What Rooms Are Important To Selling Your Charlotte, NC. Home?

Recently I have been getting a lot of questions form potential home sellers about what to do to get their home ready to go on the market after the holiday. One question that keeps coming up in the discussions are what rooms are people looking for today in buying homes and what do I have to do to get those rooms ready. I started thinking about the questions and though I have some generalities of what I have heard home buyers want and need in a house; I decided to ask fellow agents what they thought and what feedback they were getting form buyers on what rooms were important to them to when buying a house. The number one room we all agreed upon is the kitchen. First and foremost this seems to be the room that all home buyers gravitate toward. Be it the wife or the husband; there is one or both of them that like to cook and this room seems to be a make or break deal for a lot of home buyers. Now depending on the size of the house the space in the kitchen is going to be subjective. But it should be proportionate to the house. I looked at a 3000+ square foot house with a couple a few months ago and the one thing that caught me when we were walking through the house was the small size of the kitchen in relation to the rest of the house. They noticed the same thing and even though they loved the flow of the house and everything else about it the kitchen was a deal breaker for them on that particular house. Regardless of the size of the house one common factor I heard from buyers this past year was plenty of cabinet space and a pantry in the kitchen. This was a big deal as was countertop space. AS we are slowly becoming more of a society trying to get away form fast food and more time at home eating together the kitchen has become more prevalent now... Another thing about the kitchen was the location and openness of it. Was it centrally located for entertaining and could it have people in there without each other walking over one another? I know having four kids on the weekends when my wife is cooking this room is the most utilized room in the house. If your kitchen looks old and dated it may be time for a facelift to it. You would be amazed what fresh paint and refinishing of cabinets can do to a kitchen as well as new stainless steel appliances. It can make the whole kitchen a different room...and help sell the house. The other room I am hearing more and more about is the family room. Home buyers are looking for a room that they can sit down as a family together and watch TV, a movie, or just hang out. The space in that room seems to be just as important as the kitchen to prospective home buyers. They want to know they can get their furniture in there or that the room will be large enough for everyone to sit and enjoy time together..... If you have a family room/living room make sure it is de-cluttered. The less items in there the better. You need couches and chairs to sit on but try to minimalize the unnecessary furniture and toys so that the room shows off the true size and not make it look smaller than it really is. The last room I hear people looking for a decent size in is the master bedroom. Though this room is not as high a priority it still ranks up there with a lot of home buyers. And one common factor seems to be whether the room is large enough to have a king sized bed and their dressers in the room. it seems that every master bedroom I walk into when showing homes that is the first thing I hear coming out of the buyers mouths if the room does not have one or "look this has a king sized bed in it". The room does not need to be flashy but should have ample size to fit a king sized bed. As time goes on taste and needs and wants change. It seems that the buyers of today are looking for nice kitchens with a good sized family room and a master bedroom they can fit their king sized bed. Now there are always going to be other criteria for buyers and not everyone fits in the same mold. But if you are looking to sell your house and thinking of what you can do to help it sell or get it ready to put on the market; these would be the three rooms I would start with... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com

