I was intrigued to write this blog post after I was recently interviewed for a syndicated Real Estate talk radio show. In this fast ever changing market sellers are trying to find that one thing that will make their home stand out and bring in qualified buyers who will make an offer on their home.
So the marketing is working and you are getting buyers to tour your home. You have done everything the Realtor has asked you to do to make sure your home is properly prepared and staged for each and every showing. But, what are the buyers looking at or for when they view your home. And why are they not presenting an offer? it was a question I have given a lot of thought to recently. The fact, is I am currently working with four different buyers in four differnt price ranges. So, I began by asking them what they were looking at in a home when they toured it.
Now, all of my buyers had a "wish list" of what they watned in a home and features that were important to them. Based on that we have narrowed down the selection of homes to a handful on a short list. Yours is among them. What are they looking for in the home when they tour it? The answers might suprise you.
One common demonitor with all my clients was the overall condition of the home. They tend to look to see if the walls need patching, cracks in the ceilings, painting that needs to be done, carpets that may need cleaning and more. But you get the general idea. A large concern for them was when they moved in what work (even cosmetic) would they have to perform on the house.
Depending on the needs of the family another thing they all looked at was how the home was laid out. Was the floor plan one that was conducive for what they wanted and needed in a home. In some cases it might be having a home office area separate from the kids rooms, a kitchen with easy access to the dining area and open to enjoy friends over when they were entertaining. others it was the location of rooms from when you enetered the home.
Another one was the yard. Was the yard large enough for their needs. What did it back up to? Was it private? How was the landscaping of the yard..Did the yard need work or jsut maintenance? All things that my buyers told me influenced their descsion on a home once they viewed it.
Some wanted to know the space of closets....they had a lot of clothes and wanted to make sure there was enough space in the closet for their wardrobes.
How is the neighborhood. Is it safe? Are there children around their kids ages to play with? Is the street busy or quiet? Do the neighbors have large dogs that are barking all the time? Are the homes around it well kept or not cared for?
As you can see what the buyer looks for once they view the home can change dramatically from what they see online. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But, nothing replaces the actual viewing of the proerty. Buyers all have different reasons for choosing a home. And though your home may be priced right and show well it may not be the right fit for that buyer.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
When buying A Home Layout More Important Than Square Footage
I always here from someone looking to purchase a home that I need X amount of bedrooms and X amount of bathrooms. I would also like to have these (insert here) features in the home. In addition it can not be less than X amount square footage.
Well, i agree in the reasoning that rooms, location, and features are and should not be compromised if at all possible. However; doee square footage make that big of a difference in a home? If you are talking about 300 square feet maybe...more than that, it probably will. But you should keep your options open.
Recently , I was showing homes. I had previewed one home a little while earlier and knew the layout was exactly what my buyer wanted in a home. The only problem was the sqaure feet was 250 less than she wanted in a house. We were looking at two additional homes in the same neighborhood so I advised her to at the very least take a look at this home. She agreed reluctantly. (The other two homes were anywhere from 300 to 400 square feet more than this home).
Becasue of the layout of the home and the utlization of the space this home actually fit her needs better than the other two homes which were larger. The many benefits to this were obvious when she walked in and started looking around. The builder had done a maginificent job of maximizing the useable space in the home to it's fullest potential. So, not only is she getting the home she wants with the features she desired; but in less square footage than she thought possible.
The point here is that sometimes with a larger home you have living area that is impractical for your needs or making rooms larger than they need to be to get that desired square footage for the home. And in the end you are paying for more room than you may need, cost you more to heat and cool and chances are the taxes will be greater becasue of the size of the house. So, before you rule out that house becuase you think it is to small....go look at it you may be suprised.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
Well, i agree in the reasoning that rooms, location, and features are and should not be compromised if at all possible. However; doee square footage make that big of a difference in a home? If you are talking about 300 square feet maybe...more than that, it probably will. But you should keep your options open.
Recently , I was showing homes. I had previewed one home a little while earlier and knew the layout was exactly what my buyer wanted in a home. The only problem was the sqaure feet was 250 less than she wanted in a house. We were looking at two additional homes in the same neighborhood so I advised her to at the very least take a look at this home. She agreed reluctantly. (The other two homes were anywhere from 300 to 400 square feet more than this home).
Becasue of the layout of the home and the utlization of the space this home actually fit her needs better than the other two homes which were larger. The many benefits to this were obvious when she walked in and started looking around. The builder had done a maginificent job of maximizing the useable space in the home to it's fullest potential. So, not only is she getting the home she wants with the features she desired; but in less square footage than she thought possible.
