Tony and Libby Kelly, CRS, ABR, ePro, SRES, CLHMS, CNHS

Some common mistakes are made when putting up a new listing, and while they are things that may not seem like a big deal, can seriously hinder the possibilities of an offer.

First off you should not put a listing up that is overpriced. A study found that listings that never reduced their price received 97 percent of the initial list price. Homes that did have a price reduction before selling sold for 88 percent of the initial price. It is likely that the difference is greater than the amount of the price reduction.

Set up your selling price with price benchmarks in mind. A listing price of $355,000 will be viewed significantly less than one priced at $350,000 because people do their online searches with parameters of 250k - 350k, for instance. Using these price "bands" in your favor can make all the difference. If you are already close to the bottom of a price band, dropping it by that little amount could increase your online activity by as much as 7.1 percent.

Lastly, it is apparently a good idea to put your listing up first thing Friday morning. The web traffic can actually be improved by 7.7 percent. I would assume that people are preparing for house hunting on the weekend and I don't know about you but I find myself more attracted to brand new listings. It's that feeling that you found it first and could discover a deal.

These are probably not hard and fast rules but test them out, see if it's true for you.

The Sunday Oregonian - January 13, 2008

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Taking effect at the beginning of this year, escrow is now responsible for making sure you are paying your income taxes. What this means to you is that if you sell a house, depending on how you fill out the proper forms, escrow can hold up to 4% of your proceeds.

There are three forms that apply to this, the first being a preliminary form to determine exempt status. This statement can mean the seller is to get all the profits, or fill out more forms.

If the seller does not meet exempt status then they move on to form WE-40. This form includes some other possible exemptions like a sales price of under $100,000, an individual resident of Oregon, or sale of a residence with under $250,000 in taxable gain per owner.

Still not exempt? Last is form 40-CW which determines how much escrow needs to hold onto. Failure to complete the forms will mean automatic withholding of either 4% of the sales price or all the net proceeds, whichever is less. Escrow is not allowed to advise when filling out these forms so it is suggested to see your tax professional.

Apparently there has been an issue with people selling their houses and moving out of state and then never filing their Oregon state taxes. All of this, of course, is a pain but all in an effort to make sure Oregon gets the money it needs for our basic services.

http://www.oregon.gov/DOR/PERTAX/nonresident_withholding.shtml

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE http//:www.TonyandLibby.com

December Residential Highlights
The year 2007 ended with a continued decrease in the number of transactions, but sales prices carried on with a slow, but steady rise. The number of closed sales was down 29.4% and pending sales also declined 32.5% when comparing December 2007 with December 2006. New listings also dropped for the third straight month, down 3.1%. At the month’s rate of sales, the 12,786 active residential listings would last approximately 8.5 months. Month-over-month, the average sale price increased 8.3% when comparing the month of December 2007 with that of December 2006 and median sale price increased 1.1%.

2007 Summary
Comparing market activity in 2007 with that of 2006, the Portland metro area saw an 8.1% increase in new listings. However, pending sales decreased 15.7% and closed sales dropped 13.1%. Portland had its third highest total sales volume in residential real estate, at $9.7 billion, a 6.7% decrease from the $10.4 billion in 2006. The average sale price increased 6.3% ($342,900 v. $322,600) and the median sale price appreciated 7.2% ($290,000 v. $270,500).

Fourth Quarter Summary
Comparing the fourth quarter of 2007 with that of 2006, new listings declined 43.7% (5,924 v. 10,525). Closed sales and pending sales also dropped 24.5% (5,298 v. 7,021) and 26.9% (4,766 v. 6,522), respectively.

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW PODCAST ON THE HOMEPAGE OF OUR WEBSITE www.TonyandLibby.com
& OUR NEW PORTLAND METRO BLOG AT www.TonyandLibby.blogspot.com (make sure you leave comments)

Fantastic light and bright Columbia Ridge Condo. This spacious home features a fully finished lower level bonus rm w/tile flooring, living rm w/fireplace and soaring ceiling, two master suites, one with jetted tub and skylight, kitchen with cozy balcony, and a large deck perfect for entertaining. All appliances included! Awesome location w/ quick I-84, I-205 and MAX access. $199,999

For additional photos and details visit http//:www.TonyandLibby.com

This listing is brought to you courtesy of the Tony and Libby Kelly Group, Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere,

17700 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd, Portland, OR 97224