Selling Your Home In A Down Real Estate Market

It’s no secret that the real estate market is headed for a soft landing. No longer can we expect the wonderful appreciation in home prices that we saw between 2004 and 2005. If your house is on the market then you need to do everything in your power to position your home in a better light than the dozens and dozens of other ones just like yours out there competing for buyers.

Design To Sell -Low Cost – High Impact

Keep your home clean and smelling fresh. Buyers are in control of the real estate market now and they have plenty of homes to choose from – so you can avoid losing a potential buyer by simply keeping your home tidy. I’ve been to several open houses over the last few weekends and I’ve seen buyers turn around and walk right back out of a condominium that was, to put it gently, worse for wear. The smell of left over pizza and kitty litter didn’t help either. The condo was priced below market value, was on the beach and had quite a few nice amenities but buyers weren’t going to waste their time – one look and one sniff and they were on to the next home on their list.

Design To Sell – Moderate Cost – High Impact

Fresh Paint and Deep Cleaned Floors. Two relatively small changes that can really make a difference. Scuffed walls covered with your toddlers artwork isn’t going to win over buyers. A weekend and a few gallons of paint will make your home look “newer”. Buyers aren’t looking for fixer-uppers – there are so many homes on the market that they can pick and choose and STILL get a really good price. If you have carpet then get it deep cleaned by a service such as Sears or Stanley Steamer – it may seem pricey up front but it will more than pay for itself in the long term. Buyers in today’s market will be keeping a list of all that is wrong with your property and they will bring it to the bargaining table – to reduce your asking price. It’s your job to anticipate and address your property’s short-comings and by doing so you will better position your property against other like properties.
Design To Sell -High Cost – High Impact

Bathroom or Kitchen Remodel. Aside from the monetary expense associated with a remodel you will also have to consider the time expense. Remember that we are in a down market and the longer you take to get your property ready for prime time the harder it will become to sell as more properties enter the market and non-selling properties begin to reduce their prices. In this case – you may want to either reduce your asking price or add a suitable “Decorating Allowance” for the new owners to update the bathroom and/or kitchen.
If you aren’t sure what to do with your property then enlist the aid of your realtor – they have a vested interest in selling your property. Therefore, they will give you tips and advice as to what changes or fixes will give you the most bang for your buck.

RELATED: Decorating Tips for the Home Seller

Selling Your Home? 9 Tips From A Pro-Blogger

Yes, I am suggesting that you go read a home staging / real estate staging post on an internet marketing blog. I love to read ProBlogger by Darren Rowse and I’ve learned quite a bit from him on marketing my blogs and today I truly believe you will learn something new that you can use as you prepare your home for sale.

Trust me you will find Darren Rowse “9 Lessons You Can Learn about Blogging By Watching Me Sell My House” enlightening. I enjoyed reading the post and it opened my mind to other possibilities that would never have presented themselves on a design blog or even a real estate blog. For example, Darren writes:

2. Tell a Story, not just the Facts

One of the theories that I’ve been testing with the marketing of our house is to appeal not just to the head of buyers but the heart. I’ve pushed for the ads in local papers and the copy used to not just present facts but to appeal to emotion and the heart. We also added a few ‘heart’ and ’story’ elements to the way we’ve presented the house during opens for inspections by writing a short brochure for prospective buyers on why we’ve enjoyed living in this house… (get the rest of the story at problogger, enjoy )

HGTV “Bought & Sold” May 20th Episode

The May 20th “Bought & Sold” episode will feature “home staging” expert Linda Russell who also happens to be a realtor and a member of the “Bought & Sold” cast. I think it would be worth watching for those of you who have homes on the market.

Here’s more info- “Bought & Sold” May 20th show

HGTV’s Bought & Sold

Recently I was contacted by a public relations representative for Home and Garden Television to let me know about their new television show “Bought and Sold”. The ‘Bought and Sold” show for those of you who may be unfamiliar with it is a show which follows the trials and tribulations of realtors. Of course the show isn’t a completely new concept as other “home” networks have created similar type shows with some slight twist but the show’s promos seemed interesting enough so I told the representative that I would record the show since I was going to be out of town and watch it when I returned.

