Toledo Real Estate Musings

Gimme Some Lovin'

2006-11-15T14:45:00.000-05:00

With home sales flattening in some areas and declining in others, buyers are finding sellers to be more flexible and realistic. Interest rates have declined and again are near historic lows. This is a GREAT time to be buying a home!

However, if you’re a seller you might wonder where my enthusiasm is coming from. If you’re a seller, this market can be tough. Buyers are looking for value. You don’t have to do anything to your house to get it sold. No matter what shape it’s in, a home can be sold. BUT ….. there are two big reasons why you should consider taking the time effort and expense to get your home ready for the market. First, a home that’s more presentable, attractive, and fresh feeling will sell for a higher price. Second, it should sell more quickly.

Why would this be? One reason is that many people have a hard time visualizing what a fixer upper would look like when the work is done. Fixer uppers appeal to people who expect to pay less for a home that needs work. By doing the work yourself you don’t leave the sale to chance. By sprucing up the home you can appeal to a much broader market.

Consult with a qualified Realtor to establish where your money can be best spent to be effective.

Rescue Me!

2006-11-01T09:52:00.000-05:00

Your homes been on the market for a while and it's not selling. In fact, you may not even be getting any showings. What do you do?

First, think back to when you made the decision to sell your home. You contacted some real estate agents, interviewed them, listened to their presentations, analyzed their pricing recommendations, and made your choice. Did you go with the agent who gave you the highest price? Was that the only agent who "recognized" the value in your house? Your house is different, it should sell for more, right?

The truth is going with a high price in a flat or down market can almost insure that your home won't sell. There's been too much media attention showered on the housing "balloon" and the goldmine it presents for buyers. With triple the inventory to chose from compared to a couple years ago, buyers are taking their time, comparing properties, and driving a hard bargain. If you're over-priced, you don't have a chance. In this market, even the top Realtors can't sell overpriced listings. Of course, they don't have to because they typically won't take a listing that the seller insists on pricing above the market. They want to sell your home, not just list it.
So what you end up with is a weak Realtor who, desperate to have a listing, overprices your home to impress you. Then when your home doesn't sell, or even get shown, they start hammering on you to lower the price, lower the price, lower the price.

What's worse is that when you over-price, your home will not compare well with the competition, will sit on the market unsold, and the buyers who could afford your house will never see it. Let's say that your house is realistically worth $175,000 and you decide you really want to start out by asking $195,000. The buyers looking and comparing in the $190,000's will look and reject because your house is not a good value at that price. You get showings and no offers, or no showings at all. Meanwhile, the buyers looking in the range you should be in never even consider your house because it's "out of range".
So, your house sits on the market week after week, month after month, and finally you decide to lower the price. That brings in a new wave of buyers, but when you've been on the market that long every buyer asks "why has it been on the market so long?" or "what's wrong with it?". By this point you've lost time, money, and opportunity.

Here's an example of a home that was properly priced, properly marketed, and had an accepted offer within 5 days, even though there were about 8-10 other homes on the same street that had been sitting unsold for months. www.3226RiverRd.com

Whats Become Of The Broken Hearted?

2006-10-19T10:08:00.000-05:00

In a balanced real estate market 20%-40% of homes listed for sale end up expiring unsold after their initial six month listing period. You can compound those numbers when you get into a buyers market like we now find ourselves. With 3-4 times as many homes listed for sale there’s bound to be a lot of broken hearts.

Let’s look at the four things that can influence the sale of a home:

Location – there’s no doubt that some locations are more desirable than others, hence the old real estate adage – location, location, location. You can’t control your location if you’re already there. Location does not affect the condition or marketing of your home, but it will influence the price.
Condition – the better the condition, the greater the appeal. Selling a home is like selling any other product. The better someone feels when they walk into a home, the more likely they are to buy it. Fresh paint, uncluttered appearance, and overall cleanliness go a long way in enhancing the appeal of any home.
Price – so what if you have a nice home in a great location and it still didn’t sell. Take a look at what’s selling and see how your price compares. If you are overpriced in this market you might as well take the for sale sign out of your front yard. All that an overpriced home does is help sell homes that are priced right.
Marketing – OK, you home is in good condition, priced right, and in a desirable area and it still hasn’t sold, now what? This is where you look at your agent. You control the location, condition, and price of your home, but your agent controls the marketing. If you are truly spot on for the first three items, then you’re just not getting enough exposure.

It’s time for another agent who specializes in home marketing - an agent with a big web presence, an agent that will market your home locally and nationally (for relocating buyers), an agent who generates lots of buyers to cross market, an agent with a plan.

The Times, They Are A'Changin

2006-10-09T14:18:00.000-05:00

There are still areas of Toledo where there is a balanced market, meaning about the same number of buyers and sellers. However, most areas are now in what's called a Buyer's Market, meaning fewer buyers and many more sellers.
What you'll find is that a lot of sellers are still thinking in terms of when the market was better and prices were stronger. These sellers are often overpriced for today's market. If you happen to find one of these homes you really have two choices: 1. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate and hope to bring the seller into today's market range. 2. If the house just came on the market, try waiting a while before making an offer in hopes that the seller will become more willing to look at a realistic offer.
Don't make the mistake of assuming all homes are overpriced. The better agents make sure their homes are priced right because they know what can happen with an overpriced listing. Look at a representative sample of homes in your price range and you'll develop a sense of what presents a good value to you.

Only The Good Sell Fast

2006-10-05T09:26:00.000-05:00

The Toledo real estate market is not on fire. In fact, sellers really need to consider how motivated they are to sell right now. If you don't care if your home sells, it probably won't. Inventories are high and only homes in great condition that are priced right are selling.
The days of putting a for sale sign in your yard and thinking buyers will beat a path to your door are gone. People don't drive neighborhoods like they used to. They use the Internet. Well written ads with lots of pictures are what grabs to the attention of todays homebuyers.
As this blog develops, I'll provide lots of background information on preparing homes for sale, pricing, marketing, my opinions (good and bad), and offer advice to help the Toledo areas home sellers and home buyers.