Marc Oster

As you probably know April is gone and now we are in May 2009. Almost half way through the year. Here are the real estate statistics for Greeley, Colorado for the month of April 2009. For these statistics the Greeley area is comprised of zipcodes 80634, 80631, 80620. This includes Evans homes as well. There are single family homes and attached houses (apartments, townhouses, duplexes). This data was drawn from IRES the northern Colorado Multiple Listing Service. It does not take into account private sales or sales listed only in the Denver MLS.

April 2009

136 homes sold

130 average days on the market

Average Price: $143,110. Median Price: $122,900

Lowest price sold: $23,500 Highest price sold $625,000

April 2008

152 Homes sold

120 Average Days on the Market

Average price $150,665. Median Price $141,500

Lowest price sold $37,000. Highest price sold $599,900

March 2009

158 homes sold

100 average days on the market

Average price $136,366 Median Price $123,000

Lowest price sold $14,360. Highest price sold $410,000


Current average price of 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, and 2 car garage homes on the market

Average price: 162,994.

87 average days on the market

Lowest priced home $57,600 of which you can see Here

Highest priced home $525,000 of which you can see Here

In my own opinion the highest one is over priced for what it is.

Current total homes on the market in Greeley/Evans area

741 homes

128 Average days on the market

Lowest priced $22,500 of which you can see here.

Highest priced $7,000,000 of which you can see here.

This $7 million home is going to be our highest priced listing for awhile unless they take it off the market or actually manage to sell it. Don't get me wrong it might be worth $7 million as it's quite the place, but there aren't many buyers out there with $7 million burning in their pockets. But if you happen to be one of those few please call me and I'll be glad to show you this home. The next highest home price in the Greeley/Evans area is $1.8 million.

Thanks for reading about Greeley Colorado Real Estate

Marc Oster
Y and M Real Estate
http://www.weldcountyproperty.com/

Here in the Greeley, Weld County Colorado area we have the usual mix of large nationally known real estate franchise companies such as Remax, Coldwell Banker, Prudential. We also have some larger local real estate companies. then we have individual brokers or small companies with only a few broker associates working there.

I was reading a blog the other day geared toward real estate agents asking which kind of company is the best to work for. But I want to discuss what is the best kind of company for a buyer or seller to work with as you the consumer don't really care about the reasons why an agent would work where he or she does.

I myself am currently owner of a small real estate company and including myself we have two agents. I operate out of my home office. I have in the past worked for a larger national franchise company in Greeley. I'm also considering this fall joining another national franchise company. I just wanted to let you know where I stand before I get to telling a buyer or seller what might be best for them.

For the buyer does going with a Realtor that works at a big company or a small company matter?

In my opinion it does not matter very much at all. Some might argue with me on that and I would like to hear your comments if you do not agree. Why I believe that as a buyer it doesn't matter what size of company your realtor works for is that all Realtors should be able to offer their buyers the same kind of service. The buyer agent gets their commission from the seller or seller's agent and not the buyer. As a buyer you aren't depending on anyone but the individual Realtor you have found to work with. Maybe with a larger company you will get some nice company folders or something like that. All the Realtors use the same Multiple Listing Service. They use all the same state contracts. (though some companies have more disclosures then the state requires) A Realtor with a small office can show you the same homes and properties that a Realtor in a large well known office can. A Realtor in a small office might have more real estate knowledge then a Realtor in a larger office and vice versa. A Realtor in a small office might sell more homes a year then a Realtor in a larger office or vice versa. You won't need to meet your Realtor in his/her office unless you feel you need to. For example I work out of my home, but I've only had 3 buyers or sellers over 3 years actually come to my house. People are welcome to come to my home, but I live about 8 miles outside of town so for convenience I nearly always meet them. And now that signing contracts on the internet is getting to be more poplular having to meet happens even less.

What matters most in a buyers relationship with a Realtor is not the office itself, but trust, knowledge, communication, and hard work. When I was with the larger national franchise company there were people there who didn't know much about anything and didn't even want to work with a buyer.

One thing I would look out for though and this is a personal opinion. A Realtor that will make you sign a buyer agreement that you will only use him/her as your agent for a certain amount of time. If you don't then you will have to pay that Realtor something. I don't like those agreements and don't use them. I feel a Realtor that needs that doesn't have much self confidence. If a buyer doesn't want to work with me then fine I must not have done a good enough job or they didn't like me. No need to force anyone into working with me.

What about sellers? Here it does matter more about the size of company depending only on what marketing of your property they as a company will do that makes them different from other companies. And at what cost to you the seller.

The company I'm considering joining offers remarkable networking with other area offices, internet search and a high percentage of buyers they represent compared to other offices. The company I used to work has the national franchise website (which isn't that good) and that's about it. No local internet presence. My little company has more of a local online presense then they do. I myself don't do any print advertising while some of the larger companies do. But once again just like a buyer the seller's individual Realtor is the most important no matter what company they are with.

