Interesting thought for the new year! Happy '11 to all!
REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-5 Reasons to Buy a Home in 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thinking of Selling? Here are 6 ideas on How to Get Your Home Market Ready
Thinking of selling your home this spring? Here are six areas to consider which will help your property shine in the buyer's eyes.
1. Curb Appeal
How does your home look from the street? I've heard many buyers tell me they don't like how the property looks from the street and to take it off the list. To keep this from happening to you, look at your house from across the street. Remove anything that distracts from the appearance. Put fresh paint what you can. Plant flowering plants etc.
2. Clutter
When the buyer comes inside make your home appear larger by removing clutter from each room, the closets, garage, basement, attic, etc. Don't forget the yard! It may need to have the clutter removed also. The idea is to get the buyer to visualize their furniture in your home.
3. Clean
Make your property shine! Clean everywhere and everything. Don't forget about the air. Find and eliminate odors at the source
4. Character and Charm
This is what makes your home special. The smell of bread baking, flower arrangements, a fireplace fire. These things all contribute to a special feeling that make a house a home.
5. Critique Your Home.
Objectively is key here. How does your home compare to the comps in the area? Highlight the benefits of your home by using a Home Feature Sheet. Include what made you buy the house, improvements you made, location of schools, shopping, major highways, etc.
6. Cost Vs. Value
Just because you like an improvement, doesn't mean the buyer will. Spend money to make necessary repairs and cosmetic upgrades. Think neutral colors.
By following these timely tips you find buyers are attracted to your property and you'll quickly be on the way to your new home. Remember, most importantly your home needs to be priced correctly for local market conditions. It needs to have an postive IMPACT price!
1. Curb Appeal
How does your home look from the street? I've heard many buyers tell me they don't like how the property looks from the street and to take it off the list. To keep this from happening to you, look at your house from across the street. Remove anything that distracts from the appearance. Put fresh paint what you can. Plant flowering plants etc.
2. Clutter
When the buyer comes inside make your home appear larger by removing clutter from each room, the closets, garage, basement, attic, etc. Don't forget the yard! It may need to have the clutter removed also. The idea is to get the buyer to visualize their furniture in your home.
3. Clean
Make your property shine! Clean everywhere and everything. Don't forget about the air. Find and eliminate odors at the source
4. Character and Charm
This is what makes your home special. The smell of bread baking, flower arrangements, a fireplace fire. These things all contribute to a special feeling that make a house a home.
5. Critique Your Home.
Objectively is key here. How does your home compare to the comps in the area? Highlight the benefits of your home by using a Home Feature Sheet. Include what made you buy the house, improvements you made, location of schools, shopping, major highways, etc.
6. Cost Vs. Value
Just because you like an improvement, doesn't mean the buyer will. Spend money to make necessary repairs and cosmetic upgrades. Think neutral colors.
By following these timely tips you find buyers are attracted to your property and you'll quickly be on the way to your new home. Remember, most importantly your home needs to be priced correctly for local market conditions. It needs to have an postive IMPACT price!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Good Information from the Leading Real Estate Company in St. Louis, MO
Here's some insightful information from the market leader!
SELLING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND
Cold Weather Strategies to Attract Buyers
ST. LOUIS, MO (November 15, 2010) – History tells us that the spring and summer months are the best times to sell, but many homeowners are finding success listing their properties in the winter. While the changing weather can take a toll on a home sale, savvy buyers are on the lookout for the right home year round.
“Chances are, buyers looking for a home during the winter holiday season are serious about buying and not simply shopping around,” said Jim Dohr, president of Coldwell Banker Gundaker. “Showing off some of the home’s finer features isn’t easy covered in a blanket of snow, but there are a number of things sellers can do to attract buyers.”
Less competition.
In the winter season, there are fewer homes on the market, so your home will have less competition. Encourage buyers not to wait by offering attractive pricing and incentives.
Interior focus.
Providing photographs from the summer months is important, but now is the time to highlight the inside of your home. Furnished homes and those that are organized have more appeal, so make sure the beds are made, the furniture is well placed, and the counter tops and closets are clear of any clutter.
Exterior demands.
Snow can alter the look of the overall property. Shovel and de-ice all paths and doorways. The driveway should be plowed, along with the sidewalks. Make sure that all outside lights and doorbells work. Consider more lights that could be installed to effectively highlight the best areas of the house.
Winter warmth.
The holiday season is a time for being at home and enjoying family. You can stage your home to showcase winter warmth with such sights and smells as crackling fires, scented candles and holiday wreaths to appeal to buyers and make them feel like your home could be their own.
Coldwell Banker Gundaker, the leading residential real estate brokerage company in St.
Louis, operates 24 offices with nearly 2,000 sales associates serving metropolitan St. Louis and east-central Missouri
I hope you find this information useful. Don't forget for up to the minute St. Louis market information register at http://www.bobweibrecht.com/. My website is updated with St. Louis MLS data every 30 MINUTES. So you can have access to the most current information available!
Monday, December 20, 2010
5 Predictions for 2011
Freddie Mac analysts point to five features that they believe will likely characterize the 2011 housing and mortgage markets:
1. Low mortgage rates.
With Fed observers expecting the central bank to keep the federal funds rate at its current target range of 0 percent to 0.25 percent for most (or all) of 2011, relatively low mortgage rates will be a feature of the 2011 mortgage market. Thirty-year fixed-rate loans are likely to remain below 5 percent throughout the year, and initial rates of 5/1 hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages will likely remain below 4 percent in 2011.
2. Prices have hit bottom.
House prices are likely to begin a gradual, but sustained recovery in the second half of 2011.
