below are some basics to help you determine… Buyer’s Market or Seller’s Market?  Where is your market now?  Where is it headed?  What if you’re in between?

A Buyer’s Market

Indicators of a Buyer’s Market include:

• Demand is Lower
• Inventory is Higher
• Longer List Time/High Number of Days on Market (DOM)
• Fewer Offers
• Lower Offers
• Price Reductions

A Buyer’s Market is often associated with a slowing economy and also with job loss.  As employees leave the area to find work or as investors or vacationers become more conservative with their discretionary spending, buyers leave the market.  Some owners also want to leave the market becoming sellers.  Both of these factors add to the increase in available inventory.  In an unstable economy, there are little to no contractors beginning new projects and some builders are even left holding the note on existing new construction.

As prices begin to fall in response to supply and demand, many homeowners find themselves “upside down” in their properties, meaning the market value has fallen below what they currently still owe on the home.  If a seller needs (or wants) to sell in this type of scenario, perhaps in order to leave the market in hopes of more job opportunity elsewhere, they may find themselves having to bring money to the table in order to close.  Worse yet, some sellers may be in short sale or foreclosure situations.  An increase in number of distressed properties being offered for sale is another indicator of a Buyer’s Market.

Often, when the market is working in the buyers’ favor, sellers will continue to offer incentives like price reductions, seller financing, or even offering to cover a portion of the buyers’ closing costs in order to get an offer and make it to the closing table.  Buyer’s Markets are also identified by a number of first time homebuyers entering the market, as the decline in price often provides an opportunity for new buyers to get into the market who have previously not been considered part of the pool of potential homeowners.

A Seller’s Market

Indicators of a Seller’s Market include:

• Demand is Higher
• Inventory is Lower
• Shorter List Time/Low Number of Days on Market (DOM)
• Multiple Offers
• Homes Selling Above List Price

A Seller’s Market is often associated with a booming local economy.  As people migrate to an area for work or pleasure, the demand for housing increases.  The increased demand creates a lack of supply, so low existing housing inventory is a common characteristic of this type of market.  Builders are building but not able to produce enough.  Sales prices escalate as a result.

Since sellers have the “upper hand” in transactions, you are less likely to see seller concessions or offers for seller financing.  Sellers also don’t seem to be in a rush to sell, as their impression is, if they wait, their property will be worth more in the future than it is ow.  Sellers can also afford to be more “choosey,” which results in higher down payments and very few contingencies coming in from qualified buyers.  Other characteristics of a Seller’s Market include a higher number of closed transactions occurring, recent comparable sales prices are lower thank current active listing prices, and a short number of days on the market, often involving very quick sales and/or multiple offers.

A Neutral Market

Of course, we know there are Buyer’s Market and Seller’s Markets… but when does it change?  The answer is… it takes time.  Real Estate markets don’t change overnight and often times the switch from one type of market to another are only seen in hindsight.  So what’s the deal with that “in between” period?

Indicators of a Neutral Market include:

• Inventory level is comparable to inventory levels of recent months
• Recent comparable sales prices are similar to active listing prices
• Median sales prices have flattened
• Number of sales have stabilized

Want help identifying trends in your area of the market?  Have questions about your timing as a buyer or seller?  Please call or email me anytime!  I’m happy to discuss with you the current market conditions, your best options as a buyer or seller, and how your personal goals and scenario may fit within the bigger, market-wide picture – whether Buyer’s Market or Seller’s Market!

11 Tips for a Successful Open House

Here are 11 ideas to help make your home more attractive to potential buyers.

1. The outside must shine.  You’d be surprised at how many buyers “sell themselves” on your house on the basis of their first impression as they drive up the street.  It’s called curb appeal.  You can enhance curb appeal by making sure the lawn is mowed, the bushes are trimmed, and the flower beds are freshly mulched.  Spending a few hundred dollars on fresh paint on the front of the house can return thousands of dollars in sale price.  Especially touch up the trim.
2. The inside must look new.  Again, paint is cheap.  Be your own worst critic.  If you think a room could be brightened with a fresh coat of paint, do it.
3. Make cosmetic repairs.  Windows that are cracked, holes in the walls, and tiles that are chipped all send the wrong message to a potential buyer.  Things you may tend to overlook on a daily basis are the things buyers seize on.  The buyers is going to assume that if there are many flaws that can be seen, then there may be even more serious flaws that can’t be seen.
4. Let in as much light as possible.  Open all the curtains.  Turn on all the lights in the house (even in the middle of the day) and increase the wattage in the lightbulbs of all the lamps.
5. Get rid of the clutter.  Don’t just stash it somewhere, get it off the premises.  Remember, every room in the house has to be available for inspection and every room needs to shout to a homebuyer, “There’s plenty of room here for your stuff!”
6. Set the dinner table as if you are getting ready for a dinner party.  Put out your best china and silverware.  Put out your best glasses.  Don’t forget the candles. In this room, and in every room, the idea is to show potential buyers how they would live in your home… that it’s a place where they’ll be happy to entertain their guests.
7. Kitchens and bathrooms absolutely must be spotless.  Shelves and countertops must be clean and well organized.  Also, assume that people will be looking through your medicine cabinet.  If there is anything there you don’t want on public display, get rid of it.  Same for inside cabinets and drawers.
8. Remove some of your possessions.  Again, the idea is to make your home look as roomy as possible.  If the house is packed floor to ceiling with your possessions, it makes it harder for potential buyers to see how they’d live in the house.
9. Put your pets somewhere else.  Dogs especially are a problem and must be moved somewhere else, preferably to another part of town.  You don’t want the dog to interfere with the buyer’s ability to see the house.  But don’t ask your neighbor to keep the dog during the open house, either.  Your dog may bark from next door if it senses strangers in your home.  You don’t want potential buyers to think the neighbors have a loud, barking dog… it could be a real turnoff.
10. Bad smells kill deals.  It is worth your money to make sure your house is clean and odor free.  Pet smells, urine on carpets, cigarette smoke, things you don’t even notice anymore will attack the senses of visitors.  Use air fresheners if need be.  The old standby is to bake cookies or bread to send an inviting aroma throughout the house.
11. Leave.  Yes, you.  As soon as I arrive to supervise your open house, you should pack the kids in the car and go somewhere.  Go to the park, walk the dog, go somewhere, anywhere.  We want potential buyers to freely walk around your home and see everything they want to see without you looking over their shoulders.  Once you have prepared your home for the open house, leave it up to me to handle the rest!