REAL ESTATE IS BACK!!

After several tough years it is refreshing to know the real estate market is getting stronger! Buyers have a sense of urgency when making a decision. Sellers are having more showings and shorter listing times!  Inventory is slimmer and interest rates are still crazy low!

 The well priced home in good condition is selling quickly.  Sellers need to put time and effort into preparing a home for the market because buyers are bringing all their money to the closing and often do not have much left over for renovation and replacement.  Home equity loans seem to be a thing of the past.  Most buyers are willing to do some cosmetic work like painting but immediate renovation of kitchens and bathrooms is often not in the budget.

 The home that is move-in ready, attractive and well staged is the one that takes the immediate contract.  Pricing based on current comparable sold properties in the neighborhood is equally important.  In order to get to the closing table, the property must appraise. 

We are once again seeing multiple offers, urgency in decision making, prices creeping up just a bit and new neighbors on the block.  All good news! 

If you are looking for a good agent contact me if I cannot help you in your area, I will tap into my network of Real Estate Professionals who will find the perfect home or investment property for you...quickly!

Is Professional Staging Necessary to Sell Your Home?

Staging has become one of the new buzz words in Real Estate marketing . Good staging can take a home from acceptable to excellent. The most significant thing a Stager can add to the home is a fresh "model home, up to the minute" look.

One of the issues I am aware of : the way you live in a home and the way you sell a home are two completely different things. We all enjoy our personal taste and our personal treasures, however, if we view the home through the eyes of a potential buyer, our things are often distracting and "too personal".

Everyone looks at decorating magazines and home remodeling shows on HGTV. They set the standard for what is trendy, new and exciting. Few of us change our decorating as often as we change our wardrobes. We get comfortable and enjoy the familiar. Even if we are not crazy about the sky blue bedroom Jimmy slept in for the last ten years before he went to college, it is easy to ignore it or repaint it a boring neutral...off white.

It would have been just as easy and cost the same to choose a new, trendy color for the bedroom and the living room that needed a lift prior to marketing, but who knows what those colors are? That person is the Home Stager. The truth is, in repainting for the marketing process, we tend to once again choose what we like, what goes our ten year old couch, our personal palate or worse, what is safe.

The Home Stager is the person who knows what is fresh and new. Admittedly, it is easier to stage a vacant home, but I have had clients who have been able to integrate their furniture into the Stager's new color scheme with a few new pillows, artwork and the storage of pieces that are distracting. Great photos for the potential buyers perusing the Multiple Listing Service are important. An open mind on the part of the seller is critical, as well as a bit of letting go. In the end, whatever it takes to get from "For Sale to Sold" is the goal.

My dad always said, "You have got to spend money to make money." This marketplace seems to be telling us we are involved in a price war and a beauty contest. Staging provides that bit of an edge, a professional new look and the possibilty of rising to the top of the buyer's "must see list." I have stories and photos that show the difference. I have contracts that prove staging gets the job done!