Local Home Prices Are Just a Starting Point!

When it comes time to put their home on the market, the Number One topic area sellers focus on is local home prices:  home prices historically, home prices this April, projected home prices in the future. What many sellers don’t truly realize is that they have more control over the price their home fetches than they may think.   

Smart application of remodeling dollars to maximize a property’s salability is the earliest and most important action a homeowner can take. If you plan to remain in your home for the foreseeable future, lifestyle and personal preference issues will rightly get your attention. But if a move is on your planning horizon, remodeling decisions should be hard-eyed business decisions. In my experience, there are three rooms that buyers are particularly interested in – and homeowners bent on raising their own local home prices should share that interest!  

Kitchens can drastically raise or lower home prices.  Since kitchens have evolved into the major social hubs of American homes, increasing its size can be superbly cost-effective. If there is a possibility of and opening it up to living space by knocking down a non load-bearing wall, it is well worth considering. Upgrading appliances to stainless steel, replacing countertops with granite or other stone, and refinishing kitchen cabinets can absolutely give some much-needed appeal to an outdated kitchen. Just switching out old hardware for contemporary substitutes can add appreciably to a kitchen’s appeal. 

Families spend much of their time in their living rooms – and even if they don’t, psychologically, it can seem the center of family activity. A cramped, cluttered and dark space will detract from other more attractive features of a home. A living room can be made into a bright and welcoming space by making inexpensive changes, such as removing all but essential furniture, painting walls a neutral color, and removing drab window coverings to let in as much light as possible. Replacing worn carpet with a wood laminate -- or refinishing long-covered wooden floors -- can take a bit more elbow grease and budget, but can be worth the cost. 

In the master bedroom, homebuyers want to visualize a sanctuary where they can escape from the trials of their busy lives. Simple but effective changes can make all the difference. Remove large pieces of furniture (particularly desks and computers)…in other words, aggressively de-clutter.  Find pale, tranquil and soothing colors for the walls, and choose simple bed linens in complimentary colors (think “hotel luxury”). Make sure that clothes are not on show and that closet spaces are tidy, even if it means putting some of your apparel into storage. 

The goal is always to make changes that allow buyers to see the potential in a home; it’s how individual local home prices can rise above general market trends.  If you’re considering selling a property and would like to discuss home prices in our area and ways to maximize values, give me a call today so we can schedule a free consultation! 

Step-by-Step Outline for Selling a Local Home

All of life’s major projects take preparation, and selling a home in our area requires just that.  Contacting my office is a pretty good place to begin, because selling a home efficiently and within a reasonable amount of time most often takes extensive knowledge of the local market. A checklist is a good way to introduce the steps you can take to prepare for selling a home. Here’s a quick overview of five of the items I include in that checklist:

1. The obvious first step is identifying any major problems and determining what should be done about them. Decide whether you are going to fix items like roof leaks, rewiring, insect infestations or the presence of asbestos -- or whether you are going to reduce your asking price to reflect any unremediated issues.  I can provide input to help you establish where possible value may be added or lost, and what is worth your time and investment to fix. 

2. Whenever you return home, take a moment to pause and visualize what someone driving by for the first time will see. Make a solid first impression by tidying the front yard and keeping the lawn neatly cut and edged. Strategically place colorful flowers in planters where that is appropriate. Repair fences and gates, and be certain that they look freshly painted. And if Fido has the run of the place, be sure that his (ahem!) evidence is nowhere to be seen. 

3. Stage your home to maximize its appeal – and keep in mind that staging needs to be fresh for every prospect. Remove any unnecessary furniture. That may well mean renting a storage unit to place it and all other clutter into (it’s bound to be a better solution than trying to jam everything into closets or the garage!). Paint walls in light, neutral colors. Remove heavy window treatments to let in as much light as you can (the ‘cheeriness factor’). Keep the kitchen and bathroom as spotless as possible. Make sure that your home smells fresh by opening windows and using flowers, candles or air fresheners; but be careful not to overdo it.   I can be especially helpful at this stage, and if it’s indicated, we can discuss whether it makes sense to hire a professional stager. 

