Selling your home? Don't make these mistakes

I found, and want to share, this quick video clip (from the Today Show) of the top mistakes sellers make in the real estate market.

The statistics at the beginning of the video do not pertain to our local market, but I see the other issues mentioned over, and over again. I couldn't agree with Barbara more.

Check out this great MSN video - Selling your home? Don't make these mistakes

6 Selling Myths Uncovered!

Myth #1:  You should always price your home high and negotiate down.

Truth:  Pricing too high can be as bad as pricing too low.   If you list too high, you'll miss out on buyers looking in the price range where your home should be.  Offers may not even come in, because buyers who are interested in your home are scared off by the price and won't even take the time to look at it.  By the time you correct the price and list your home at its fair market value, you will have lost that window of opportunity when your home draws the most attention from the public and real estate agents; i.e. the first 30 days that it is on the market.  A well trained real estate agent who looks out for your best interests will consult with you on your homes fair market value and different pricing strategies for the current market.


Myth #2:  Minor repairs can wait until later. There are more important things to be done.

Truth:  Minor repairs make your house more marketable, allowing you to maximize your return (or minimize loss) on the sale.   Most buyers are looking for homes that are ready for them to move into.  If your home happens to attract a buyer who is willing to make repairs, he/she will begin asking for repair allowances that come out of your asking price.  The amount of an allowance that you have to offer a buyer is usually more than what it would cost for you to make the repair (or hire someone to make the repair).  Remember, buyers are comparing your home to other homes that are currently on the market.  Your home should be inviting so that everyone who looks at it can see themselves living there.


Myth #3:  Once a potential buyer sees the inside of your home, curb appeal won't matter.

Truth:  Buyers probably won't make it to the inside of the home if the outside of your home does not appeal to them.   Buyers and their agents often do drive-bys before deciding whether a home is worth their time to look inside.  Your homes exterior must make a good first impression so that buyers are compelled to stop and come inside.  All it takes is keeping the lawn mowed, shrubs and trees trimmed, gardens weeded and edged, and clutter put away. Six Selling Myths Uncovered (continued)


Myth #4:  Your home must be every home buyer's dream home. 

Truth:  If you get carried away with repairs and replacements to your home, you may end up over improving the house.   There is a point where improving your home doesn't pay off.  The key is to consider what competing properties feature and look like.  A highly motivated real estate agent will consult with you on what competing properties have to offer  he/she can even show you competing properties so that you can make sound home improvement decisions.


Myth #5:  You are better off selling your home on your own and saving money on the commission you would have paid to a real estate agent. 

Truth:  Statistically, many sellers who attempt to sell their homes on their own cannot consummate the sale without the service of a real estate agent.   Homeowners who succeed in selling their home by themselves usually net less than if they had a real estate agent working for them.  The National Association of REALTORS surveys consumers every year, including homeowners who succeeded in selling their home without a real estate agent.  Over 70% of these homeowners say that they would never do it again.


Myth #6:  When you receive an offer, you should make the buyer wait. This gives you a better negotiating position. 

Truth:  You should reply immediately to an offer!  When a buyer makes an offer, that buyer is, at that moment in time, ready to buy your home.  Moods can change, and you don't want to lose the sale because you have stalled in replying.

How Buyers Find YOUR Home

Understanding how home buyers find the home that they purchase is a key component to for buying or selling a home.  Where do buyers come from?  Where does a Realtor fit in?  How long to buyers look for a home before they choose to buy one?

Each year, the National Association of Realtors conducts a study on the behaviors and characteristics of home buyers and sellers in Texas.  Here is what the "2010 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Texas Report" has to say about a buyers' home search process:

• For 4 in 10 home buyers, the first step in the home-buying process was looking for online for properties.

• 90% of home buyers used the Internet to search for homes.

• Real estate agents were viewed as a useful information source by 99% of buyers who used an agent while searching for a home.

• The typical home buyer searched for 8 weeks and viewed 10 homes.  This compared to 12 weeks and 12 homes viewed by the typical buyer nationwide.

What does this mean for sellers in Texas?  Online marketing is crucial to selling your home and it is very important to put your best foot forward to millions of online searchers.  The pictures of your home, information and facts presented, written description, and other online marketing methods are KEY in today's real estate market.

How to Choose a Great Listing Agent

How to Choose a Great Listing Agent

Ask these 10 questions to find the best professional to sell your property.

By Jennie Phipps, FrontDoor.com | Published: 11/10/2008

The world is full of people who sell real estate. Some of them are smart, efficient, focused, versatile and willing to go the extra mile. And some of them aren't.

Finding an agent who will sell your home using a range of marketing tools to get you the best deal possible in a reasonable amount of time, all while charging a fair rate, takes some effort. Interview at least three candidates before you sign a contract.

Here, thanks to Alison Rogers, author of Diary of a Real Estate Rookie, and a practitioner in New York City, are 10 questions you really want to ask so you can identify the best real estate agent to sell your property.

