3 Reasons to List Home with a Local Agent

When it comes to selling, though, it's quite a bit tougher, especially on today's tough-to-sell market where pricing and marketing nuances (along with vendor, lender and inspector relationships, and contacts with buyer's brokers and buyers themselves) are crucial to get homes sold.

Before we get into the details of what a local specialist has that another agent might not, though, I do want to say this: I don't know your local market, but in many areas of the country even the most local, smartest, most aggressive, best-marketing listing agent might not be able to move a home in five months or less. Frankly, the best agent cannot move an overpriced or poorly prepared home.

And the fact is that nonlocal, specialist agents do provide sound advice on pricing, preparation, marketing and strategy to sellers every single day across the country. So, while a local-area specialist might have a leg up on another agent based on relationships and insider knowledge, that is no guarantee that he or she will be superior to the agent you have right now.

So, before you go through the upheaval of finding another agent, ask yourself:

• Do the challenges you have with your current agent actually have anything to do with her relative "outsider-dom"?
• Has your current agent given you any advice on getting your home sold that you have failed to follow (i.e., cut the price, clear the clutter, hire a stager, etc.)?

If you are not following your current agent's advice, then you should think twice before firing her because your home hasn't sold. Hiring another agent will not resolve your problem if your home is still overpriced or underprepared.

So, assuming you are willing to do everything within your power to price and prepare your home fairly, here are some of the considerations that tilt my general opinion in favor of a local listing agent vs. an agent from outside the area:

1. Local agents may have insider marketing knowledge. In certain neighborhoods in my town, for example, the standard practice is to:

• List a home midweek.
• Hold it open for brokers only on Thursday -- and advertise those on agent-only fliers.
• Not allow it to be shown otherwise until the Sunday open house.
• Hold it open for two Sundays.
• Take offers the Tuesday or Wednesday following the second open house.

Agents from surrounding areas could probably guess at some but not all of these things, but often they don't. And that lack of insider knowledge might actually prevent out-of-the-area agents from getting the fullest exposure for their listings.

For example, if you just took the first offer that came in, you might forgo the offer of a local buyer who was expecting to have two weekends to get to the place.

2. Local agents may have relationships outsiders don't. They may know the other agents in town, and be able to market the property to them casually, as they run into them in the grocery store or at local meetings, in a way that (a) works and (b) an agent from outside the area cannot. They also will have the built-in marketing channel of being able to market to agents inside their own office -- not to mention the buyers they represent.

Finally, local agents might know the inspectors, appraisers, even lenders (i.e., all the pros who have to work together to close a deal) and have a relationship of trust with them that a stranger does not.

And that includes being able to find contractors or other vendors who will do repair work at better prices or on better terms than they would offer to a stranger.

3. Local agents might have a leg up on pricing. Possibly the strongest argument for working with a local listing agent is that they know what local buyers want, care about and deprioritize. That means they understand local pricing nuances better, having worked with local buyers, and having viewed and/or sold recent homes nearby.

You don't have to have been in the market long to understand that photos can be misleading and that location nuances weigh heavily on the prices that buyers are willing to pay, so the history of having actually been to and inside the comparable sold listings -- rather than just having seen them online, can be critically important to understanding how comparable they are to your home, and how your home should be priced accordingly.

Homes for Sale San Ramon CA Real Estate Weekly Market Report March 11, 2012

This weekly San Ramon CA Real Estate “dashboard” summarizes: homes for sale in San Ramon CA from Sunday March 4, 2012 through Saturday February 25, 2012. Included are homes: that were listed; that went under contract (pending); and homes sold in San Ramon CA (closed escrow). Also shown are San Ramon CA Real Estate monthly trends for homes listed, pending and sold, and year to date totals for single family and attached homes sold.

Homes for Sale in San Ramon CA Newest Listing

Shown below is the newest listing of homes for sale in San Ramon CA as of March 11, 2012.