4. Have the property's value appraised, and educate yourself about the competition. For a bank to issue a loan, your home must compare favorably with similar properties on the market. When we sit down to establish a list price, we’ll need to keep that research and the recent and best comparables in mind.   

5. This is my favorite to-do item: Be prepared to go!  If a move is going to be in your future, you should begin the hunt for a new home, and be prepared to move quickly once you have an executed offer!  

These are just a few of the steps I help my clients take before listing to get top dollar for their properties.  If you are considering selling a home in town, call me today to see how I can put my marketing experience to work for you.

Tax Time is Time to Check Rent/Own Math

Tenant or Owner? With rental rates rising, a lot more tenants in our area are likely to be wondering whether they should be taking a new look at their residence situation.  

Conceptually, paying your own mortgage has always seemed more appealing than paying a landlord’s mortgage every month.   Especially this time of year, when tax time puts the whole year’s finances out there on one piece of paper, seeing how thousands of dollars have slipped away for another year can be a little frustrating.  Not surprisingly, then, this is a time of year when, as a buyer’s agent, I begin hear the phone ring a little more often! 

Seen from the long term perspective, dollars put toward a home you are buying go toward building a future -- something rent dollars cannot do. But there are more intangible benefits to owning versus renting: control over the title being potentially the most valuable.  Any tenant who has been forced to move because the homeowner needed to sell, or was foreclosed upon, or decided to move back in himself, is someone who has learned the value of controlling when their next family move should happen. 

For tenants newly considering becoming a first-time homeowner, consulting a reputable local buyer’s agent is the place to start. An experienced buyer’s agent can help you determine a practical budget, and then guide the pre-qualifying process to make it happen.   

The next step will be to identify properties that fall within your budget.  Are there neighborhoods you have always wanted to live in, but thought you couldn’t afford?  In today’s market, just about every neighborhood – even the most chichi ones – have experienced some foreclosures.  A buyer’s agent can help you identify potential homes at bargain prices.  Some might need a little work, but the long-range payoff can be worth it.   

The bottom line? Everyone has to pay to live somewhere, and in today’s market, owning a home in our area is more attainable than ever.  With mortgage rates still at near-historic lows, if you are on the verge of becoming a former renter, now is the time to consult a reputable local buyer’s agent.  I am always available for questions -- and would be happy to schedule a pre-qualification consultation anytime you decide it is worth exploring.

New Activity Promises Uptick for Local Market

Buying homes and renting them are such distinctly separate aspects of our town’s real estate scene that we tend to pay attention only to the sector we are most involved with.  We pretty much ignore the other. Renters and real estate investors watch trends in residential rentals, while homeowners and soon-to-be homeowners check on prices and activity in the local home market.  

All of which means that it’s easy to overlook how trends in one sector have major impacts on the other. And any sort of residential construction activity – new building or remodeling – has a direct and positive impact on our economy as a whole.   

So here’s some good news: this year, rental construction is expected to reach its highest level since 2005. Somehow that may not seem like such a big deal, but despite the way it looks, 2005 is SEVEN years ago (time flies, doesn’t it?)! Those have been seven painful years for most of the construction folks we know, so the change comes as welcome news. It’s also possible that a turnaround could mean that other turnarounds in different areas of the economy may be in the wind. 

The apartment experts at NMHC just published something that most of us already suspected. They found that nationally, apartment vacancy rates fell to a decade low of 4.9%. We have already written about how asking rents continue to rise (in March, up .5% from the previous month). The same experts noted that some empty-nesters seem to be increasingly likely to opt for the convenience of apartment living -- even those who could easily afford to buy.  