1. How much? Ask potential agents how much they think they can sell your home for. If two agents say $600,000 and the third says $700,000, think hard. It's likely the high bid is an exaggeration to attract your business. In the trade it's known as buying a listing. In the end, you'll be the one who pays because the high price will scare away potential buyers before you inevitably drop the price.
2. How will you market it? Running a few classified ads in the local paper, listing it on the Internet and holding an open house shouldn't be the only answers. The practitioner should be able to talk about what kinds of people are likely buyers and how he will reach out to those specific people.
3. How has your business changed in the last five years? If she doesn't talk about website tours and smart phones, chances are this is not a highly wired agent. While Luddites can still sell houses, it is getting harder. And if this is one of those people who doesn't even use e-mail, you're letting yourself in for unnecessary aggravation. And you may cut yourself off from opportunities.
4. Tell me how your last two deals surprised you? Every agent has a success story, but this question will give you a much better feel for what this practitioner is like as a salesperson.
5. What's your specialty? If you're selling a starter home in a community full of young families, hiring an agent who specializes in seniors is probably a bad idea. It doesn't mean that if he only sells condos that he can't sell a house, but he may not be geared up to do the best job.
6. How many people are you selling homes for right now and what are you doing for them?It may not be a bad thing that a high-powered agent is juggling 15 homes, but don't expert her to give you personal service, although her assistant should be attentive. On the other hand, be wary of an agent with no other customers because she may lack experience and contacts.
7. What do you expect of me? A good salesperson will have expectations. He may want you to leave and take the dog when the house is shown, paint the garage, move some furniture around and scrub the tile in the bathroom. It shows that he can think like a buyer and that's a good thing.
8. What advice would you have for me if I get an offer from a buyer who wants to use an FHA loan? It wasn't very long ago when the right answer might be run the other way, but these days government-guaranteed financing from the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and state and locally managed loan assistance programs can be key to selling a property. Real estate agents shouldn't be pushing buyers toward their favorite lenders, but they should be able to help them and you wade through complex financing issues.
9. What's your fee? Forty-six percent of sellers Consumer Reports surveyed this year attempted to negotiate a lower commission rate. About 71 percent succeeded and those people were just as satisfied with the performance of their real estate agents as those who paid the standard 6 percent or more. In short, if you don't ask, you don't get.
10. Can I talk to one of your previous clients? You never know.

Low Cost Ways to Spruce Up Your Home's Exterior

Make your home more appealing for yourself and potential buyers with these quick and easy tips:

1. Trim bushes so they don't block windows or architectural details.
2. Mow your lawn, and turn on the sprinklers for 30 minutes before showing to make the lawn sparkle.
3. Put a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on your porch.
4. Install new doorknobs on your front door.
5. Repair any cracks in the driveway.
6. Edge the grass around walkways and trees.
7. Keep your garden tools and hoses out of sight.
8. Clear toys from the lawn.
9. Buy a new mailbox.
10. Upgrade your outside lighting.
11. Buy a new doormat for the outside of your front door.
12. Clean your windows, inside and out.
13. Polish or replace your house numbers.
14. Place a seasonal wreath on your door.

Source:  http://www.realtor.org/

Where Are All The Buyers At??

I decided to jump start my New Braunfels Real Estate blog with answers to the question that most property sellers in New Braunfels are asking...."where are all the buyers at?" 

If you are a seller, in New Braunfels, there is no doubt that you have recently experienced frustration with selling your home....tons of showings and no offers, offers that are way too low, buyers that back out of contracts, and financing that falls apart.  Chances are good...your home has also been on the market for months.  There more properties available than there are good, solid, qualified buyers.  Buyers are taking their time, seeing tons of properties, and choosing the ones that are priced the best, have the best features, in the best locations, with the most updates.  Its a buyers market and buyers are not stretching their budgets; they are being conservative and purchasing below their qualification price range.

Centralized Showings is a company that most real estate offices and Realtors employ to schedule showings for their listings.  This company also collects, and makes available, data on the showings that are set up through their company.  Through their services, we are able to zero in on which price ranges have the most buyer traffic. 

So in what price ranges are these buyers looking?   

This data was collected for showings that occurred between January 1-28, 2011, in the New Braunfels zip codes of 78130 and 78132. 

$30,000 - $250,000 Range:

$250,000 - $500,000 Range:

So what does this mean?  This means that the most active price range for properties priced under $250,000 is $130,000-$150,000 and the most trafficked price range in the upper tier is $280,000 - $300,000. 

Where does your property stand??

I hope you find this information helpful and I look forward to bringing you more information in the future!

Note:  Showing data is collected from Centralized Showings and does not necessarily reflect showings scheduled by Keller Williams, on Keller Williams listings.  This data does not include real estate companies and agents that do not use Centralized Showings, and does not include builder properties and properties for sale by owner.