Homeowners Helping Sell a home

It’s winter – the days short, the weather chilly - and unless you are someone who is trying to sell a second home in a trendy ski town, the chances are good that around here you know your home is not listed at the best time of year to sell a home.

Fear not: with the right agent, the right pricing, and the right approach, homeowners still have several things they can do to help sell a home no matter what the time of year.

Show Your Bills

If you have made energy-efficient improvements to your home -- like added insulation, dual pane windows, a new energy efficient furnace, etc.-- this January market is the time to brag about it. Collect data on the average utility bill at this time of year and compare it to your actual bill for display to potential buyers. Significant savings year after year can be a big draw and help sell a home in this time of year.

Crank the Heat

While we’re on the topic of heat, nothing makes a potential winter buyer warm up quicker than – you guessed it - a warm, inviting home! Comfortable homes also feel well cared-for and lived-in: that’s something buyers will not find in discounted foreclosed or REO homes they may also be viewing. Few things send a buyer out the door quicker this time of year than a chilly house, so make sure that part of your routine preparation for a showing includes keeping the heating level generous.

Shovel, Shovel, Shovel

Few chores are as labor-intensive as shoveling snow, but if you want to sell a home in any wintery climate, this is one step that can’t be shortcut. Do you want buyers slipping and sliding into your driveway? Or considering how much work it would be to keep your entrance clear this time of year? A buyer may not fixate on whether or not the front steps were clear, but she will remember if she had to push through snowdrifts to get there. Keep your entrance clear and you will help keep similar nagging thoughts off buyers’ minds. You want to keep their concentration back where it belongs – falling in love with their future house!

While the season may be beyond your control, the right approach to sell a home can make all the difference. If you are intending to sell a home this season, give me a call anytime. I’ve got a game plan for the market this winter -- and together we can make it happen!

Bryn Mawr Gahanna Ohio Real Estate

According to the Columbus Ohio MLS, there were 4 Bryn Mawr Gahanna Ohio real estate sales within the last 6 months ( May 14, 2011 to November 14, 2011 ).

The highest selling home during that time frame was located at 869 Moon Glow Ct. Gahanna, Ohio 43230. 869 Moon Glow Ct. sold for $300,000 and closed on June 06, 2011. This home sold in 36 days.

The average selling price per square foot for homes sold in Bryn Mawr Gahanna Ohio during that time frame was $95.57. Those homes sold within 39 days on average.

If you know of anyone thinking of buying or selling a home in Gahanna Ohio 43230, please have them contact Sam Cooper with HER Realtors. Sam Cooper is one of the top selling real estate agents in Gahanna Ohio.

To search homes for sale in Gahanna Ohio please visit: www.Gahanna-Ohio-Real-Estate.com

Whenever a local homeowner decides to sell a home, it is tempting to consider selling without the assistance of a real estate broker. After all, who knows a home better than its occupant does? And there’s the broker’s commission – who wouldn’t want to save 6%-7% of the sales price? These are two distinct questions, and both of them are valid.

The answers to each are equally valid, and, surprisingly, they are also the same. The reason to use a real estate broker is so that you can make more money $$$!

Perception

While it may not be true, many potential homebuyers who look for a “For Sale by Owner” sign assume that the seller will be quick to bargain on the price. After all, they reason, the seller is probably saving something like 6% percent of the sales price by not paying a broker’s commission, so they should be able to come down in their price. Many buyers also assume that the DIY seller is unsophisticated. This may or may not be accurate, but it’s a common perception. It can lead some savvy buyers to attempt to take advantage of the seller during negotiations up to and during the closing process.

Negotiation

Some of the most important efforts put forth by a real estate broker on behalf of a seller involve determining a home’s current market value, staging that home to increase its attractiveness to bring in the highest offers, marketing the home to the widest number of potential buyers possible, and negotiating with buyers on the final sales price. Highly experienced real estate brokers have spent their careers negotiating for their selling clients…for them the process is second nature. Skillfully holding fast to a pre-determined sales price is not easy. It’s a skill most inexperienced homeowners find challenging when selling their homes without the assistance of a broker.

Statistics

Quite simply, homes sold with the assistance of a real estate broker sell for more than those sold by the owner. According to the National Association of Realtors, in 2011 “the typical FSBO home sold for $150,000 compared with $215,000 for agent-assisted home sales.” This is the bottom line reason why, if you are considering selling your home and your aim is to get the highest sales price possible, it only makes sense to hire a local expert to help. It’s why we are here, standing by to provide you with just that expertise.