It explains why more investors are stepping up to order the building of new rental homes even as many older apartments and rental homes are being renovated.  Add to that recent government moves to encourage lenders to become at least temporary landlords, and the result is real activity. Budgets have been tight for families in recent years, which may have caused them to decide to choose rental homes that were older, hence less expensive. If the economy continues to strengthen, these same families may later be able to afford to look at one of the new rental homes now under construction. It’s likely that many tenants would choose to live in a place that is a product of new construction, or in a complex that has been recently renovated.

All that increased building activity is another sign that the housing market as a whole is waking up. In the longer range, since newer rentals generally cost more money, more would-be tenants will ultimately reconsider the prospect of owning a home – in turn increasing demand for first-time or entry level homes. 

Wherever your family falls in the local real estate mix, don’t hesitate to call our office when you have a question about the market and what is available for you. We’re standing by!

Banks with a Heart? - Homeowners Become Tenants

A few weeks ago, Bank of America initiated a pilot program allowing homeowners facing foreclosure to remain in their homes as renters.   There are important reasons why area homeowners should be interested in the success or failure of BoA’s approach. 

First, a note about the term “bank owned homes”. It’s not technically correct to say that there has been some huge rise in the number of them, because “bank owned homes” actually describes every home with a mortgage. The mortgage holder always technically "owns" the property, even when the homeowner retains title. However, what is true is that over the last four years, many homeowners learned the hard way just what it means to face the reality of your home being owned by someone else.    

Enter Bank of America. Their press release quotes Ron Sturzenegger, a Legacy Asset Servicing executive with the Bank: "Our priority is designing a solution that helps our customer." Although we might be justifiably skeptical of this as BoA’s sole motive, allowing homeowners to remain as renters in bank owned homes is hardly just a PR move.  

The program certainly makes bottom-line financial sense for a whole host of parties, including local homeowners who have no difficulty meeting their own mortgage payments.  

Under the program, a former homeowner who qualified would be able to continue working and contributing to the economy without the costs, loss of time, and anxiety involved in moving. For all property owners, the ultimate effect is to keep the market from being flooded with distress sales. Every neighborhood would benefit if home values stabilize.  

Under the pilot model, bank owned homes convert to investor ownership in a much smoother transition than the foreclosure/short sale model. Instead of the lender being left with an empty property generating zero revenue in the interim, former homeowners simply become renters, making it easier for them to get back on their feet financially. 

In my opinion, any move or policy that helps more people stay in homes is a policy worth discussing.  BoA’s program is only in a limited test stage, but here in town we can hope that it will prove to have multiple beneficiaries: banks, investors, agents, homeowners and neighbors. Everyone benefits when his or her neighborhood’s real estate market is healthy!  

Have a question about real estate in our area?  Feel free to contact me anytime with questions. I represent local buyers and sellers, and am always available to chat about your own plans.

Your Local Home Deserves a Hero Shot!

As a whole, we Americans are an interesting group.  We are smart, educated, involved in our community…and, not unlike the rest of America, our attention span about 5 or 10 seconds.  It follows that when you put your home on the market and your agent places it among the local realty listings, your home has about that long to grab potential buyers’ attention.   

Time and time again, studies show that realty listings with superior curb appeal get markedly more attention than those with run-of-the-mill photos.  First impressions count. It’s how advertising agencies can charge hundreds of thousands of dollars to get just the right angle with just the right lighting on their perfectly-designed product packages. In ad-speak, that photo with the perfect angle and lighting is called the ‘hero shot’.   

Your home can have its own ‘hero shot’. Its landscaping, color, the condition of its driveway, walkway, garage and backyard, along with the overall neatness combine to make a true ‘hero shot’ that will stand out from the other area realty listings. That same look (over and above the one in the photographer’s viewfinder) can also be counted upon to draw the attention of potential buyers who happen to be just driving by. 

It’s not surprising, either, that curb appeal also affects the value and salability of realty listings. A study by the University of Washington found that "mature trees in a well-landscaped yard can increase the value of a house by 7% - 19%.” On the other hand, overgrown trees that obscure the view of the home can delay its sale. 

