May 5, 2016 | Home Seller Tips
Many people rely on the price they paid for their home as a starting point for selling, but with the ever-shifting tides of the real estate market, the price paid is not always the best metric to go by. If you’re putting your home up for sale and are looking for the ideal price point, here are some ways you can arrive at a number that will keep potential buyers interested.
Check Out Your Neighborhood
Your house may have a lot of different features than the homes of your neighbors, but checking out what real estate in your area is selling for can still be a good means of determining the price you’ll be able to ask for. Instead of just perusing the pricing, ensure you’re looking at the listings for what’s been successfully sold in your neighborhood as only this will allow you to determine the conditions of the market and what people will be prepared to offer.
Complete A Home Inspection
Instead of being surprised by repairs that need to be completed after an offer price has been accepted, organizing a home inspection before your home is sold can make a difference in the price you’re able to ask for. Not only will this provide you with a determination of what needs to be repaired or overhauled, it can be a boon to potential buyers who won’t have to worry about your inspection revealing any hidden flaws.
Utilize Your Agent’s Advice
Even if you’ve done your research and carefully considered the value of your home, it can still be complicated to come up with the right price, so be sure to enlist an agent who will be able to determine a fair amount with you. Since your agent has no attachment to your home, they’ll be able to objectively strike the right balance between what won’t sell and what’s too low. The right price, after all, may mean you’ll get to spend a lot less time selling it.
There are a lot of factors that go into arriving at the proper asking price for your home, but by organizing a home inspection and being aware of what’s going on in the market, you should be able to arrive at a reasonable sum. If you’re planning on putting your home on the market soon, contact your local real estate professional for more information.
May 4, 2016 | Around The Home
With the pre-summer enthusiasm and the milder weather, springtime can be one of the best times of the year to take on home renovations that aren’t as easy in other months. If you happen to have some projects in mind and are considering taking the work on yourself, here are a few questions you’ll need to ask.
What Can You Take On?
If you have specific renovations in mind for the coming months, it’s very important to decide what you can reasonably take on and what you could pass on to a contractor. While some projects and fix-ups may be easier to complete on your own, some will require a greater degree of expertise.
What’s Your Skill Level?
You may have something that you think you can take on yourself, but if you’re new to renovating, it may be worth hiring a contractor who will be able to complete the job without incident. It can be a great learning experience to do many fix-ups on your own, but this can take a lot of time and energy too if you don’t know the details.
What’s Your Price Point?
Before deciding to hire a contractor, it’s important that you’ve thought about the potential costs associated with what you want to do. It can be pricy to hire someone if you have a lot that needs to be done, but someone else’s expertise can also end up being worth the money spent.
Do You Have A Timeline?
Many people renovate in the spring and summer months, and this means that your ideal contractor may not have a lot of time available. While this may end up working out for you, you’ll want to consider when you want it done so your expectations are not unreasonable.
Is A Second Opinion Helpful?
It’s great if you can handle all your home renovations on your own, but no one will be able to offer you the knowledgeable opinion that a contractor will. While a professional will undoubtedly be able to complete the work you’re requesting, they may also have helpful suggestions for you that may make for an even better home improvement.
Spring is an ideal season for home renovations, but before taking anything on you’ll want to carefully consider whether or not you’ll need to hire someone. If you’re renovating to put your home on the market, contact your local real estate professional for more information.
Apr 13, 2016 | Home Seller Tips
Whether you’ve done a lot of research on the real estate market or you’ve sold a home before, you may be aware that there can be a lot of trepidation around how long your house remains up for sale. If you’re concerned about your home’s market potential, here’s what you need to know about “Days on Market” and how it can impact your home sale.
“Days on Market” Explained
A fairly no-nonsense phrase, Days on Market (DOM) refers to how long a home has been listed on the real estate market. The DOM stat can be found on many Multiple List Systems (MLS), and this can be seen as a signifier to agents and buyers of a home’s overall popularity. The way days on the market is determined varies from listing to listing, but the common belief is that after a certain period of time, a home’s valuation can be diminished.
What It Means To Potential Homebuyers
When it comes to real estate, the general hope is that a home will sell within the first 60 days of being put up for sale, and this is why the DOM can say a lot to potential buyers about your home’s value. While people may assume that a home that’s been sitting on the market for longer than this timeframe is either overpriced or in poor condition, there are ways the seller can get past this hiccup and still have selling success.
If “Days on Market” Are Adding Up
In the event that the first 30 days are drawing to a close and you haven’t received any offers, you may want to sit down with your real estate agent and decide on a new strategy together. While a home without offers can be a sign that your price is too high, you may also need to switch to an agent that will take a more assertive approach to selling. It can even be a good idea to remove your home from the market so the DOM can go back down to 0 and you can start from scratch.
