"How To Sell Your Home in ANY Market"

At the library the other day, I picked up the book by this title where Loren K Keim and his team who have been selling homes for over twenty years, identify 6 reasons a home doesn't sell-and what you can do to fix them. He's spot on for most of his advice. In the Denver metro area today, as in his turf in Philadelphia, many segments of the market are a buyer's market. Actually, in a hot market not every home sells.

Keim's 6 reasons for a home not selling are:
Reason No. 1 Poor Staging---It's remarkable how buyers respond differently to the same floorplan when it's set up to trigger a positive emotional response in the buyers. Buyers fall in love with the lifestyle a home can bring them. Some how your staging needs to help the buyer feel that connection.
Reason No. 2 Incorrect Pricing---Even in a hot market some homes don't sell because of the price. In a buyers market pricing is more sensitive. Some neighborhoods are very elastic in price with huge variations in price based on perceived (and real) differences in the homes. The obvious case is that a trashed home won't sell for as much as an updated home. However, every seller wants to know how much they can push the price for their improvements. Ask your realtor about the showing benchmarks in your neighborhood, so you know what to expect. Be realistic. It's frustrating and tiring and possibly expensive to lose prime selling time because your price places you out of consideration. Some experts suggest 90% of selling a home is pricing it correctly! Shortsales sometimes come into play here, as do lease/options if the seller owes too much and still has to move.
Reason No. 3 Improper Marketing---Market timing, marketing focus, effective marketing systems, and "guerrilla" techniques all apply here. Certain neighborhoods are not active in the winter, others are not active in the summer, if you choose to sell outside these times, the pool of available buyers shrinks and your time on market often increases. Ask your agent who are your likely buyers and how the marketing systems attract those buyers. For the tough sell properties "guerrilla" techniques may be needed. Guerrilla techniques target the buyers in non-traditional methods or with "give-aways" like vacations or appliances or bonuses or seller paid closing costs. In my experience, this can get more folks in the door and raise interest after the pricing is near right.
Reason No. 4 Location-Challenged Properties---What do you think the effect of a busy street or high tension power lines or a business next to a property? Any of these could affect a buyer's perception of the property and limit the number of buyers who will consider the property. In my experience of over a decade selling expired or withdrawn listings, price is affected by these location challenges. Market research can often determine just what the effect is on days on market and price.
Reason No. 5 Functionally Obsolete Properties---Imagine a home with only one bathroom or no central heat. The options for sellers in these cases are monetary-either upgrade the property to sell it at an acceptable standard for area buyers or sell at a discount for an investor or handyman to purchase and bring up to standard.
Reason No. 6 "Nobody is buying in the area"---Keim addresses what may have to happen if buyers are to be found outside the immediate area or cash flow is needed and a lease/option is a fall back position.

The rest of the book gives an overview of the sales process through closing in a generic way. Each state makes its own rules for real estate transactions. Ask your agent for specifics where you live. What is the sales process? Who pays for what? Who are the players? What is the time line? What are the usual tricky spots in a transaction? When do I know my home's sold? When do I move? When do I get my money?

That's the bottom line, right? It's about moving and getting your money from the sale. All the rest is done to get you there in as timely and profitable a fashion as possible. Here's to your smooth move.

Do Homes Sell in Fall and Winter?

Colorado had snow last week and is having shorts weather this week. Fall is truly here. As is the perennial question I hear from folks about real estate, "Do homes sell in Fall and Winter?" The short answer is yes, at a slower rate. In the neighborhoods where investors reign king, the rate barely drops, except at year end. The peak of activity is still in early summer.

The more important question to answer for a savvy buyer or seller is, "What is going on in the neighborhood where I care about the real estate?" Looking at our latest heat map of neighborhoods in the Denver Metro area, I see several healthy neighborhoods, some beginning to feel the declines caused by distressed homes, many seeming to slow the descent or even turn around. The variation is really better measured on a neighborhood level. (If you want a copy of the heat map for your part of town, just contact me with your email and the address or neighborhood, so I can send you your map.)

Another valuable question to answer is, "How fast are homes selling in my area?" The adsorption rate quantifies this and is easy for anyone with the data to calculate. Adsorption rate is how many months it would take at this rate of sales to sell the current inventory. The number is described in terms of "months of supply". Ask your realtor for the adsorption rate. (Here's a more thurough explanation of adsorption rate.) If you're participating in a buyer's or a seller's market your strategy should shift.

There are some other important questions that are purely subjective. Questions around your ability to move, timing around other events in your life, your finances compared to what is needed in the market (a buyer and a seller consideration), and how you choose to position your home in the market as a seller all inform your decision to buy and/or sell.

For first time home buyers wanting to capture the $8000 tax credit, you have to get a home under contract to close by end of November. October is your time to snag the tax credit. Congress may or may not extend this savings.