I've seen quite a few listings by agents of large well known companies that after 30 days do not have a picture on the listing, and very little information about the property. Or just one outside picture. This won't help buyers want to look at your home. I've dealt with agents of large companies that take forever to call back and communicate. But I also have seen agents with small companies that don't answer the phone at all, no pictures, and no communication either. Each agent is allowed to be different no matter what company they work for. You can have a lousy agent at XYZ Real Estate and a great agent at XYZ Real Estate.

For complete details on everything Greeley Colorado Real Estate visit my website at http://www.greeley-weldcountyhomesforsale.com

Thanks for reading.

Marc Oster
Y&M Real Estate LLC

Today I thought I would post some sales statistics for the 1st quarter of 2009 compared to the 1st quarter of 2008 for the Greeley Colorado area. How I got this data was from our multiple listing service. Which doesn't account for the sales that take place outside of the MLS. The area I used for these statistics are the zipcodes 80631, 80634, 80620. These are the Greeley and Evans Colorado zipcodes. I plan to do a monthly blog on sales statistics, but since we aren't quite at the end of April yet I'll wait a few days for that. I'm also only counting single family homes and attached dwellings. Attached dwellings are townhouses, condos, half duplexes and the like. Here are the sales statistics for the 1st quarter. For those that aren't familiar with real estate speak. Days on the Market means how many days on the market a property is before it is sold. And sold means closed not just until an offer. Median price means exactly half the homes sold are below this price and half the homes sold are above this price.

2009 1st quarter (Jan 1-March 31st 2009)

363 Sales

Average sales price: $133,382

Median Sales price: $124,000

Days on the Market: 97 days

Lowest Sales price: $8500. Highest Sales price: $535,000

2008 1st quarter (Jan. 1-March 31st 2008)

329 Sales

Average sales price: $157,433

Median Sales price: $140,000

Days on the market 108 Days

As you can see there has been an overall decrease in market value within the last year. Alot of this has to do with the foreclosures in some areas. However as you can see more homes have been sold in 2009 then in 2008 in the 1st quarter. This might be due to the lower prices. Keep in mind that this decrease in values aren't city wide. There are some neighborhoods that have decreased much more then others.

In my upcoming monthly statistics I will report the sales statistics including both foreclosure properties, short sale properties, and regular sales properties together, but then I will break them apart also.

Here's another current statistic just for your information.

There are currently 951 properties on the market within the multiple listing service. The lowest priced home is $24,800 and the highest priced home is $7,000,000.

In case you are curious here is the $7,000,000 listing. If you are curious about the lowest priced listing here is the $24,800 listing.

For complete details on everything Greeley Colorado Real Estate visit my website at http://www.greeley-weldcountyhomesforsale.com

Thanks for reading.

Marc Oster
Y&M Real Estate LLC

Hello again. This is the last of my little 3 part blog about how to market and sell a house. In this post I want to discuss choosing a Realtors.

I know this isn't the only way to market and sell a house. If you want to sell for sale by owner to save money on commission then good for you. Go put a sign in the yard, an ad on craigslist and hopefully it will sell.

But this post in mainly about how to choose a good Realtor. Do you know a Realtor? Right off the top of your head think of one. Call this person up and interview them. But in addition to this person maybe call a couple others. How to find a good Realtor? Well the first way is to ask family and friends who they know. The other ways are searching the Internet and the phone book.

What should you expect when calling and interviewing Realtors. Well when you call the first thing you should expect of them is to ask for your name, phone number, address and ask you a few questions about your home. You can feel free to ask them now what they will do to market your home or wait for them to come visit your home and give you a listing presentation. If they don't ask any questions about your home before they visit you then maybe they aren't the Realtor for you. If you are calling a Realtor and have to leave a message and if you don't get a return call within a couple hours I'd say time to move on. I make it a pledge to try and return all calls within in hour. If this Realtor doesn't return your call about listing your home how fast is he/she going to return buyer calls or other Realtor calls. I once made an offer on a property I had to wait 2 days before the Realtor called me back to even acknowledge the he had received the offer. Now that's poor business.

The Realtor you call will probably either ask to come visit your home before they do a market analysis or will just ask you questions about your home and do a market analysis before they visit your home. I myself ask questions first, do the market analysis and then visit the sellers and property. I make adjustments after that to the value if the property merits it.

What kind of marketing should you expect from a Realtor. This is an interesting question for me. I currently offer a lower priced listing package of $1000+3% to sell your home. However I don't offer everything the more traditional agent does. If you were to call me I would give you my list of what I offer to do to sell your home for that price. You can see that list here. http://www.weldcountyproperty.com/HomesAuthenticated.aspx?tabid=2217917. I will be honest and tell you I'm strongly considering joining a larger national franchise company in the Greeley area this fall to offer my clients more services, but until then Y and M Real Estate LLC is my home.

Other more traditional agents offer such things as print advertisements (which aren't very effective anymore) a larger number of agents in their office that would be able to come through your property and give feedback to the listing Realtor and you on price and condition of the property. They generally will have a large Internet presence that will gather in more buyers. They will have more of a market presence. For example the company I'm considering joining has about an 18 percent of the market in the Greeley, CO area. That is huge. Considering all the Realtors and companies out there.