The curb appeal of homes almost defines a neighborhood’s appeal, and vice versa. Any home that is well kept improves the image of the rest of the houses on any street. In the same way, a home with a neglected look can bring down the general appeal of the entire neighborhood. You already know what it’s like to drive by a street lined with houses that are all beautifully maintained. Now that’s the kind of place where you would definitely want to live! 

If you are giving serious consideration to selling your local home, call me anytime for a “curb appeal” consultation.  Usually, just a few easy steps are all it takes to improve that vital first impression!

Property Listings: Springing into Action

With spring in the air, notions of fresh starts and new horizons have a way of pushing into just about everybody’s consciousness. It’s only natural, whether because of the weather, school schedules, or everything else around us that seems fresh and new. And something else is in the air, too: if past history is any guide, now is also simply the most popular time of year to sell or buy area property. 

For those with a home to sell, this is traditionally the most active time to be in the real estate market. Homes entered in local property listings during springtime can be expected to attract buyers more quickly, and they stand a better chance of fetching a good price. With 60% of moves in America taking place during the summer months (most likely a reflection of the school year schedule), it stands to reason that spring is a great time to get your local property onto the market.  

 For potential homebuyers expecting to shop for a new home sometime this year, there is ample reason to swing into action sooner rather than later. Local property listings can be expected to conform to the national trend: at a rapidly rising rate, Realtors® expect constant or higher residential prices in the coming year (73% vs. 62% just three months ago, according to the NAR). Following the past few years of price declines, it won’t be surprising if the market’s recovery brings a rapid rise in prices. Then the bargains people have begun to take for granted could quickly become tomorrow’s regretful “I could have bought that house for only $---” stories…that happens again and again. Those who know they are going to be in the market this year should seriously consider getting in the market! 

For both buyers and sellers, spring is the most popular season for a number of reasons. Especially for families with kids in school, or anyone whose business is geared to encourage summer vacations, it’s also the most sensible time to act. Whether you will be adding your own contribution to our area’s property listings, or beginning to comb those property listings to zero in on a new home, do get in touch with me to help make this spring the one that makes 2012 your Year of the Big Move!

Investment & Vacation Home Markets Waking Up!

The investment- and vacation-home markets have been among the first to show signs of real estate resurgence, according to the people who keep track of such things (as usual, the National Association of Realtors® is one). It might seem unlikely, given the general view that the housing sector continues to post mixed signs of recovery. But when you think about it, there are reasons why it could make perfect sense. A few that come to mind: 

* The price is right. If the overall real estate market is in fact in the process of rebounding, it’s still so early that no one can be certain it will be strong -- or even that it will continue. You couldn’t describe a more appealing situation for small investors who have been biding their time, waiting for the right bargain to pounce upon. Investment home prices rose 6.4% last year (of course, because rents were rising), yet the median vacation-home price was down over 19%! Talk about vacation bargains! All of a sudden, the daydream of affordable beach houses for sale seems to have become a reality. 

* The market is open. Right now, there are also strong inventories of vacation and beach houses for sale – many of them located in attractive settings. Many of those settings also happen to be the very places were the real estate market is still digging out from under the foreclosure mess. This makes it easy for people to find vacation- or investment-home opportunities that previously would have been out of their price range.  

* Interest rates are low. Low interest rates make a second mortgage even more affordable for those seeking a luxury vacation home.  Today's interest rates signal savings throughout the term of the loan, which is even more appealing for those seeking a second home. Combined with the sheer volume of beach houses for sale, this makes it the ideal time to purchase a dream vacation or retirement home.

*Optimism on the rise. When the wolf is at the door, few of us are tempted to make luxury purchases. And for years, it seemed like the only news about the economy was bad. But declining unemployment numbers, soaring stock markets, and the resulting good news for retirement accounts can change attitudes…the same attitudes that underlie investment decisions of every kind.  

A second home can be a vehicle to generate investment income. Or it might be the fulfillment of a long-held dream. For those fortunate enough to have put aside some disposable cash, today any one of those mountain or beach houses for sale could wind up representing both! 