What Do Buyers Want? 6 Keys

FREE Information Can Save Sellers Thousands, Frayed Tempers, and Lost Time



Many homeowners got caught in the shifting market when they tried unsuccessfully to sell their homes. Others just got "lucky" and sold their homes. But was it really luck? Before starting to sell, consider the six key reasons home buyers chose the homes they did buy in 2008. Put knowledge of their patterns to use for your benefit. The Denver real estate market is shifting again--in many neighborhoods the number of expired and withdrawn homes is dropping and the market is picking up. There is more to selling than just the price war and the beauty contest. Yes, these are 2 of the factors according to a recent National Association of Realtor (NAR) survey. What are the 4 other keys? How do Denver buyers compare to the national norms?

...Find out Denver Buyers' 6 keys to insure your success.

Attend either FREE class:

*Saturday 9/12 from 10am-noon at Your Castle Real Estate conference room, 9085 E Mineral Cir, Englewood, 80112

*Wednesday 9/23 from 6pm-8pm at Jefferson Co Asso. Realtor, 950 Wadsworth Blvd, Lakewood 80214

RSVP here to secure your free materials. For more information call Beth (303-962-4272 x626).

Top 10 Home Staging Tips

Top 10 Home Staging Tips
By Stacey Davis

1. Curb Appeal: Capture potential buyers with a well maintained and inviting 1st impression. From the curb to the door inspect it all.

2. Appeal To All The Senses: Address any odor issues such as, pets, plants, and cooking. Clean and in some places replace problem areas

3. Ageless: By keeping things like appliances, carpet, and paint, buyers view the home as classic instead of “old”.

4. Lights!: Open the shades and turn on the lamps. They want to see what they are buying.

5. White Glove Clean: That means everything…cabinets, doors, baseboards, light switches, etc.

6. Be Ruthless: If you don’t use it, or love it, lose it. Clean out closets, cabinets, counters, and basements. Donate to local charities and receive tax deductions. Then you don’t have to move it.

7. Direct Traffic: Create clear traffic flow with proper furniture placement. Accentuate focal points with stylish accessories, and art.

8. Don’t Leave Them Guessing: Give valuable square footage a purpose. Buyers need to know how to use each room.

9. Fresh Flowers: People love them and remember them.

10. Great Photos: Over 80% of buyers shop online 1st. Have your home professionally staged and entice buyers from the first moment the see your home.

Enticing buyers and adding value to the home
REAL ESTATE STAGING & INTERIORS REDESIGN
303-842-1723
www.StacesSpaces.com

How Do Buyers Choose a Home

Recent NAR survey of home buyes nationwide indicates 7 key factors in chosing the home they bought

Remember the old joke? What are the 3 most important things in real estate? Location, location, location. Not much has changed, even with today's tech savvy buyers who have access to more data than ever before when scouting for their new home. Here are the top seven factors buyers stated they considered when choosing a new home in their recent purchase.

* 74% Neighborhood So yes, location makes a huge difference. To that end, how well are listing agents marketing the benefits of the neighborhood to prospective buyers? When you're buying, how would you describe the neighborhood where you want to live?
* 71% Price Of course, with the largest investment most people make in a lifetime, price matters. As neighborhoods are hammered by sales of distressed properties (short sales, foreclosures, REOs, HUDs, etc.) the average sales prices have decreased the past year or so. Still, in the Denver Metro market several neighborhoods are showing a stabalization of prices and a couple are even experiencing a slight increase in average sales prices!
* 34% Commute With gas prices bouncing around and people often working longer hours, the commute times are becoming an issue. Environmentally conscious people want to decrease their carbon footprint, so decreasing commute time is key to making that happen.
* 32% Schools Parents regularly state that good education is important to them for their children's future. Peceived quality of local schools and proximity to schools can be a huge factor in the decision of which neighborhoods to consider.
* 23% Nearby Friends and Family For many people, it is important to be close to family and friends. Whether it is to help a parent or child or be near like-minded people with whom you spend time, our closest relationships often guide where we consider living.
* 15% Recreation Whether it's proximity to the ball park or concerts or skiing, active adults choose to live where the living is convenient to their life style. People in the Denver Metro area enjoy many local and area parks, excellent recreation centers, professional and amateur sports teams, and commuity activities.
* 13% Shopping From convenient grocery shopping to easy access to boutiques or big box stores, like Costco or Home Depot, local shopping makes a difference for many home buyers. Several neighborhoods are known for their pedestrian-friendly shopping and restaurants which provide gathering places for neighbors.

Which of these do you think are most important to you?

What else was important to you when you bought your home?

I was wondering, how much of the marketing of your home addressed these items?

Let me know! Send your thoughts and comments to me at BethBakerOwens@comcast.net.

Smart Homeowner Videos by David Bach

Want some advice from a real financial advisor with a proven track record. See and hear David Bach share tips on buying and selling homes. Let me know what YOU think!