About Sumter County, SC

Today, I was out and about showing buyers homes. I have to admit, in the middle of showing these homes I was thinking about writing a blog! I should be focusing on finding the home for my client and I am thinking I need to go home and write about what I was seeing and experiencing.

First, if you want to sell your home. DECLUTTER! Squeezing through between furniture is not appealing to a perspective home buyer. Seeing every surface full of candles, books, magazines, clothes and other personal items does not appeal to that home buyer either.

Second CLEAN, CLEAN and then CLEAN some more. Dust moldings, clean the cold air return and change the filter, dust the ceiling fans, remove the collection of stuff from light fixture covers, dust the light bulbs (yes, it does make the house brighter), clean the carpets before marketing, wash down the cabinets, clean the track for your shower door, polish the kitchen sink, scrub the hardwoods and vinyl, pressure wash the exterior of the home including the concrete and then walk through your house room by room and LOOK! Start at the doorway, look around the ceiling, then start looking down the walls and around the floor, if you see anything wrong take care of it because the buyers will see it too.

Third, if you want to sell your home vacate! No I don't mean move out, I mean if you know there will be an agent bringing a potential client, LEAVE!!!! I understand this might be an inconvenience, but so will making a house payment if you have to relocate before selling your home. Having the seller at the home during a showing makes the buyers feel very uncomfortable. If the buyers are uncomfortable they will never be able to "feel" the house and get that connection. Yes, you answered the door and felt ackward too so why not step out for a few minutes and give your home the best chance.

Forth, secure your home, PLEASE! Today I walked through two homes that had money, yes, cash, dollar bills laying around!!!! Yes, we screen potential buyers and we try to walk through every room with them, but this doesn't mean we are watching them every second. You have strangers walking through your home, please protect yourself and put valuable away. This lists includes not only money, but jewelry, prescription drugs, guns and other items of value.

Yes, as Sumter, SC Realtors®, we are trying our best to sell your home and to protect your property when we show your home. Please cooperate with us and prepare your home for sale and protect your family.

I was inspired to start blogging on the Sumter, SC Real Estate Market by a report I heard on the TODAY show and by a potential out-of-town client. The national media has done a wonderful job of convincing buyers and sellers that the real estate market is the same anywhere in the United States. This has proven to be untrue not only in Sumter, but also in many other areas across the country.

Yes, Sumter has entered into a buyers' market, but we are not seeing drastic price cuts like many areas of the country. It is very easy to understand how we went into a buyers market when you look at the actual numbers and the charts of these numbers. Homes going on the market for sale are outpacing sales at a phenomenal rate in Sumter County.

With the close December, we found that 90 units closed during the month. That brought the total units sold for 2007 to 1492. This puts 2007 between 2004 and 2005 numbers for units sold.

Units Sold Year to Date

Homes are still selling at a good pace in Sumter, but when you look at the inventory of available homes that are listed in the Multiple Listing Service® for sale; the answer to all the "For Sale" signs in yards becomes very clear.

December proved to be a month with a large number of homes coming onto the market. 189 homes were listed for sale during December. Only November (150 listings), March (187 listings) and April (188 listings) had fewer listings. Below is the chart showing the number of listings by month during 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

While 2006 and 2007 both show significant increases in listings over the prior two year. New listings by month during 2007 outpaced every prior year with the exception of two months!!!! When you look at listings as a total over the year, you can see how the extra listings added up so quickly in 2007. Below is the updated chart for the number of homes listed year to date.

New Listings By Year

In 2007, we had an increase of 46% more homes listed than during 2005. But we saw a decrease in units sold of 4.7%. The final result for 2007 is 950 more homes were listed than were sold during 2007!

When comparing list price to sold price, on average homes sold for 96.75% of their list price. Most Realtors® in Sumter would agree that we have seen appreciation level out over the past year, but we are not seeing the drastic reduction in pricing that some areas in the country are seeing. Again, there are some areas with falling prices, but they are local markets.

For buyers, it is an excellent time to be out looking for your next home. Interest rates are still low and the inventory is high. If you are selling, your home needs to be in top notch shape and ready to show at a moments notice. Yes, the bargaining might be tougher than it was a few years ago, but when you purchase your next home, you will also get to negotiate more on it.

(c) 2007 Kim Peasley-Parker, All Rights Reserved

2007 Wintergreen Market Statistics

Total Homes Sold:34

Square Footage: 1500- 2034

Price Range: $129,900 - $179,250

Listed below is a break down of the number of homes sold each month.

For more details about the Wintergreen Real Estate market, please contact me at kpeasley@ftc-i.net. I can provide more details about the homes sold in Wintergreen during 2007 and the current market in Wintergreen and the surrounding area.