Charlotte, NC. Ranked 16th For Housing Markets Heading Into 2014

Charlotte, NC. has always been a great destination among people looking to move to the area. Charlotte offers a well-diversified economic pool of jobs, great weather and affordable housing. Recent studies done by Price waterhouse and Moody's add credibility to those claims. According to price waterhouse Charlotte, NC. Is ranked as the 16th best housing market heading into 2014. This bodes well for investors and home sellers as well as home buyers. Construction is on the upswing and the economy is improving with an unemployment rate that is decreasing every month as the population continues to grow. The statistics say that new permits (what builders pull for new construction to build a house) are expected to rise by over 30% in 2014. That means that builders are getting a lot higher demand for their homes and just do not build homes to have them sit in inventory. But the contrary; they build as they sell them. This means more people are building homes and the growth is expected to carry into 2014. Part of it is because of the lack of inventory out there for homes. Charlotte, NC. has seen a dramatic decrease in available inventory out there for homes and the choices are getting slimmer every day. If those people do not put homes on the market the buyers are left with looking at new construction as an alternative to a resale house.... This is coupled with the fact that because of the large growth in the service sector, healthcare, and being the second largest banking center in the United States our growth in terms of population has exceeded expectations while unemployment has gone down. Meaning more people are moving into the Charlotte area; but we are creating more jobs at a faster pace than the growth of the city. Both great indicators of an economy improving. Also, based on demographics Charlotte area has the second highest projected growth in the population of people age 20-34 over the next five years at over 15%. This is great news for the housing market as people need places to live. And as rent prices increase because of demand it makes buying a more affordable option for most people. Moody's projects Charlotte housing market to improve because of the relatively high foreclosure inventory has declined rapidly, alleviating the downward spiral on housing prices. Despite concern that rising interest rate would potentially slow the housing market, interest rates are still low by historical standards. But most importantly, according to Moody's, is the expansion of the population growth coupled with business expansion increasing demand for housing in the Charlotte, NC market for the long term. Over the past 5 years Charlotte, NC. population growth was the 13th fastest in the country while unemployment remained steady or decreased over the same period. Based on these two reputable third party endorsements it appears the housing market in Charlotte, NC. is seeing an upswing and that the upswing will continue into much of 2014 and beyond. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com

Should You Put Your House on The Market During The Holiday's?

A lot of home owners after Thanksgiving if there home has not sold will take it off the market and consider putting it back on in the spring selling season around March or April. But is that always the right thing to do? Buyers are buying homes 12 months out of the year. In the Charlotte, NC. area the housing market is not as drastically affected by weather as other parts of the country are. We do not have to deal with the extreme cold or snow like our counterparts in the North and west do... Now there are two thoughts to the process of taking your home off the market for the holiday period and relisting it in the spring. The first one is that you do not want to be bothered by showings during this time and it is an inconvenience to keep your home up for showings during the holidays. Also, who is out there really looking at houses now? Everyone is usually too busy with the holidays and family gatherings to go out and look at homes. So no one is going to come out and look at my house anyway. The second thought is buyers are always buying homes and by leaving mine on the market I have less competition and less showings but more serious buyers looking to buy a house. So, it is to my advantage to leave it on for those serious buyers who want to buy and need to buy a home before the spring market. In reality both answers are true. The holiday's do make it tough to maintain your home in a show condition and with the trees barren and it getting dark earlier the time for showings tends to be smaller as people want to look at a house they can see during the day. Also, people do have holiday and family gatherings on their plates right now. But also serious buyers who either have to move or are wanting to take advantage of the winter market to avoid bidding wars are out looking at homes also. In fact this time of the year for me is the second busiest season for me after the spring market. For out of state buyers this is the ideal time to move when the kids are on Christmas break and they can start the New Year off in a new place. Also, buyers are always looking for homes and if the right one comes along they will buy....With the internet being so prevalent now buyers do not have to go out and look at homes physically first. They can view them online in the comforts of their home on the computers or phones....And they are looking. Searches for homes tends to increase now as well after the beginning of the school year lull as stats have shown. But the biggest advantage to putting a house on now versus later is less competition. It is no secret that there are fewer homes for sale in the winter months than there are in the spring season. Less competition usually means a seller can get a good price for their house and not have to worry about the neighbor lowering their price to below market value to just sell it. However; if the holidays are to hectic for you to list your home then consider right after the first of the year. Most people wait until March or April to list their homes. By putting it on the market after the first of the year you still get a head start on the spring sellers and buyers are out looking in a little more aggressively since they are now thinking of tax returns as down payment to help them stop renting and buy a house. Everyone situation is different and with there really not being a wrong answer to put your home on or not....It comes down to your family and what is best for you. But waiting to the spring can have a negative effect on your selling of your home and not getting what you want for it because of the competition versus selling now or in January or February. Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker Helen Adams Realty Cell: 704-519-7895 ddicecco@helenadamsrealty.com www.davedicecco.com