Enough already! Economy this! Housing market that!. It seems like we have been bombarded with mostly bad news forever. Every month Gahanna would-be home sellers and prospective buyers hope for signs that the economy has turned around, and this month was no exception. But despite the relatively good news that unemployment numbers continue to show promise, the question remains: just how will we know when the Gahanna real estate market begins its upswing in earnest?

Market forecasting is always a bit like reading tea leaves, but for a change let’s take a look at three areas that could be indicators of positive economic signs for a real estate recovery:

Shrinking Inventory

Inventory is one of those real estate terms that can be misunderstood by anyone who thinks of its everyday meaning. Instead of being the total number of homes on the market, in real estate the term “inventory” is often expressed in months. It describes how long it would take to sell all the homes currently on the market if no new homes were listed.

When housing inventory shrinks, it means people are buying homes – a solid positive economic sign for real estate. While there are currently signs of shrinkage nationwide, the experts remain cautious due to what is known as the “shadow inventory.” These are homes that are in the foreclosure process but not yet on the market. It also includes those homes owned by folks who are putting off selling until prices recover. The experts at CoreLogic estimate that in the last quarter of 2011 there was a five-month’s supply of shadow inventory. This may increase as lenders release more distressed properties onto the market.

Unemployment

Among the most important economic signs to keep your eye on are the unemployment numbers. Rampant unemployment -- and the resultant concern over job security -- drags down consumer confidence in our area and everywhere else. But when people begin to get back to work, confidence always builds. That is why it was an early positive sign for the real estate industry when the U.S. Labor Department came out with its November unemployment numbers. They are falling, and now sit at 8.6 percent -- the lowest level in over two years. According to the Washington Post, the broader figures suggested that while this improvement may be modest it is also “widespread”.

New Housing Starts

When the economy begins to look healthy, homebuilders begin construction. Getting that right is of vital importance to them. Signs of a recovering new home market began back in September when construction increased a healthy 15%, according to RisMedia. While the experts consider this an optimistic sign, they again urge caution.

So while the economic recovery is still sluggish, there are some stirrings that the worst may be over. If so, one implication for Gahanna homeowners and potential buyers is that keeping an eye on market trends is once again a good idea.

Positive Economic Signs for Real Estate

If you are a Gahanna property owner who is seriously considering whether to sell your house, you know there are many practical details that bear careful consideration. One of the first is the decision regarding whether or not -- and if so, to what extent - refurbishing or upgrading the property will be a sound financial move.

The first and most obvious advantage of making home improvements before you sell your house is that you can be sure that it will become more attractive to potential Gahanna buyers. A house that clearly signals the need for after-purchase repairs can be expected to garner lower offers that factor in those costs, which may be exaggerated (or even wildly exaggerated due to ‘fear of the unknown’). On the other hand, a well cared-for home in move-in condition can be your biggest weapon in countering any Gahanna REO’s that might weigh in the opposite direction. Setting your home apart from the crowd can be a shortcut to a quicker sale.

Elizabeth Weintraub, author of Top 10 Do It Yourself Home Improvement Mistakes, says, “Overall, buyers want to buy a home that has no deferred maintenance, newer appliances, updated plumbing, electrical and heating (including a/c), modern conveniences and is ready to occupy.”

The ultimate advantage to making improvements before listing a Gahanna home for sale is the lure of meriting a higher price. A renovated house just feels like new to potential buyers. Fresh renovations justify a higher value to any property -- much more so than had you left those questionable white shag carpets in the family room!

On the other hand, a disadvantage to consider is the fact that making substantial home improvements before you sell your house will result in a measurable time delay. Home improvements that were expected to take weeks but actually require months to complete can result in a delayed listing date. This time of the year the timing element may not be as important as when the risk of missing a major part of a prime selling season is more in play.

The greatest imponderable in considering the advantages and disadvantage of doing home renovations before you sell your house is the impossibility of precisely predicting the bottom line resale value of the improvements. You may recall stories from your neighbors about the profits they made after a quick remodel or fixer flip. It doesn’t happen all the time or even most of the time.

The good news is that careful consultation with a qualified agent before you start a renovation campaign can reap concrete results. As experienced local agents, we know what sells and what could turn out to be a waste of money and time. If you have been considering a renovation before you sell your house in Gahanna, please don’t hesitate to contact me to schedule a consultation.

Home Improvements: Do They Sell Your Home?