Real Estate Information and Advice

Archive for April, 2010

The following are three common questions from buyer or home seller:

How much is a house worth? How much should I ask when selling? How do I know if I am paying too much as a buyer?

A word of caution, these questions are simple yet complex at the same time. Accordingly, this article will discuss the best way to decide the list price of your house as a seller and how much to offer for a house as a buyer.

Following are common methods potential sellers use when they are trying to determine an asking price for their home. Classified ads in the local real estate section are a typical first step for many home sellers. But most homes advertised in the paper tell very little about location or details that are important ingredients to arriving at value.

You will save yourself a lot of frustration by understanding that advertised real estate is not an indicator of market prices. Far from it. Newspaper advertisements are intended to initiate new business. But you would be surprised how often a seller will refer to the price of a property he deems similar to his, garnered from the classifieds.

In the end, please understand this. A newspaper ad will not yield an true picture of worth.

In similar manner, buyers often use the same source, the newspaper, to search for deals. They too will point out an ad that justifies their outlook for the real estate market.

Sellers often site a specific ad as the reason they should ask for a higher price than the market can support. Buyers on the other hand, often site the same source, the newspaper, as a reason to make lower than market offers. You can do much better than this.

Another method buyers and sellers use to search for price discovery is to visit neighborhoods and gather flyers from listed homes. Certainly, this is an improvement over the newspaper. At least this way they get an actual look at the physical location and outside condition of the houses they are interested in. But it doesn’t allow them to analyze any homes from the inside in order to make accurate comparisons regarding condition and layout, important attributes of actual selling price.

More recently buyers and sellers have been allowed to search home prices by using the internet. Both real estate agents and for-sale-by-owners show properties online. More importantly, you can sign up to receive emails whenever new listings come online.

Let’s examine this idea closely. If you are a buyer you can use this service to great advantage. Simply get online and type in the city or area you want to search. Look for services offering emails of new listings. Then go out and view the homes. Over a period of time you will begin to see a price trend. What an ideal method for self education of your local housing market.

Keep in mind sellers can do the same thing. Before you put your house on the market, use the same online services to analyze your neighborhood market. Take a day to drive around and view homes for sale. You can get a general idea of the price to ask for your home based on listing prices of other similar homes.

Here is an important proverb that is often used to define the value of a home and it is an accurate statement. Value is what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller. When it comes to selling a house or buying a house it is important to recognize this concept.

In the light of this statement the previous methods of estimating value stated above will only give you a general idea regarding list prices. But you need more facts. To sell your home at the highest price in a relatively short amount of time, it is crucial to be aware of the price willing buyers have recently paid willing sellers. Home buyers also deserve to know how to find the home of their dreams at a competitive price. You need to know what price willing sellers are asking willing buyers to pay. You need information.

Certainly, there is no better source than a trained and experienced real estate agent. Real estate agents have access to a database of properties sold in your area and similar to your home. Both home sellers and buyers can reap benefit from using a licensed and trained Realtor.

Before you arrive at an asking price for your house, it is critical to know what similar homes have sold for in the last 6 months. Place emphasis on the most recent sales. Next make a comparison between the first price at which a house was listed and the actual price for which it sold. By observing the differences, you can estimate how much to list your home for. In addition, home owners can recognize the length of time a home sat on the market.

Let me explain. Before you decide to list your home, ask two or three Realtors to prepare a market comparison for you. Most likely you will notice a consensus by comparing data provided by these Realtors. Be smart about numbers that seem too good to be true. Make sure they each leave a copy of the market analysis with you so you can evaluate and verify the presentations.

Keep in mind when you are searching for a house to buy, you can use the exact same data provided by your real estate agent to make a realistic offer that is most likely to be accepted. In fact, you should insist that your real estate agent provide a market comparison analysis before you make any offer on a home. It is important that you see the most recent sales data as well as asking prices of current listings. With your agent’s assistance, you can then make an offer based on real time data instead of emotion.

Last but not least, never make or accept a quick offer based solely on excitement. Do your homework in advance.

The best thing about a down economy and real estate is that there are apparently innumerable opportunities to generate income and find the best deals for investment. For instance, many home buyers and investors are taking advantage of the price plunge in the market and the overflowing number of properties for sale. For home sellers, it may not be a very attractive option, but if you are creative and resourceful enough, you will discover the many privileges and earning alternatives in selling your home fast and in no time.

Home buyers are becoming very conscientious when it comes to putting their hard-earned money on valuable and worthwhile investments such as home purchase. In order to make them seriously consider your property for purchase, there are basic and fundamental measures you may do and carefully ensure. These are tips and steps that facilitate the quick selling of your house in a steep and highly competitive market in real estate.

The first thing to do is to make sure your house is well-prepared and in good condition that makes it stand out among other properties in the same market. For instance, carefully and promptly address repair and fixtures issues in the house. You may find that your property needs a major structural makeover or cosmetic fixes will suffice. Give emphasis and special attention on the selling points of the house such as kitchens, bathrooms and basements or garage which are converted into livable spaces. Do this method from the inside to the exterior area of the house. Bear in mind that the curb appeal or the first impression of home buyers the moment they see your property from the outside is equally important as to their impression on your house when they enter the premises.

One effective way of preparing your home is through the concept of home staging. There are professional home stagers and professionals who can assist you in this milieu of home preparation and staging. It boosts the quality and beauty of your home double and even triples its original and oftentimes predictable features.

After making sure that you have prepared your home and it is ready to be put on the real estate market listing, find a license and seasoned real estate or sales agent to help you. You may find that there are just too many technicalities and mechanics in this complex industry that are oftentimes beyond your own efforts and understanding. However, finding help and facilitation from a qualified and competent agent with good background and hands-on experience in this industry will save you a lot of time and worries.

You and your real estate agent can work together in endorsing and advertising your property to boost its chances of sale. Make sure that you maximize all available resources and means to promote and let potential buyers know about your property.

The quickest and most effective tips in selling your house in a jiffy is to materialize all you know and your resources and invest your time, money and effort for a productive venture.