How Your OfferTt The Seller Can Impact Negotations

The housing market in Charlotte, NC. area is no different than it is in other parts of the United States. WE all went through a downturn where buyers were buying homes for significantly less than the sellers bought it for and now we have reached a point in the upswing where it seems like it is balancing off for the long term. But that leads me to the question. Do you still make a low offer on a house in the current market? And if you do how will that affect your negotiation power? A lot depends on the seller and the type of seller you are dealing with. For example, if you are dealing with a bank owned home or one owned by an investor then they have no emotional attachment to the house. They are looking at the numbers as strictly a business decision with no ties to the house just a bottom line they are trying to recover from the house. They might be more apt to look at a low offer and negotiate in good faith and not feel insulted by the offer (as long as it is not to low). But, what if you are dealing with a home owner that still lives in the house? They may have raised their children in the house or this was their first home, or one they did a lot of work to. Then they have more of an emotional bond to the house and their judgment could be clouded by a perception of what they feel is a fair number versus what the numbers should really be. In those cases your low offer may come with a stigma attached to it and hurt you in negotiating the house. They may feel insulted or like they are giving the house away to you. There are a lot of homes I have negotiated on where the seller believed there house was worth more than the average market value of homes today because of the work they have done and the time they have spent in the house. It does not necessarily mean it is worth more. But some Realtors are taking listings without regard to the value of the house. I talked to one who knew it was overpriced but told me “that is what the seller wanted me to list it for; and I did not want to lose the listing”. So just because it is listed for a certain amount of money does not mean it is worth it. However; if a Realtor agreed to take the listing overpriced the process of negotiations are going to be tough and tedious task. The seller in their mind have validation that the house is worth more than it actually is because we (Realtors) gave them a listing at their number for the house. Then you go through the negotiation process with the listing agent on your side. I went through process with a buyer recently. The market said the house was worth X amount of dollars and the seller wanted a substantially larger amount of money for the house than what the value was worth. Thus to get to what we felt would be a fair market value of the house based on current sales we offered a substantially low price that was immediately rejected and after a long conversation and some back and forth we finally reached a fair number. But we could tell the sellers were not happy with the negotiations and tried to get more money out of us because they felt we undervalued their house initially. This situation worked out. But I have countless other ones where the buyer has walked away from a house because of the price. During that process I have seen some sell and others not sell; and stay on the market substantially longer than need be.... But you need to know before you negotiate on a house what type of seller you are dealing with. It could have an impact on your negotiations and whether you get the house of your dreams or not. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker united Cell:704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com

Charlotte, NC. Area Housing Stats For July 2013

There is a lot of talk about the housing market in Charlotte, NC. and whether it is improving or if the rise in interest rates are causing the market to slow down and prices to lower. A monthly analysis versus the previous year and two years ago during the same month allows me to compare and see where the trends are and how they are impacting the housing market in Charlotte, NC. Here are the stats for July 2013: First, let's look at inventory of available homes buyers have to choose from in the Charlotte, NC. region. In 2011 there were 24336 homes for sale in July. In 2012 there were 19651 homes for sale in July. Last month there were 15655 homes for sale. That is a decline of 36% in two years of available homes buyers have to choose from. Second, the average sale price of homes in the Charlotte, NC. region for June 2011 was $205,614. In 2012 the average sale price was $204,753 and last month the average sale price was $215707. That is an increase of 5% in the average sale price in the Charlotte, NC. market. Third, let’s look at days in inventory. How long are houses sitting on the market? In 2011 the average home sat on the market for 13.2 months before being sold. In 2012 the number improved to 9.8 months and last month it improved to 6.1 months. That is a dramatic drop in inventory of over 48% in two years. What the trends are showing is that the housing market is out of the recession and available homes for sale have decreased to the lowest levels we have seen in over 5 years coupled with prices slowly creeping back up and more buyers out there than homes available and you have signs of a robust market in Charlotte, NC. If all three factors were trending equally it could be the market fixing itself. But the fact that inventory has declined 25% less than average days on market means we are getting more buyers out there than homes right now and it is starting to cause prices to go up. This has caused prices to increase faster than anticipated. However; in comparison to last couple of months the trend is showing that the housing market has stabilized and some prices are remaining stable for the past few months. Generally this time of the year we start to see home prices slowly decline a little bit as sellers are little more motivated to sell with summer coming to a close and Labor Day coming up. But it looks like the housing market has hit a plateau and we may see slight increases or decreases in pockets of Charlotte but overall it is a stable market right now. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com

How To Check Schools When Searching For A Charlotte, NC. Area Home

In the Charlotte, NC. housing market there are a lot of home buyers that are relocating to the area or looking to buy a home because of a family. One of the most important things I hear from everyone is "How good are the schools in that neighborhood in Charlotte, NC?" or "How Do I find out about the schools in the Charlotte area?" Both questions are valid and when I made the move here eight years ago with my wife and four children that was probably number one on my list when I went looking for a place to live in Charlotte, NC. As a Realtor we are bound by certain ethical issues which preclude us form giving advice one way or the other in regards to the quality of schools or a specific school. What one person may view as a good school another person may not see it that way. In fact I have read over the past few months various reports from reputable news magazines ranking the schools in Charlotte, NC. To prove the point ALL of the different media sources ranging from US news and world report to the wall street journal rated the top five schools differently. In fact all of the top five schools were not even on everyone’s list in a different order. So, as parents looking to move to Charlotte, NC how are you to make an educated decision as to what are is a good school and not a good one? I personally like to look at the facts and numbers and make a decision based on those numbers and let myself construe the numbers as I see fit. In order to do that though I needed to find a way to get the information on how the school performs academically and give me the demographics of the school. I found one website that (in my humble opinion) offers the necessary information you need to make a decision if the school meets your criteria. Visit www.ncreportcard.org. This site will give you information on how the school is performing, class sizes, student enrollment, teacher certification and child safety, for me as a parent these were important factors that I looked into when I was moving to Charlotte, NC. This will help keep your Realtor out of real estate jail and allow you to make an educated decision as to whether the schools are a good fit for you and your family... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Coldwell Banker United Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@cbunited.com www.davedicecco.com