Kim Peasley-Parker

The AgentOwned Company

Wintergreen Subdivision - is located off from 378/76 on the west side of Sumter. Wintergreen is located adjacent to Shaw Air Force Base and Shaw Memorial Park. Shaw's main gate is 5 minutes away and restaurants and shopping are 5-10 minutes away depending on traffic.

Home Sizes: 1470 sq ft to 2134 sq. ft.

Bedrooms: 3 or 4

Baths: 2+

Garage: 2 Car enclosed

Exterior: Brick with Vinyl Trim

Streets: Curbs and gutters

Age of Homes: 2001-2007 (some lots available)

District: 02, Oakland, Shaw, Hillcrest and Crestwood

Water and Sewer: High Hills Water serves Wintergreen and each residence has a private septic tank

Lot size: Standard lot size is approximately +/- .46 acres with several larger lots in various areas.

Taxes: Phase 1 is located in Sumter County. Phase II is located within city limits and has Sumter Police and Fire Protection as well as curb side trash and recycling collection.

How and where is your home going to be marketed? Will it only be in the MLS for other agents to see. Is it only going to appear in the newspaper? Will we only have a sign in the yard. Is your Home getting the viewings it deserves? How are buyers learning of your property? Will my agent take tons of photos? Does your agent have his/her own web site to show case these photos? Will he/she post it all over the web? Are we only going to market it to buyers that are in town? Are we aggressively marketing on the web?

These are real questions that need to be discussed as you consider marketing your home. Your agent should be willing to spend a lot of time answering these questions and others. The sale of your home will depend on the answers to these questions and how thorough the agent is in marketing your home.

What publications and how will your home be advertised depends on you and your decisions. Advertising is a very costly venture and is a very limiting factor for most agents. You will need to discuss the overall advertising scheme to determine the best route to take. Consider the budget you and your agent agree upon (commissions). Good marketing will work well for you, but a minimalistic approach is like shooting yourself in the foot! How is your home going to get the proper advertising it deserves in a market such as this, if the commission you have agreed on is too low? Discounting the commission to gain your business is not always the answer. SELLER BEWARE!! The real estate firm you choose will have their advertising set for your market, but the real question is, what is your agent doing on top of that? What are they are doing (or not) to separate themselves from the pack to sell your home? My suggestion is to consider paying more of an commission based on the publications and web sites your home will be listed on. Also, depending on how much more you are willing to pay, consider paying more in the co-brokerage fees as well. If your home is only going to be placed in your local MLS, by paying more in the co-brokerage fees, your home will gain more attention by the other agents in your area. Face it, it is a highly competitive business between agencies and agents. If you or your agent have cut deeply into their budget in way of reduced commissions then you have severely limited the advertising they can do on your behalf!

If you are only counting on the sign in the yard and an ad in the paper, you are likely to get calls from those riding around looking for something to do, or reading the Sunday afternoon paper. As a result of an extremely reduced commission, this may be all of the marketing you will receive. My experience is that the ad in the paper is only to appease the seller. See, we are doing something!! We do not get many calls from the news paper ads, but we still run them. Depending on the company, and the location of the home, we have noticed more curiosity seekers based on the sign in the yards(The nosey neighbor). We do receive calls from real buyers on sign calls, but that number is dwarfed by the just curious ones. A sign plays a role. Brand recognition and the reputation of the real estate firm plays a large role in that response. This leads to several more questions to ask. How long has your firm been in business? What is the reputation, character, and strength of a particular firm? How long has the agent been a REALTOR? I am not saying that newbie REALTORS are a bad choice, but try to find out how much help they receive from their brokers during the process. You will gain a lot of insight by asking questions.

Internet marketing has gained a lot of ground in the past few years as far as real estate is concerned. Just a year ago(2006), in South Carolina, the numbers of buyers and sellers that turned to the Internet before talking to an agent was around 54%. In 2007 those numbers have risen sharply to the 78 to 85% range. They are researching the market for several reasons. First, they want to get a finger on the pulse of the market, and secondly, they are searching for an agency and an agent with high visibility on the Internet. How did you find your last agency and agent to work with? Did they both have their own web sites where they could feature your home? Were their web sites easy to navigate? Buyers look at all of these issues to determine who they want to use as an agent. You should too! How is your agent/agency using this tool effectively? Virtual tours are on the rise in popularity, but so is the cost of this avenue. Can other choices be made that keep the cost down but keep the exposure high? We will ask you a lot of questions about what you are looking for in a home, or about your expectations concerning the sale of your home, but are you asking us all of the necessary questions about our marketing campaigns for your home?

It is my duty as your agent to make sure your home will receive the attention it deserves and to present as may buyers, near and far, to your doorstep.

Respectfully, Jim Graham (www.sumterrealestateforsale.com)