The realtor you interview should bring some marketing plan or a list of what they are going to do to attempt to sell your property. They also should show you comparable properties to yours and what they sold for and how long it took. If they don't do either of these things then they aren't that good.

What kind of experience should a Realtor have? That's an interesting question. Do you take the super busy agent that sells 100 homes a year and won't have time for your home. Or do you hire the new agent that has only sold 2 homes before yours. Every Realtor has been new at some point. I'd say a good hint is how they will present themselves. Confidence and knowledge. Don't fall for the agent that comes in and promises to sell your home in 30 days. Also if you interview 3 agents and one has a higher value on your home then the other 2 then really question that Realtor on that value. Chances are they are just trying to appeal to you with the value that you probably won't be able to sell your home for and the continually ask you to lower the price later on.

A good Realtor should be able to tell you nearly all the costs of selling your home. There is more then just the commissions. If they don't take this into account when showing you what you would net from your home then you could be in trouble and get less or have to bring money to closing if the home sells.

What about contracts and Multiple Listing Service (MLS) marketing? Every Realtor you interview should be using the same state listing contract. Some Realtor's companies have more disclosures then others. These are to protect themselves and you. But the main listing contract and state disclosure forms should be the same no matter who you work with. If not then run away from that person. As for MLS marketing. Any Realtor should put your home at least in the local area MLS listing. They should also be able to post as many pictures inside and out of your home at the same time that your home goes on the market. If not some potential buyers will dismiss your home the first few days on the market if it doesn't have pictures and never look at it again.

In the end choosing a Realtor will be up to you. Each one will have a different style and way of doing business. They should be able to present this all to you at your listing interview. You should be able to get an idea of if you could work with this person. Sometimes a great Realtor won't work well with a seller due to the simple thing of personality differences.

For complete details on everything Greeley Colorado Real Estate visit my website at http://www.greeley-weldcountyhomesforsale.com

Thanks for reading.

Marc Oster
Y&M Real Estate LLC

In the previous posting I stressed the importance of correct pricing of a home to sell. Now I would like to address the home itself and your schedule. When I go to listing appointments many sellers point out that they've done this or that to "improve" the home and therefore should get more money for it. That's not usually the case. Putting in new carpet, painting, a newly decorated bathroom, a professionally landscaped yard while cost the seller some money in most cases will not result in a higher sales price, but a quicker sale.

The more one can do to make a home move in ready the faster it will sell. If you have a custom paint job in some rooms that you love it might not be what everyone loves. I once went into a master bedroom of one house that was painted this odd color of dark blue. It just made me feel bad for some reason. I'm sure the homeowner had spent alot of time on that color and design and loved it. But nearly everyone that went through that home at the time I did really didn't like that color. Paint is fairly cheap. Another thing to consider is if your carpets are in good shape is to get them cleaned. If they are worn then consider replacing them. This might cost some money, but it might get you a better offer price in a quicker time.

If there are any maintence items that you have put off fixing or correcting now is the time to do it. If not to protect your property, but it will be one less thing to come up during a buyers inspection.

One thing to really consider is if buyers will be able to get an FHA loan on your home. This is the kind of loan that most buyers are able to get these days as it doesn't require as much down payment as a conventional loan. Not to many buyers have 20% down that is required. The exterior paint, siding, needs to be in good shape and repaired. The Furnace and hot water heater must be in working order. There has to be floor covering.

If you don't have time to clean you might want to hire a cleaning service to do a deep clean or a sales clean.

If you have a lot of furniture in your rooms you might want to take some out to make the rooms look bigger and not as closed in. You might want to consult a professional home stager in your area. Your Realtor also should be able to give you advice on what you should do as well.

When I refer to your schedule I urge you to be very flexible in allowing buyers to see your home. If you are selling the home yourself then make sure you are available at short notice to be able to show your home immediately. If you are listing it with a Realtor most of the time the Realtor will want to put a lockbox on your home with a key so other Realtors can show the home when you aren't there. It's best if you aren't there. Buyers always feel more comfortable when the seller is not present. If you list your home with a Realtor you can give that Realtor showing instructions. Instructions like you will need at least an hour or two notice before showings are allowed. This is usually acceptable. When you say you need 24 hours then that might limit some showings.

Make sure you have any valuable items out of sight of and buyers. For the most part in my area of Greeley, Colorado and in Weld County it is fairly safe, but you really don't want to take that chance. Also try and take down personal pictures of your family and such. I've noticed buyers are drawn to those instead of looking at the house.

In the next blog about selling your house I will discuss what to look for in a Realtor or if you are selling your home yourself what to expect. Or maybe what you should expect.

For complete details on everything Greeley Colorado Real Estate visit my website at http://www.greeley-weldcountyhomesforsale.com

Thanks for reading.

Marc Oster
Y&M Real Estate LLC