The point here is that sometimes with a larger home you have living area that is impractical for your needs or making rooms larger than they need to be to get that desired square footage for the home. And in the end you are paying for more room than you may need, cost you more to heat and cool and chances are the taxes will be greater becasue of the size of the house. So, before you rule out that house becuase you think it is to small....go look at it you may be suprised.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
brightmoor Subdvison Matthews, NC. Market Report Sept. 2010
Historically this is the time of the year that home sales start to see a slight drop. The summer is over and families tried to find a house and move while the children were out of school. As I approach the fall season I am pleased with the record low interest rates. In doing some research, I found that NEVER before have rates been this low for a mortgage.
Brightmoor Subdivsion is a large community in Matthews, NC. It has the tree lined streets, 2 community pools, playground and walking trail. It is conviently located to major highways and shopping. Below is an analysis of the current market conditions and the trends ov er the past three years. In an ideal situation we would have six months of inventory on the market. That is considered a balanced market. More homes than that supply favors a buyer. Less homes favor a seller.
3 years ago there were 18 homes that sold for an average sale price of $233,379. They were on the market for an average of 38 days.
2 years ago there were 18 homes that sold for an average sale price of $211,181. They were on the market for an average of 39 days.
Last year there were 10 homes that sold for an average sale price of $194,400. they were on the market for an average of 91 days.
Currently there are 12 homes active on the market in Brightmoor right now. There are an additional 2 homes that are under contract but have not closed yet. Based on the last 3 years there is a little less than a year supply of homes on the market currently.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
Brightmoor Subdivsion is a large community in Matthews, NC. It has the tree lined streets, 2 community pools, playground and walking trail. It is conviently located to major highways and shopping. Below is an analysis of the current market conditions and the trends ov er the past three years. In an ideal situation we would have six months of inventory on the market. That is considered a balanced market. More homes than that supply favors a buyer. Less homes favor a seller.
3 years ago there were 18 homes that sold for an average sale price of $233,379. They were on the market for an average of 38 days.
2 years ago there were 18 homes that sold for an average sale price of $211,181. They were on the market for an average of 39 days.
Last year there were 10 homes that sold for an average sale price of $194,400. they were on the market for an average of 91 days.
Currently there are 12 homes active on the market in Brightmoor right now. There are an additional 2 homes that are under contract but have not closed yet. Based on the last 3 years there is a little less than a year supply of homes on the market currently.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
Monday, September 13, 2010
Crestdale Crossing Matthews, NC. Market Report September 2010
The housing market is in such a flux right now that you almost could daily write about the changes that are happening. No two people can seem to agree on whether the hosuing market is stabilizing, gettign better or worse. One factor though that has always remained a staple for how home prices are doing is market supply.
In Matthews, NC. there is a little subdivison (approximately 110 homes) that offers a lot of home for a young family. In past reprots I have written about this subdivsion it has weathered the storm of falling home prices rather well. The ideal situation is to have a six month supply of homes. that is considered a balanced inventory. It does not favor the seller or the buyer. Swing one way or the other and the advantage swings with it.
So, three years ago from September 2007 to September 2008 14 homes sold for an average sale price of $129,057. it took on average 35 days for these homes to sell.
Two years ago there were 2 sales at an average sale price of $110,250. they were on the market for an average for only 14 days.
Last year there were 6 sales for an average sale price of $129,600. They were on the market for an average of 42 days.
Currently there are 3 homes on the market right now for an average asking price of $121,300. they ahve been on the market for an average of 102 days.
Based on the last 3 years of sales averaged out the subdivison sells an average of 7.3 per year. So, with 3 on the market currenelty it is slighly favoring a seller market in here. However; the days on the market has dramatically increased from previous years making it a more balanced market.
So, though Matthews, NC. and most of the country has seen a dramatic decrease in prices...this little quiet family oriented subdivsion of Matthews, NC. has been very stable in it's sale prices.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
In Matthews, NC. there is a little subdivison (approximately 110 homes) that offers a lot of home for a young family. In past reprots I have written about this subdivsion it has weathered the storm of falling home prices rather well. The ideal situation is to have a six month supply of homes. that is considered a balanced inventory. It does not favor the seller or the buyer. Swing one way or the other and the advantage swings with it.
So, three years ago from September 2007 to September 2008 14 homes sold for an average sale price of $129,057. it took on average 35 days for these homes to sell.
Two years ago there were 2 sales at an average sale price of $110,250. they were on the market for an average for only 14 days.
Last year there were 6 sales for an average sale price of $129,600. They were on the market for an average of 42 days.
Currently there are 3 homes on the market right now for an average asking price of $121,300. they ahve been on the market for an average of 102 days.
Based on the last 3 years of sales averaged out the subdivison sells an average of 7.3 per year. So, with 3 on the market currenelty it is slighly favoring a seller market in here. However; the days on the market has dramatically increased from previous years making it a more balanced market.
So, though Matthews, NC. and most of the country has seen a dramatic decrease in prices...this little quiet family oriented subdivsion of Matthews, NC. has been very stable in it's sale prices.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
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