Showing property 1 of 123. See more city of San Ramon real estate.
(all data current as of 3/11/2012)

1. $545,000 : 104 CASTLETON COURT, SAN RAMON
   
   3 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,534 sq ft

   Year built: 1979

   Parking spots: 2

   Days on market: 1

Click here to see the full report San Ramon CA Real Estate Weekly Review March 11, 2012

Click here to create your own search for Homes for sale in San Ramon CA

*Based on information from the Contra Costa Association of REALTORs® Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Display of MLS data is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed accurate by the MLS.

Homes for Sale San Ramon CA Real Estate Weekly Market Report March 11, 2012

Homes for Sale Danville CA Real Estate Weekly Market Report March 11, 2012

This weekly Danville CA Real Estate “dashboard” summarizes: homes for sale in Danville CA from Sunday March 4, 2012 through Saturday March 10, 2012. Included are homes: that were listed; that went under contract (pending); and homes sold in Danville CA (closed escrow). Also shown are Danville CA Real Estate monthly trends for homes listed, pending and sold, and year to date totals for single family and attached homes sold.

Homes for Sale in Danville CA Newest Listing

Shown below is the newest listing of homes for sale in Danville CA as of March 11, 2012.

Showing property 1 of 134. See more city of Danville real estate.
(all data current as of 3/11/2012)

1. $865,000 : 257 CONIFER TER, DANVILLE
   
   3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 2,663 sq ft

   Lot size: 6,840 sq ft

   Year built: 1985

   Parking spots: 2

   Days on market: 2

Click here to see the full report Danville CA Real Estate Weekly Review March 11, 2012.

Click here to create your own search for homes for sale in Danville CA

*Based on information from the Contra Costa Association of REALTORs® Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Display of MLS data is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed accurate by the MLS.

Homes for Sale Danville CA Real Estate Weekly Market Report March 11, 2012

San Ramon Home Sales activity is brisk with 84 new listings on the market during February 2012 and 36 closed sales. All total there are 101 homes for sale in San Ramon ranging in price from $412,000 to $1,899,000. Based on the current listings, the San Ramon inventory of homes if no more were listed, would be depleted in 1.36 months. Demand for San Ramon homes is extremely high.

Here is a recap of the February 2012 numbers and the year to date numbers for homes sales activity in San Ramon.

San Ramon Home Sales Activity by Price Range

As the numbers show, the most active price points are the homes in the $600,000 to $899,000 range.

Here is a breakdown by Zip Code of San Ramon Homes Sold

The 94582 zip code are all homes east of Alcosta Blvd where most homes prices are in the $700,000 plus range, therefore we would expect to see a higher average sales price.

The San Ramon real estate market trend looks positive with the median home prices up 4% and with so little inventory, we anticipate a slight rise in prices for the remainder of the year.

Buying or selling in San Ramon --Linda Urbick 925-415-3046

Janson's Greatest Day of Baseball!

What made Janson's Baseball Jamboree such a great day? Did he make a fantastic play, have a home run, score a run? No to all of these!

Janson did squeak out one little hit, but nothing more remarkable; unless you want to count 4 strike outs.

But as a dad something very special happened today. I always tell my kids to work hard and apply themselves. That effort is more important than talent. Sports is a way of teaching life lessons.

Normally he has to be forced to practice with me. He doesn't want to put in any extra effort. He is distracted and spends a lot of time playing in the dirt rather than watching the game.

But last night Janson came and asked me if I would take him early so he could practice his batting! I was thrilled. During the game he tried hard to pay attention. He was distracted here and there, but he moved on every ball hit. Nothing got by him (nothing came to him), but he ran towards the ball when every it was near him.

After the game driving home he asked me what prioritize are!! From a 7 year old! Then he asked me what my prioritize where. I told him God, My Family, and humanity. Then I explained that different people have different gifts and abilities and what we need to do is search out what God wants from us and do the best we can towards that end.

He shared his some of his dreams with me and his goal of being a baseball star.

As a dad to hear my son finally starting to get it and having a goal and a vision for himself was really touching.

I don't know if he will be a Baseball Star, but I know he will be a Star at something.