Scott Gordon

As if sellers didn’t already have enough to concern themselves with when trying to find buyers for their Palm Beach homes, now comes news that besides the oftentimes tiresome task of making a home stand out from the rest of the many Palm Beach homes on the market, buyers need to pay more attention and take the extra initiative when and if they plan to hold an open house. Here are a few tips that won’t break the bank and will improve your odds of closing a sale.

Keep it clean. This can be considered the no brainer but do remember that your goal here is to get buyers to imagine themselves living in the home, not spending the night as a guest in your home. Spend extra attention on the front yard as that will be the first thing a potential buyer sees.

Use the oven. Start off by making sure that there aren’t any unusual odors emanating from the home and then try baking some brownies or another dessert which has a pleasant aroma so there’s a nice scent circulating before buyers arrive. These scents can make a buyer feel at home and can work in your favor, even if they don’t actually eat them.

Keep it bright…and safe. Palm Beach homes with dimly lit rooms may save on energy but they can also appear gloomy or as if you’ve got something to hide so use natural light by opening curtains or windows or install light bulbs where necessary. Also, store away your personal valuables in a safe place just in case your buyers are looking for a five fingered discount.

Plan a day away with Fido. Besides catering to buyers who may not be fond of pets, keeping your pet (and yourself) away ensures that buyers aren’t distracted or that they feel as though they’re invading your personal space.

There’s probably no one in the country that isn’t aware of the massive government bailout plan designed to address the country’s financial sector by keeping banks and important financial institutions afloat. It also addresses the housing market in an effort to get people interested in buying up the vast amounts of vacant homes in various states and counties, Palm Beach real estate included.

Opinions on the bailout decision are sharply divided, with some seeing at as something that had to be done and others seeing it as another method of taking taxpayers’ money. While the plan is intended to tackle the economy and the housing market, some followers of real estate don’t think it will do enough to boost the latter so much as it will the former.

One need only take a look at existing figures to see that mortgage rates are still exceedingly high, removing the average homebuyer from being able to buy real estate like Palm Beach condos since the monthly mortgage payment will be much too high. This is assuming this average homebuyer was actually able to obtain mortgage approval in the first place. Now that the bailout plan is in place, the government should strongly consider lowering interest rates.

As everyone knows, the mortgage is only one element when buying a home. The other part that requires lots of money upfront is the down payment which also necessitates a considerable amount of funds and again, prevents most people from ever owning a home. This problem can perhaps be ameliorated somewhat if the government provided some kind of financial assistance such as matching the down payment up to a certain amount.

The government has already begun rolling out the Hope for Homeowners program which targets homeowners stuck in unmanageable mortgages and lets them renegotiate into a fixed one. Regardless of what real estate experts think, do you think the government is doing enough to get interested in Palm Beach homes again?

The National Association of Realtors® has more than 1 million active members, although not all of these are full time agents. With the recent slow in market trends many Realtors® have moved to part time or have taken full time salaried positions in other fields of work.

The market has turned from a sellers market to a buyers market and hiring a professional Realtor® to list and market your home can save thousands of dollars in the long run. It is crucial to hire an agent who will work tenaciously to tackle problems before they become deal breakers. Working with the experienced agents at Scott Gordon Realty and Exclusive Estates could be the difference between a quick sale and your home sitting on the market for months.

One of the important services a good Realtor® will provide is tips for home repairs and staging. In the current market with such a large inventory your home needs to stand out against the competition.

Realtors® also take the pressure off you. By arranging showings, negotiating contracts, maintaining deadlines and assuring a smooth closing you can relax, leave the work to us and enjoy living in beautiful Palm Beach.

There’s no need to delve too much into the various problems that continue to affect the real estate market, everyone knows about those. What a small percentage of people are unaware of are the unique Palm Beach real estate buying opportunities that, as some have said, represent genuine “once in a lifetime opportunities” for those who are willing to look. After all, just a few a years ago it was absurd to negotiate a $30,000+ discount for Palm Beach homes.

When looking at the broader picture, the situation remains uncertain and the bad news of plunging prices for Palm Beach homes is still making headlines almost daily. But in a refreshing change of pace, the surplus of Palm Beach real estate that has had many concerned is actually a bit smaller than it was earlier this year, an early indicator that the market along with South Florida might be approaching the “bottoming out” phase. The inventory is still substantial but it has gone down to where the majority of it will be purchased in a span of about two years as opposed to the former figure of three years.

Many people have been waiting for this moment when the market would bottom out and the values of Palm Beach homes would rise again…is this recent trend a sign? Not quite. Even as the Palm Beach real estate market slowly approaches what could be the potential bottom, the long awaited boost in prices and home values is not likely to happen in the short term and there remains the risk that the situation could get worse instead of improve.

Since there’s no way to tell what will happen exactly, realtors are welcoming the trend and predicting good things to come while taking into account the risks that might still happen. A little bit of optimism tempered with some discretion is always good, especially during a time when many are anticipating the worst is yet to come.

Palm Beach real estate remains less of a financial gamble than most other counties in South Florida since it has been able to endure or at least somewhat ignore the housing bubble that caused many South Florida homes to plummet in value. Palm Beach has seen several price reductions itself however, improving the odds and incentives for owning beachfront property or a traditional single family home. But why stop there?

Homeownership in Palm Beach County is also being boosted by the State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) program, an effort which pumps over eight million dollars into local governments with the purpose of putting that money towards several programs, among them home purchasing assistance and foreclosure prevention, two key areas that are preventing below average income buyers from ever owning their own home and are forcing existing homeowners to lose the ones they already own.

Governments need to take their own initiatives if they wish to qualify for funds from the SHIP program. Existing housing assistance programs and incentives should already be in place, housing cost reduction efforts should already be implemented and mortgage payments should also remain within a reasonable amount of what the average household income is in a particular neighborhood.

The SHIP money (once earned) can be used for several other real-estate related initiatives such as funding new beachfront condo construction, buying down mortgages or developing counseling programs to assist with homeownership.

Foreclosure and the numerous costs in owning Palm Beach property remain two major factors when it comes to real estate, the former a very real problem these days and the latter preventing responsible buyers from ever having a place to call their own. When we look at the reduced prices when it comes to buying in Palm Beach, SHIP makes perfect sense and shows that state governments continue their efforts to get more people into their own home while preventing existing homeowners from losing theirs.