When I returned from my trip I watched the first episode of “Bought and Sold” and found that aside from the brilliant use of creative visual merchandising and marketing by the multi-million dollar listing agent Sam Joseph who had worked as Creative Vice President at Macy’s, the rest of the show was dull, predicatable and dated – showing a market that appears to be pre-housing bubble bust. I had no intention of watching a second episode because the first episode had failed to impress. However, here comes the “big but” I decided to hang in there and watch the second episode in the series – again based on the interesting promo teaser and my husband telling me that I should at least give it a second chance .

I watched the second episode this last weekend and was engaged from the beginning of the show until the very end. I really enjoyed the segments with Joanna and Jodi and their interactions with the soon to be divorced couple that had decided to sell their family home. The show showed it’s heart and I think that if it can continue with another episode consistent with the second one then the show will develop a wonderful following.

“Bought and Sold” can be an entertaing reality realty show (yeah – I know based on one pretty good show and hoping the rest are as interesting…) that helps outsiders get an insiders view of the real estate market, the agents and their interactions with each other as well as their clients. As previously noted, the show is entertaining for a reality show BUT don’t expect to learn many great “Design to Sell” tidbits or home staging tips – I’d stick with The Decorating Diva favorite “Design to Sell” (with the superb Lisa Laporta) or if you’re into house flipping then any of the “Flip this House” shows. I also like “Buy Me” which is the buyers version of “Bought and Sold”.

I will watch upcoming episodes and update my opinion of the show as it progresses.

Quick Side Note: I mentioned earlier that “Bought and Sold” appeared to be dated prior to the housing bust but to be honest almost (probably all realty shows) are now dated. My husband and I joke that once the “house flipping” shows make there way to television then it’s time to sell your flip property fast cause the markets going down. Just an observation

The Most Expensive Real Estate Markets

Forbes reports:

[That] Essex County, which lies north of Boston and comprises a host of waterfront locales, topped off the ranking. With the idyllic views come high living costs and expensive real estate. “We saw a lot of waterfront property being bought and smaller homes being torn down and replaced by million dollar mansions during the dot-com boom,” explains Sara Young, economic development manager at the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce. “Now you’ll find a lot of those homes on the market, and they aren’t selling because nobody can afford them anymore.”

The recent increase in inventory has caused the median home prices in Essex County to drop slightly, from $380,000 in the first quarter of 2005 to $373,750 in the first quarter of 2006, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. But that’s not enough to make real estate a steal.

Another surprise newcomer to the list: Tucson, Ariz. Though our data shows that job growth is healthy, salaries don’t seem to be keeping up with the high living costs. And while housing prices may still be low compared with the hottest areas of the country, the housing boom pushed them up considerably, according to the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

San Jose, San Francisco and New York are all repeat offenders, having landed on our list for four consecutive years. Because we’ve improved our methodology this year, it’s difficult to make a direct comparison with prior lists.

But we do know that the three metros rank poorly in everything except the average salary ranking, where they place first, second and third, respectively. Many would argue that such places offer tremendous lifestyle benefits–among them, high culture and active nightlife. But such things are hard to afford–much less enjoy–when basic living costs are so high. While there is no dearth of wealth in those areas, ordinary folk may be squeezed.

The tropical paradise of Honolulu landed in the fourth-place spot. There’s no question it’s a great place to visit, be it for a week-long trip or to a second home, but residents feel the burn in their wallets. Honolulu fall in the bottom quartile when it comes to housing affordability, income and cost of living. (more at Forbes.com)

An Amazing Property For Sale

TMZ has the news that Candy Spelling (Aaron Spelling’s widow) has decided to quietly shop her luxe home. The asking price? $150 Million. Here’s the available property information:

Sources in the real estate industry say Westside Estate Agency (WEA)  has a pocket listing on the 56,000 square foot estate, meaning it is quietly being shopped among realtors and select buyers. The mansion, located in the exclusive Holmby Hills area of L.A., was completed in 1991 for around $47 million, which includes $10 million for the land.

Something tells me that Mrs. Spelling will have no problem selling her home or having to worry about staging her home to sell it fast