Is it spring yet?
I guess it's officially winter. It's so cold out there and no one wants to be out, especially me. In my business, however, being out is how I make my living. Selling real estate requires going out into the elements every day, looking at houses, taking clients out to look at houses, checking on properties that you have as listings, etc. It's hard work but this is also one of the busiest times of the year for me.
Stop believing what you read in the Washington Post or hear on the radio. The housing market is not cooling off as all the media pundits want people to think. It's Dec., things natually slow down over the next couple of months. Many people are too busy shopping for Christmas to think about shopping for a home, even if they need one. Lots of people have houses to sell and there are a lot of buyers out there. Usually in Dec. though, the people out looking are investors looking for bargains. Unfortunately for them and others out there looking, sellers still think the market is the same as it was six months ago. It's not. The market is balancing out and sellers are not getting those outrageous prices they got six months ago but they think they still can. If you're planning on putting your house on the market in the next couple of months and you really need to sell it, be realistic about the price. What you get for your house is what someone will pay for your house, as I've said often here. It's play money anyway. What I mean by that is if you took out a mortgage of $250,000 for your house and you paid $20,000 actual out of pocket for down payment and closing costs, if you sell it for whatever you sell it for, you'll reap more than what you put in so it's a profit. The mistake I think sellers make is that they forget about the costs associated with keeping a property operating while they "wait for my price." While you wait for your price, you continue to pay the mortgage every month, the utilities, the taxes, maintenance, etc. I did an open house Sunday for someone in my office and the seller is determined to "get her price." She won't budge on the price but she also won't spend any money to make the place show better. It's been on the market more than 30 days. It will sell eventually but in the meantime, she's had to pay two mortgages, upkeep on two places and all she needs to do is invest $20,000, fix it up, reduce the price another $20,000 and call it a day. I think people loose sight of their goal to sell the home.
Anyway, busy week for me this week. I've been working none stop for about a month now trying to achieve my goals by the end of the year. It's not impossible, I'm actually very close to it now but I have to keep working until the end of the year to insure that I reach it. I do plan to stop on Dec. 30 regardless and not do anything real estate related until Jan. 3.
Got to run and get ready for the day. Enjoy yours.
Stop believing what you read in the Washington Post or hear on the radio. The housing market is not cooling off as all the media pundits want people to think. It's Dec., things natually slow down over the next couple of months. Many people are too busy shopping for Christmas to think about shopping for a home, even if they need one. Lots of people have houses to sell and there are a lot of buyers out there. Usually in Dec. though, the people out looking are investors looking for bargains. Unfortunately for them and others out there looking, sellers still think the market is the same as it was six months ago. It's not. The market is balancing out and sellers are not getting those outrageous prices they got six months ago but they think they still can. If you're planning on putting your house on the market in the next couple of months and you really need to sell it, be realistic about the price. What you get for your house is what someone will pay for your house, as I've said often here. It's play money anyway. What I mean by that is if you took out a mortgage of $250,000 for your house and you paid $20,000 actual out of pocket for down payment and closing costs, if you sell it for whatever you sell it for, you'll reap more than what you put in so it's a profit. The mistake I think sellers make is that they forget about the costs associated with keeping a property operating while they "wait for my price." While you wait for your price, you continue to pay the mortgage every month, the utilities, the taxes, maintenance, etc. I did an open house Sunday for someone in my office and the seller is determined to "get her price." She won't budge on the price but she also won't spend any money to make the place show better. It's been on the market more than 30 days. It will sell eventually but in the meantime, she's had to pay two mortgages, upkeep on two places and all she needs to do is invest $20,000, fix it up, reduce the price another $20,000 and call it a day. I think people loose sight of their goal to sell the home.
Anyway, busy week for me this week. I've been working none stop for about a month now trying to achieve my goals by the end of the year. It's not impossible, I'm actually very close to it now but I have to keep working until the end of the year to insure that I reach it. I do plan to stop on Dec. 30 regardless and not do anything real estate related until Jan. 3.
Got to run and get ready for the day. Enjoy yours.
posted by Real Estate Girl @ 6:24 AM
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