Anne West

The North Shore housing market looks a whole lot better in 2010 than it did at this time last year. Driven by low interest rates, the home buyer tax credit, plentiful supply of homes to choose from and attractive prices, buyers have returned to the market. Prices are still soft but the rate of decline has slowed.

Housing sales on Chicago’s North Shore increased 56% in the first quarter of 2010 vs. the same period last year. All towns had healthy increases except for Northfield which had one less sale this year than last. The big winner in percentage terms was Kenilworth, which had nine sales this year vs. one last year.

Read the rest of North Shore Chicago Market Update

These days I am finding that the “pricing talk” is one of my least favorite parts of the job. I feel for my clients when I have to tell them that their house is not worth what they thought it was or what it used to be. It’s especially hard when I have to tell them that it’s worth less than they paid. And I know how they feel because I am in the same position as they are. Luckily for me, I don’t need to sell my house.

Usually, after I deliver the bad news about where I think we should price the home, I hear one (or more) of the five “buts”:

“But the other agent said it was worth x” (a higher number)

“But my neighbor sold his house for x” (a higher number)

“But my house is much nicer than the ones you’re comparing it to”

“But if I price it that low now, then the buyer will still negotiate it down and I’ll make even less money.”

“But why can’t we just start a little higher? We can always reduce it later.”

All of these are natural reactions under the circumstances. But these “buts” can lead to pricing decisions that will ultimately cost you money. Here’s how to avoid these five pricing pitfalls:

“But the other agent said it was worth x”. I don’t want to say that there are agents who will inflate the price to get the listing, but it can happen. More likely the agent is throwing out a ballpark figure without having (yet) done an in depth competitive market analysis. Don’t ever hire an agent based on the price he or she gives you. Your choice of agent should be based on experience, track record, knowledge of your specific market and the marketing plan for your property. Above all it should be based on trust and confidence that the agent has your best interests at heart.

“But my neighbor sold his house for x”. When? Three years ago? The fact is, unless his house is almost the same as yours and he sold it last week, it’s an irrelevant comparison. The market has changed and the hard reality is that your house is almost certainly worth less now. You need to do (or make sure your agent does) the research to determine the value of your house today. You should only be looking at comparable homes that have sold in the last three months. AND you should be looking carefully at the homes that are on the market today, as this is your competition.

read the rest of 5 Pitfalls of Overpricing Your House

I’ll admit it. I love cop shows. I went through a big “Without a Trace” phase a few of years back. And I still catch” The Closer” whenever I get a chance. But my all time favorite is the original “Law and Order“. We watch reruns while we cook dinner (Ed cooks; I chop). Anyway, the other night as I chopped onions I was watching an episode I’ve probably seen ten times, and I realized there was something we Realtors could learn from Detective Lenny Briscoe and company.

Usually, about halfway through the show Lenny and his partner solve the murder and arrest the suspect. They read him his Miranda Rights and drag him off to the interrogation room for questioning, where they roll into their “good cop, bad cop” routine. Sometimes the perp is smart and lawyers up right away, but often he is (inexplicably) so eager to please the “good cop” that he ends up spilling his guts and incriminating himself.

That’s when it struck me that agents should read their sellers their Miranda Rights before they are allowed to talk to prospective buyers or their agents. Sellers want so badly for buyers to like their home, and are so eager to build rapport with them, that they divulge information they shouldn’t. We need to remind them that “Anything you say can and will be used against you”.

Here are some things that sellers will reveal that can undermine their negotiating position with a buyer:

Read the rest of What Home Sellers Can Learn from Lenny Briscoe

By now most of us are aware that home buyers start their search online. According to the National Association of Realtors that number is currently 87% and growing. And 80% of people using the Internet rate photographs as the most important feature of their online search. In fact, these days, with large supply of homes available, most people see online photos as the easiest way to filter all the listings down to a manageable number. Here’s how it works:

If I like the pictures, the house stays on my list.

If I don’t like them, I click away, never to return.

Common sense, right?

So…it baffles me why home sellers and their agents (who should know better!) continue to commit the three deadly sins of real estate photography:

1. No photos when a listing goes onto the MLS

Here’s a common scenario: an agent gets a listing and immediately puts it into the MLS, even before taking photos of the property, figuring that the pictures can be added later. Or, the sellers pressure the agent to get their property into the system as soon as possible, thinking that the sooner it’s in the MLS, the sooner they’ll have an offer.

Here’s why that’s a mistake:

Read the rest of "How Photos Can Keep Your Home from Selling"

I know what you’re thinking. Gas is gas, right?

But this gas is different. Well, maybe not the gas, but the gas station. I’ve never been much of a loyalist when it comes to gas. It’s a convenience thing for me. I get gas wherever I happen to be when my car is on empty.

But a while back I came out of my house one cold morning and my battery was dead. Triple A gave me a jump but told me the battery was basically shot and I should get a new one ASAP. I was already running late that day so I went down the hill to Forrest’s Marathon Station (now owned by Duxler Complete Auto Care) at 1201 Green Bay Road in Wilmette to see if they could help me.

I had no sooner settled in with my newspaper and complimentary cup of coffee when they told me I was all set. The new battery was already installed. I don’t think it took five minutes. After I paid for the battery I realized I needed gas so I pulled up to the pump and started to get out to pump my gas when Ed came bounding up and said, “I’ll take care of that”. I thought he was just being nice because I had just had my car serviced there.

Read the rest of Best Gas in Town.