A DOM in the double digits can often signal to buyers that there are issues with your home or asking price, so it’s important to keep this in mind when your home is on the market. If you have questions, contact your trusted real estate professional for more information.
Apr 12, 2016 | Home Seller Tips
It can be easy to forget, but the first thing people will see when they come to your home is the outside, so it’s important to have a well-maintained and picturesque property that represents the inside of your home positively. If you’re looking for a few ways to boost your outdoor space, here are a few tips to help with curb appeal.
Plant A Flower Bed
Whether you decide on a tiny plot or a much larger space, a splash of flowers is great for adding a warm, homey atmosphere to your front yard. This can easily be done by going to your local nursery, picking out some easy-to-maintain perennials and watching the blooms begin to appear.
Trim The Hedges
It’s entirely possible that you have a few trees or shrubs in your yard that have gotten a little bit unruly, but a little time with the snippers for some shaping and the look of your yard will be automatically improved! If you have any shrubs or small trees that have seen better days, you may want to remove and replace.
A Fresh Coat Of Paint
It’s quite common to hear how much a layer of paint can improve things but this is especially true when it comes to your front door. While a tired and dull looking door can reflect poorly on the house within, a new coat of paint will add instant shimmer to your exterior.
Keep It Tidy
Whether you have kids who love to play in the yard or you’ve been doing a little lawn maintenance, leaving out toys or shovels and wheelbarrows can really take a lot away from your property’s look. While you may only be planning on keeping these items out for the short term, a quick pick up at the end of each day makes a marked difference.
Make A Stone Pathway
It may not be something you need, but a whimsical walkway with flattened stones can add a nice touch to your property and make it stand out. If you’re feeling ambitious, you may even want to add a bench or a birdbath to make for a unique escape for your family.
There are a lot of simple fixes you can utilize that will instantly boost the look of your home’s exterior. If you’re fixing up the outside of your home in the hopes of putting your property on the market, you may want to contact one of our knowledgeable real estate professionals for more information.
Apr 11, 2016 | Financial Reports
Last week’s economic news included minutes of the most recent Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Weekly reports on mortgage rates and new jobless claims were also released.
FOMC Minutes Indicate Fed Not Pressing Rate Increases
Minutes of the FOMC meeting held March 15 and 16 suggest that FOMC members are easing their enthusiasm for raising the target federal funds rate. In recent months, the committee has indicated that it was leaning toward raising rates on a slow but steady pace. Ongoing concerns over changing global economic and financial conditions contributed to FOMC’s decision not to raise the key federal funds rate. Low energy prices continue to cause U.S. inflation to stay below the Fed’s goal of two percent, which suggests that the economy is not recovering as fast as originally expected.
Labor markets continued to improve as the national unemployment rate held steady at 4.90 percent in February. FOMC noted that the labor force participation rate and employment to population ratio increased. The four-week moving average of new jobless claims fell in March after increasing in February. These readings support continued expansion of labor markets.
Housing markets and household spending improved. Committee members characterized developments in labor and housing markets as “broadly consistent” with earlier expectations. Some housing markets connected with energy production weakened. FOMC members elected to maintain the target federal funds rate at a range of 0.25 to 0.50 percent. Global financial and economic developments were cited as contributing to the Committee’s decision not to raise its target rate.
Mortgage Rates, Weekly Jobless Claims Lower
Mortgage rates fell across the board last week. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of mortgage rates, the average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped to 3.59 percent from the previous week’s reading of 3.71 percent. The average rate for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage dropped 10 basis points to 2.88 percent; the average rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage dropped to 2.82 percent from 2.90 percent. Average discount points held steady at 0.50, 0.40 and 0.50 percent respectively. Last week’s mortgage rates were the lowest in 14 months.
Analysts said this news was positive in the sense that lower rates make mortgages more affordable, but more home buyers entering the market would further increase demand for homes. Low inventories of homes and high demand have fueled higher home prices in many areas.
Weekly jobless claims fell to 267,000 new claims against expectations of 268,000 new claims and the prior week’s reading of 276,000 new jobless claims. New jobless claims remained below the benchmark of 300,000 new claims for the 57th consecutive week.
What’s Ahead This Week
This week’s scheduled economic news releases include retail sales, the Fed’s Beige Book report, the consumer price index and core consumer price index. Weekly jobless claims and Freddie Mac’s mortgage rates report will be released as usual on Thursday.