3. Housing will remain affordable.
With affordability high, many first-time buyers will be attracted to the housing market in the New Year, likely translating into more home sales in 2011 than in 2010.
4. Refinances will dwindle.
Many eligible borrowers have already refinanced and the federal Making Home Affordable refinance program is expiring on June 30. While fixed-rate loans are likely to remain low, they will move up gradually,
making it even less likely that refinances will be attractive to most home owners.
5. Delinquency rates will decline.
Based on the last several business cycles, the share of loans that are 90 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure proceedings known as the "seriously delinquent rate" generally crests within a year of the start of the recovery in payroll employment, and this economic recovery appears to fit within that pattern. Payrolls began to rise last January, and by the spring the seriously delinquent rate had begun to fall.
Source: Freddie Mac (12/09/2010)
This should give you something to smile about. Here's to a Great 2011!
1. Low mortgage rates.
With Fed observers expecting the central bank to keep the federal funds rate at its current target range of 0 percent to 0.25 percent for most (or all) of 2011, relatively low mortgage rates will be a feature of the 2011 mortgage market. Thirty-year fixed-rate loans are likely to remain below 5 percent throughout the year, and initial rates of 5/1 hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages will likely remain below 4 percent in 2011.
2. Prices have hit bottom.
House prices are likely to begin a gradual, but sustained recovery in the second half of 2011.
3. Housing will remain affordable.
With affordability high, many first-time buyers will be attracted to the housing market in the New Year, likely translating into more home sales in 2011 than in 2010.
4. Refinances will dwindle.
Many eligible borrowers have already refinanced and the federal Making Home Affordable refinance program is expiring on June 30. While fixed-rate loans are likely to remain low, they will move up gradually,
making it even less likely that refinances will be attractive to most home owners.
5. Delinquency rates will decline.
Based on the last several business cycles, the share of loans that are 90 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure proceedings known as the "seriously delinquent rate" generally crests within a year of the start of the recovery in payroll employment, and this economic recovery appears to fit within that pattern. Payrolls began to rise last January, and by the spring the seriously delinquent rate had begun to fall.
Source: Freddie Mac (12/09/2010)
This should give you something to smile about. Here's to a Great 2011!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Buyer's Beware
One of the most frequently asked questions I hear as a professional Realtor is, " Do I really need to spend the money on inspections?' I encourage all of my buyers to obtain inspections related to the purchase of the property.
Just because the property looks alright doesn't mean it is. When you have inspections done be sure the inspectors are reputable professionals because repairs like these can break the bank.
1. Water Drainage
2. Worn Roof
3. Bad Foundation
4. Pest infestation
5. Inadequate or defective components of the property that is
a. Electrical Wiring
b. Heating or cooling systems
c. Plumbing
6. Other areas to consider inspections on are
a. Adverse location
b. Environment
c. Title
d. Survey
These will get you started on what to ask your inspectors to check. Other inspections depending on the property in question may include, but not be limited to
a. Well or other system designed to supply water for human use.
b. Septic or other waste water disposal systems
c Road - who maintains it and the frequency
Spending a few hundred dollars now can save you from spending THOUSANDS latter. I hope you find this information helpful in purchasing your next residential property. Best wishes!
Bob
Just because the property looks alright doesn't mean it is. When you have inspections done be sure the inspectors are reputable professionals because repairs like these can break the bank.
1. Water Drainage
2. Worn Roof
3. Bad Foundation
4. Pest infestation
5. Inadequate or defective components of the property that is
a. Electrical Wiring
b. Heating or cooling systems
c. Plumbing
6. Other areas to consider inspections on are
a. Adverse location
b. Environment
c. Title
d. Survey
These will get you started on what to ask your inspectors to check. Other inspections depending on the property in question may include, but not be limited to
a. Well or other system designed to supply water for human use.
b. Septic or other waste water disposal systems
c Road - who maintains it and the frequency
Spending a few hundred dollars now can save you from spending THOUSANDS latter. I hope you find this information helpful in purchasing your next residential property. Best wishes!
Bob
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Guide lines for fixing up your property to sell
When fixing up your property to sell, keep these four points in mind!
1. Most home improvements cause a property to sell quicker, but not necessarly for more money.
2. Keep an eye on your neighborhood and don't over improve. Some improvements will never pay for themselves if they are out of the ordinary for the neighborhood.
3. Invest where potential buyers will see the improvement that is fresh paint, new carpet, kitchen and bath updates and the like. Things like new wiring or insulation are pluses but don't give as good a return.
4. Most importantly cost doesn't equal value. What is important to one isn't necessarily important to some one else. That is you may have invested heavily into that swimming pool and the buyer's agent reports back the buyers would have made an offer on your house if it wasn't for the swimming pool. Ouch!
Thoughts to keep in mind, until next time
If you have real estate related questions, say Hey Bob!
1. Most home improvements cause a property to sell quicker, but not necessarly for more money.
2. Keep an eye on your neighborhood and don't over improve. Some improvements will never pay for themselves if they are out of the ordinary for the neighborhood.
3. Invest where potential buyers will see the improvement that is fresh paint, new carpet, kitchen and bath updates and the like. Things like new wiring or insulation are pluses but don't give as good a return.
4. Most importantly cost doesn't equal value. What is important to one isn't necessarily important to some one else. That is you may have invested heavily into that swimming pool and the buyer's agent reports back the buyers would have made an offer on your house if it wasn't for the swimming pool. Ouch!
Thoughts to keep in mind, until next time
If you have real estate related questions, say Hey Bob!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)