Stacey Devoe

Clean Homes Sell Faster

Often when I meet with potential sellers they look for tips or suggestions on how to layout their furniture or what colour they could paint a room that would be appealing to buyers. But one simple, and low cost item that really helps to sell a home is a good, deep cleaning. Wash the walls, windows, carpets and every nook and cranny.

I've had sellers that owned a home for five years and maybe painted one room but really didn't do much, if any, upgrades. But one key thing they did do right; they had the house professionally cleaned. The feedback from the showings was great. They all commented on how well maintained the home was and it also sold in weeks. A clean home tells buyers you've maintained the home and take pride in it and it gives buyers a sense of ease in making the purchase.

Believe me, it will help to sell your home quicker. It's definitely worth the investment to hire a professional cleaner just before you list the home. They'll also notice things you may not. If funds are a problem, then take a full day to scrub the house yourself. Of course keeping it clean while it's listed is also key.

Happy Selling.

The 2008 resale housing market in Beechville and Lakeside was similar to 2007 in numbers, but with an increase in the average sale price. There was very little change in the number of sales with 62 sales in 2008 compared to 61 in 2007. While the average price of a home in 2008 was $228,000 compared to $207,000 in 2007.

Although, there was little change in the overall numbers, there was a change in the types of homes being sold. The biggest changes were seen in semi-detached homes where the number of sales increased 64 per cent with the average price of $209,000 compared to $193,000 in 2007. There were also more homes selling for more money. In 2008, 13 homes sold for more than $250,000 compared to only two in 2007.

With all the media attention focusing on the recession and negative real estate stories, it's easy to see why sellers and even buyers are nervous. Yes, the market has changed. For the last few years we've been in a sellers market and now we're experiencing a more balanced market.

Fortunately, for Halifax, we are not experiencing any major corrections in price and volume as seen in other parts of the country. House prices have not fallen in Halifax-Dartmouth, in fact, while there was a decrease in the number of sales, home prices did increase by 6.6 per cent in to $229,000 compared to $215,000 in 2007.

For 2009 it is expected that prices will be moderate and will show little growth from last year with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) predicting a 0.4 per cent increase for Halifax.

What does this mean to you? For sellers, it's more important to price your house realistically and to be prepared for it to take a little longer to sell than in the past. For buyers, it's a great time to buy. Interest rates are at historic lows, and real estate still remains a sound investment.

"Great 3 bedroom, 1 bath bungalow home for sale. Great for first time buyers."

Are you sold? Or, maybe you're yawning? I noticed in real estate that a lot of people do not take advantage of the free advertising space in the MLS write-up. It doesn't have to be perfect, but still take the time to write something with a little creativity.

In my previous profession I worked in public relations where I did some writing. Of course in PR you usually avoid what we called fillers or flowery language. I must admit it is still changeling for me to use so many marketing terms in my writing, but that's what we're doing - marketing.

Here is what I try to do when I prepare my write-up:

1. Have a good look at the home. What do you like, what are its best selling features?
2. Ask the home owner what they like most about the home.
3. Grab a piece of paper, a pen and find somewhere quiet.
4. Make a list of the homes best features (key words).
5. Pick a theme for your write-up

Once you made your list sit down and write out the house's story. The theme can be focused on particular buyers (sport lovers, computer geeks etc.) or a feature, (convenience, ocean paradise etc.) Use your key words to describe the home. Give a written tour of the home. Please don't write a book, but write a nice paragraph or two about the home and its unique selling features.

Not only will your sellers appreiate it, but it will also make your property listing stand-out.

Every year as I walked up and down dozens of icy stairs with the cold wind blowing in my face I would asked myself, "Why am I doing this?" I would try to answer by saying it was good exercise, and would save me some money. On Saturday, I got an even better answer: leads. For the second year in a row I walked up and down the streets of my farm area posting fridge calendars to the home owner's front doors. Sometimes people would see me walking to their door and open it before I even got there. One particular lady opened the door and looked at me with much surprise. In her hands she was holding paint swatches. I introduced myself and handed her a fridge calendar. The ironic thing is that she was looking at paint swatches because her family is getting ready to sell their home. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

So, this is then when I realized I'll do this all over again next year. I'll probably ask myself the same questions wondering why I'm doing this, but hopefully I remember the lady with the paint swatches.

I'm thrilled to say that I've gotten my first facebook deal. Let me explain. My old boyfriend's best friend reconnected with me on facebook. Mind you, this is a boyfriend I had from grade 12, but I'm now married and it's been more than 10 years since high school.

My friend and his wife were living out west, but were looking to move back to Nova Scotia. He noticed my real estate-related status updates, and various other self-promotion items I posted on fb and he contacted me to say that he and his wife were planning to move back to Nova Scotia within a year to buy a house. Approximately a year later, and after some stress in selling their home in Edmonton, I helped them find their new home here in Nova Scotia.

So I guess this Internet marketing stuff does work. Does anyone else have stories of success with fb?