What makes home sell in Roanoke, VA?

What makes home sell in Roanoke, VA?

This is a tricky market to get a home sold. As of August 28^th, 2010 there are 4,359 single family homes listed for sale on the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors Multiple Listing site.

That's a lot of houses for sale. The current absorption rate, how long the current inventory of properties would last at the current rate of sales, is 15.2 months compared to July of 2009 when it was 13.9 months.

According to the market summary for July 2010 the average days on market for a home is now 111 days, in July of 2009 it was 96 days. So as you can see the market has tightened and homes are moving slower.

In a recent seminar conducted by LeRoy Houser we were told that there are 2 kinds of homes that sell in this market. One type is deals and the other is opportunities.

Deals are homes that are owned by banks, mortgage companies or the government and are being sold as-is, below market value and more than likely will require some updating, repairs, or replacement of appliances or other fixtures.

Opportunities are homes that are owned by private parties priced at market value, well maintained, clean, updated, and in move in condition. Opportunity homes have been freshly painted with neutral colors, cleaned from top to bottom, kept clean, staged by a professional stager and are in "show-ready" condition at all times.

Opportunity homes have updated appliances, carpet/flooring that is free from staining or defects, do not have pungent or strange odors, and have a neat and tidy appearance from the curb. Any issue that detracts a potential buyer from seeing the benefits of your home could prove potentially disastrous to the ability of your home to be placed under contract.

Homes are being bought and sold everyday in this market and if you are interested in getting your home sold being able to look at it with an objective eye could be the most useful tool you have in this economy.