Selling Your Home THRICE

In the latest blog post by Keeping Current Matters, Steve Harney points out that agents have to sell your home twice -- to buyers and then to the bank. I would say we have to sell it THRICE -- to other agents, to buyers, and to the bank. Savvy agents will do everything they can to keep their customers from looking at a home they feel is over priced or poorly maintained. Read the KCM blog post here

Should You Hire a Professional?

Steve Harney's Keeping Current Matters has an excellent post today on whether you should hire a professional to sell your home or try to do it yourself.  You can see the whole post here, but one particular section really spoke to me.  I have had several "commission negotiation" discussions lately, and what takes me 7 or 8 minutes to explain is summed up here in a concise and clear manner:

Realize that when an agent is negotiating their commission with you, they are negotiating their own salary; the salary that keeps a roof over their family’s head; the salary that puts food on their family’s table. If they are quick to take less when negotiating for themselves and their families, what makes you think they will not act the same way when negotiating for you and your family? If they were Clark Kent when negotiating with you, they will not turn into Superman when negotiating with the buyer or seller in your deal.

I have joked before that if you think I am a bulldog with you, imagine how I am with people across the table who are not on my side!  Considering how important my paycheck is to the livelihood of my family, it is very very difficult for me to give any of that up.  If I negotiate (or settle) easily for my own family, how can you trust that I won't do the same for yours?

Patience is NOT Always a Virtue

"If you are thinking of selling, it would be wise to put your house on the market before prices fall again."

Read why here!

Info taken from KCMBlog.com

Picking the Right Agent

Steve Harney once again gives great advice to both buyers AND sellers on his KCMBlog. Read about why you need not just any agent but THE agent here.

Why Now is the Time to Sell

Steve Harney & The KCMBlog have another great post today regarding why you should sell now. Click here to see the full post, but the reasons given are:

1. Your home will get more exposure now than in the winter
2. Distressed properties wil continue to have an effect on pricing
3. Mortgages will continue to get more difficult
4. It is the perfect time to move up
5. IT LETS YOU MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE

#5 in particular spoke to me... my husband and I have plans for his childhood home, but we can't do any of those until we sell our current home. So, even if we get a little less than we may in the "spring" or a few years down the road, it is still the right time for us to sell. Being able to "move on" is priceless!

Say it Ain't So, FSBO...

I returned from vacation last week and then lost my grandfather a few days later, so it has been a while since I have been on here! One of my goals as I returned to the office today was to update my blog, and I had an excellent article just fall into my lap concerning the founder of forsalebyowner.com. Click here to read the blog post on Steve Harney's website. Very interesting perspective if you are considering going it alone!

The Bottom Line

There is currently a window of opportunity to sell your home before the discounted properties again re-enter the market and put downward pressure on prices. If you plan to sell within the next year, now might be the time.

I know I reference Steve Harney a LOT in my blog, but the KCM Crew has sent out yet another good one. So many folks are talking about the fall of prices and speculating when they will begin to go back up, but not many people understand the reasoning why. KCMBlog.com gives an excellent illustration in today's post, likening the foreclosure crisis to water behind a dam. In short, the banks need to release just enough to stimulate the market and relieve some pressure, but releasing too many at once will flood it and cause to to spiral. Check it out yourself for more details. Good reading!

The Truth Hurts

"Demand for housing will remian soft until the economy recovers."

OUCH. This is from a blog by Steve Harney, a leading real estate mastermind who, in my opinion, knows his stuff! His latest blog tries to answer the question on everyone's minds, "Why do Home Prices Keep Falling?". I encourage you to visit kcmblog.com and read the whole article, but it can be summarized with 3 points:

1. Expiration of homebuyer's tax credot
2. Distressed properties and their effect on ALL properties
3. Lack of consumer confidence.

Sellers, please remember, your home is only worth what someone will pay for it and what the appraisal shows as its value. What you paid, how much you have spent on it, etc. make no difference. Hard to swallow? Yep... but realistic.

Price Point is KEY

From SteveHarney.com:

"There is much discussion about how the real estate market is in the middle of its turnaround based on sales increasing on a year-over-year basis. Though the fact that housing is again moving is fabulous news, let's not lose sight of which homes are selling.

Here is a closer look at different price ranges and how they are faring in the current "boom":

$0-100,000 sales up 38.8%
$100,000-250,000 sales up 8.7%
$250,000-500,000 sales down 6.2%
$500,000-750,000 sales down 8.9%
$750,000-1,000,000 sales down 10.6%
$1,000,000-2,000,000 sales down 23.3%
$2,000,000+ sales down 32.4%"

Moral of the story?? Units may be up, but lower priced properties are selling quicker... so pricing is KEY!

Sellers #1 Piece of Advice

There is an increase in buying activity. That DOES NOT mean we will see an increase in pricing. Remember the ’supply and demand’ curve. Supply is still too plentiful. Price your home to sell now. This is the best chance you have to sell your house and get on with the life situation that caused you to originally put the property on the market. (adapted from steveharneyblog.com)