Moving ‘Moving’ From Nightmare to Dream

Remember when moving was fun?

If you share the sentiments of just about everyone in town, your answer to that is a definite “NO!” Picking up and moving a household has never been fun or easy -- and long distance moving can be even worse. When you need to relocate from another state to this state, you can’t just hop back across town to take care of a few last minute details: likely as not, you’re a jet plane ride away!

The logistical concerns of moving your belongings, coupled with the expenses and the stress of locating a new home, can combine to be close to overwhelming. Thankfully, there are specialists to help with the situation. With focused training and years of experience, relocation specialists help save time and money (not to mention mental stability). With assistance from a relocation expert, you can move ‘moving’ out of its traditional nightmare category. 
 

When a local agent lists ‘Relocation’ among their qualifications, it means more than just first-hand knowledge of the area’s schools, shopping, commute times and home values. While people tend to be more or less familiar with the real estate market in their current neighborhood, it’s challenging to get up to speed with an unfamiliar real estate market. Agents qualified in relocation are particularly aware of the need to familiarize their clients with local values -- especially since they often have a small window of time in which to secure their new home.

For anyone planning relocation to our area, there are a few steps you can take to find the right agent for you. First, put all potential agents through a telephone test. Call several agents during the day and leave a brief message, stating your needs. Then sit back and wait for return calls. Avoid any agent who doesn’t call back within 24 hours. Relocating to a new area is stressful enough without having a real estate agent you cannot rely on.

Next, ask the remaining candidates a lot of questions. Find out how much experience he or she has in relocating clients to this area. Determine how much the agent knows about the neighborhoods that fit your baseline criteria – have they successfully relocated clients there? Finally, ask for references – the names and phone numbers of past relocation clients. And don’t skip calling those references! The most reliable referral is one obtained from someone who can report from experience.
For a long distance or logistically complicated move – the kind that happens when you need to simultaneously sell one home and buy another – being able to rely on an agent who lists ‘relocation’ as a specialty may be the key to success. If you are considering a move to our town, give me a call anytime to discuss your timeline and needs.

It’s 9 O’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Listing Is?

In an age where technology is king, the concept of free and widespread listing syndication at first sounded promising to agents and consumers alike. “Listing Syndication” is the term used when third parties – including big Internet outfits like Zillow and Trulia -- take local real estate agents’ listings and put them up on their humongous national websites. 

Most local real estate agents thought to themselves ‘Great! – now everyone in the country can see my clients’ home listing; we will get the word out nationally.’ And they were right about that, up to a point. But now some serious scrapping has broken out, and the details are something I think readers will find useful to think about. They affect what happens whenever you look for a local real estate property, or put your own up for sale.  

For area house-hunters, the biggest issue with syndicators is information that is either out of date or inaccurate. To any would-be homebuyer, sites like Zillow or Trulia hit them first: they’re always smack dab at the top of the Google or Bing pages when you look on the web. What isn’t apparent is that such websites don’t always offer all of the homes or data that might be available through a local real estate agent.  

Rather than using feeds that offer each viewer the freshest information possible, syndicators lead those searching for a new home through a dizzy trail of listings. Moreover, if you have ever used them, you probably know that some of those have usually expired. In addition, syndicators are real search engine hogs; local real estate agents have to battle against their Google-engineered pages to get a top spot. As a result, house-hunters may be unable to find what the very local housing market and its most active agents have to offer. 

As well as failing to deliver accuracy to consumers, syndicators may lead consumers in the wrong direction when they do find a house that interests them. If a listing agent is not willing to pay Zillow a monthly fee for the privilege of having listings accurately placed at the top of the search results, a consumer may find a different agent's contact information displayed. It’s easy to see why some agents are fuming about this, but more importantly, it may do damage to the client’s experience. Just because an agent is at the top of a search result does not mean that he or she can answer important questions a buyer may have about that listing.  

