Michele Webb

Today I showed a home to one of my sellers who will be making a purchase once we get a contract on the home she is selling. I just listed her house a little more than a week ago and she has already had several good showings on it. She previously had it on the market with another real estate agent in our town but she never had any offers on it. Today, she told me how much she appreciates the work I have been doing for her. She said she never had this many showings in the 6 months it was previously listed. One of her comments was "Oh, this is what it is really like to sell a house. It's nice to work with a real Go-Getter". All I did was ask a few key questions during the listing appointment.

1. Have you had any offers since you've been on the market?

2. How many showings did you average a week while it was on the market?

3. Did your agent ever send you an update on the market conditions during the listing period?

4. What kind of feedback did you receive from the showings that you had?

Now, these were only a few of the questions I asked during our meeting, but more importantly, I was trying to help her see why her house hadn't sold. I gave her a few key things to think about which all revolved around her asking price. I had done comparables for her neighborhood, which showed me that her price needed to be adjusted, but before I showed these to her, I wanted her to realize for herself that maybe she was a little overpriced. Once she realized that, it was much easier getting her to adjust her price! Now, granted, I haven't sold her house yet, but at least we are getting some good showings with positive feedback.

To me, it was really nice getting such a compliment from one of my sellers. It reminded me why I got into this business in the first place. Sometimes it's the little things that make us feel the most appreciated!

It seems as though the past year has had a dark cloud looming over our economy. With all of the negativity in the media (unemployment rates, foreclosures, etc), it's no wonder that the use of antidepressants is up 75% (according to Psychcentral.com)! Now I'm no doctor, but it doesn't take a doctor to figure out that if you surround yourself with negativity in every aspect of your life, you WILL end up needing some form of medication to help you cope! With that being said, I have been watching our local market here in Knoxville and I must say, things are looking up!

Here's an example: the Downtown area of Knoxville was in a "dormant" stage for many years. However, in the past 3-5 years, several real estate developers began to see how the "old commercial buildings" could be renovated into becoming luxurious condos for many professionals. The average sales price in the downtown went from $135,398 in 2005 to an average sales price of $375,878 today! That's an increase of just over 277% in 5 years! Now to me, that's positive news worth talking about!

Another example of things looking up is this: In the Knoxville area, the median sales price is now $127,798, which is a bit less than what it was in 2005 ($128,900)! Since homes in our area have become more affordable, we have seen a 34.9% increase in sales for the last quarter compared to 1 year ago!

Knoxville Recently Sold Homes

The bottom line is this.....do we have foreclosures in our area? Yes! Do we have unemployment? Yes! Does that have to be our focus? NO!! Knoxville is showing signs of improvement so I think we need to spread the word! There are currently 892 single family homes under contract right now. That means 892 more families will be closing on a home within the next month or two. There have been 675 single family homes that have already closed this year. We are beginning to see multiple bids on homes under $150,000 again, so to me, that means THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!!

I gathered these statistics to give potential buyers and sellers a realistic idea of what is going on in our market. For sellers, the good news is that there are buyers out there who can get loans and who are writing up offers on properties daily. If you look at these statistics and price your home within the current market range, then you will be one of the lucky ones to find a buyer for your home. For buyers, it means that you can now purchase a home that maybe you couldn't afford a few years ago. And with the current interest rates still very low, I don't know why you wouldn't want to purchase a home.

Do I foresee a great deal of appreciation in the near future? Who really know? If you keep an eye on your local market trend then you can better predict what might happen over the next few months. Whether buying or selling, always look at your local statistics to see what the trend is around you. Ask your local realtor to help you gather this information. The market around us is continually changing and it is important to stay up-to-date with the latest statistics and trends for your area. Remember.....Real Estate is local!

I specialize in selling single family homes in Knoxville and surrounding areas. If you have any questions regarding our local market, you can visit me at www.SmartChoiceTN.com or call me at (865) 249-6823.

This post originated at http://assist2sellmichele.wordpress.com/ .

Making the decision to sell your home can be very complicated. One of the most common questions I receive is "When is a good time for me to sell my home?" The answer isn't as simple as you would think. There are a few things that you must first consider. One is to ask yourself "What is my motivation?". If your motivation right now is to just put your house out there for a price to see what happens, then right now is not the best time for you to sell. With the current economic conditions we are experiencing, you need to have a realistic expectation for what a buyer is willing to pay for your home. That's where doing your homework and getting a couple of opinions from your local agents on their perspectives will come in. Check out the homes around you to see what they are selling for and then compare your home to theirs. Is your home the same size, type, ect.? Also, look at the average time on the market in your neighborhood. If it is approximately 4-6 months, chances are, it will take you approximately that long to find your buyer, too, unless you price it over or below the average sales price (that will affect the average time on the market).
The next thing you need to consider is your current financial position. Some people decide to wait on selling their home due to the uncertainty with their employment in this economy. Sometimes, that can prove to be a very costly mistake. By waiting, you may end up putting yourself in a financial bind if your wages are suddenly reduced and find yourself unable to keep up with your mortgage payments. If that happens, you may end up selling for less than you could have gotten out of it, or you may end up having to do a "Short Sale" or wind up in foreclosure. If your job loss is eminent, then don't wait. It is better to stay in control and make that tough decision to sell now rather than have the bank or someone else make the decision for you.
Another thing you may want to consider is how comfortable you are in your home. Does this home meet your needs? Is it too large for your family or too small? If you feel "cramped" in your home, then you should consider selling your home and moving into something that will better "fit" you if you can afford it.
There are also the current "trends" in your market that you will want to consider. In some areas of the country, the market remains stable year round. In other parts, it can be seasonal. The beginning of a school year or the end of a school year can be good times to sell since a lot of parents want to wait until the end of the school year to move so they do not have to change schools in the middle of the school year. In our local market here in Knoxville, schools and the weather play an important role in deciding when to sell.
Start thinking and planning out the sale of your home, including interviewing potenial agents. You don’t have to sign any paperwork at this point, but doing your homework ahead of time (including figuring out an asking price) will save a lot of time should you decide to sell.
For more information, give me a call or send me an email.