Finally, it is not uncommon for consumers to experience confusion when it comes to listing prices. Syndication has in the past led to inaccurate information about prices to be published online, even duplicates with different prices. Yikes.   

However, those slowly evolving issues don’t totally cancel the early promise of wide syndication. Personally, I love the wealth of information syndication provides consumers.  Technology and free access to information are boons to us all.  However, when it comes to buying a house in our area, sometimes there’s no replacement for the human touch.  Call me anytime for the personal service only a local real estate agent can give you!

April Showers Bring May Sales

Once you decide that the time has come to sell your house, the area’s open houses are one of the most promising ways for you to show off its fine points. And early spring has long proved to be one of real estate’s peak selling seasons. Despite the fact that April can bring unpredictable weather to town, it’s undeniably prime time to use an open house to market your home.

Open houses are popular for the simple reason that they provide maximum exposure to house-hunters, whether they are casual or more highly motivated. Particularly when a home is occupied, open houses invite easy access to a property, side-stepping all the normal hurdles of appointment making, phone tag, calendar syncing, etc.  Since vacant homes are easy to show any time, they tend to get more exposure (especially since prospective buyers frequently phone at the last minute to request a tour).

Open houses are a way to even the competition. Held on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, they provide the easiest way for potential buyers to browse. Prospects can casually pursue their search without having to commit to a day full of appointments. For them and for the seller, it’s a handy tradition.

But what if it turns out to be one of those local rainy days?

Ideally, everyone plans their open houses with a bright, sunny day in mind. But when the clouds gather, you don’t need to let a little inclement weather wreck the opportunity.  When it turns gloomy outside, think of it as the perfect opportunity to make your home shine on the inside.  Open all the blinds, turn on the lights, throw some upbeat jazz on the stereo, and crank the heat up!  Another nice touch (especially if you want to come home to a clean house) will be to place towels or mats by the front door so that attendees can wipe their feet.

Looking to go the extra mile?  Provide hot chocolate or hot tea in disposable cups for your agent to offer browsers.  At the very least, they’ll be sure to remember your open house!

If you are considering listing your area home and are looking for solid marketing support and exposure, today is the day to call me to schedule your consultation…rain or shine!  

Mortgage Rates Are Rising! Or Are They Falling?

When mortgage rates began to rise in January, it caught the attention of a lot of future local homebuyers. If they had been enticed by the record-breaking low mortgage rates that had been headline news for so long, many of them began to reconsider their leisurely home-hunting pace.  Now we have an interesting turnaround: last Tuesday, the FHFA reported yet another reversal. They say that rates fell again: either nine or ten basis points, or --depending on how it’s reported-- five.

It may seem a little difficult to sort that one out.  The difference between five basis points and ten basis points is, after all, 100%. But mortgage rate reporting can be like that. As the FHFA (it’s the outfit that regulates Fannie Mae) points out in the fine print, interest rates are typically determined 30 to 45 days before a loan is closed. So even when you have last week’s report in hand, the apparent trend might be misleading. Even if it were clear what the exact size of the rate dip was -- and it isn’t. 

All this is an indicator of a basic residential real estate truism: in addition to using a great local real estate agent, today’s house-hunter will be well served to enlist the help of a great local mortgage broker, too. Your local mortgage broker will be on top of what area lenders are doing, what they are looking for, and what the latest timing realities are. Your mortgage broker will paint a clear picture of what to expect based on your individual financial picture, and will work with you to shape a loan package that works for you, the seller, and the lender alike.   

It’s worth noting that mortgage brokers are no longer allowed to pay referral fees to any Realtor. That tends to work in your favor, since it solidifies the fact that at the end of the day it's solely by doing a great job for you that a local mortgage broker stands to earn repeat business.

If you are considering buying a local home, please don’t hesitate to call me for a complimentary buyer’s consultation.   If you like, I can introduce you to a great mortgage broker, and you can decide if now is the time to make your new home a reality!