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Want to Get the Most Money from The Sale of Your Home? Use These 2 Tips!

Every homeowner wants to make sure they maximize their financial reward when selling their home. But how do you guarantee that you receive the maximum value for your house?
Here are two keys to ensure that you get the highest price possible.
1. Price it a LITTLE LOW 
This may seem counterintuitive, but let’s look at this concept for a moment. Many homeowners think that pricing their homes a little OVER market value will leave them with room for negotiation. In actuality, this just dramatically lessens the demand for your house (see chart below).

Instead of the seller trying to ‘win’ the negotiation with one buyer, they should price it so that demand for the home is maximized. By doing this, the seller will not be fighting with a buyer over the price but will instead have multiple buyers fighting with each other over the house.
HGTV gives this advice:

“First impressions are everything when selling your home. Studies have shown that the first two weeks on the market are the most crucial to your success. During these initial days, your home will be exposed to all active buyers.
If your price is perceived as too high, you will quickly lose this initial audience and find yourself relying only on the trickle of new buyers entering the market each day. Markets are dynamic, and your price has an expiration date. You have one chance to grab attention. Make sure your pricing helps you stand out on the shelf — in a positive way.”

2. Use a Real Estate Professional
This, too, may seem counterintuitive. The seller may believe that he or she will make more money without having to pay a real estate commission, but studies have shown that homes typically sell for more money when handled by a real estate professional.
Research by the National Association of Realtors in their 2018 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers revealed that,

“the median selling price for all FSBO homes was $200,000 last year. However, homes that were sold with the assistance of an agent had a median selling price of $264,900 – nearly $65,000 more for the typical home sale.”

Bottom Line

Price your house at or slightly below the current market value and hire a professional. This will guarantee that you maximize the money you get for your house.

Home Buyer Tips

Top Renovations to Complete Before You Sell Your House

Some Highlights:

• If you are planning on listing your house for sale this year, here are the top four home improvement projects that will net you the most Return on Investment (ROI).
• Minor bathroom renovations can go a long way toward improving the quality of your everyday life and/or impressing potential buyers.
• Upgrading your landscaping or curb appeal helps get buyers in the door. These upgrades rank as the 2^nd and 4^th best renovations for returns on investment.

Want to know your home's REAL value? Let's chat!

How to Use Your Patio in Winter: An Outdoor Transformation

You don't want to miss the magic of winter by being cooped up inside. You can enjoy the colder months by transforming your outdoor space into something more comfortable for the changing temperatures. Here are some quick and easy tips to get you started:
Add a heat source
There is no doubt you will need to add some kind of heat source to make your outdoor patio, balcony, porch, etc., feel comfortable. Look into installing a fire pit or heated floors. Heat lamps are also a good investment.
Another option is heated furniture. It's a good alternative if you don't want to do a major installation project.
Bonus: Don't forget to roast marshmallows and chestnuts if you go the fire pit route!
Plant snowdrops and winter jasmine 
Just because it's no longer warm outside doesn't mean you can't have some fresh greenery. There are lots of plants that flourish in the cold. Look into installing some planters and filling them with snowdrops and winter jasmine — two plants that do great in lower temperatures.
Use lots of rugs
If you're not going to install heated floors, make sure that you compensate with lots of layered rugs. You can combine low-pile rugs with high-pile ones, wool with faux fur — anything that suits your style. Nothing will keep you from using your outdoor space more than freezing cold feet!
White lights and candles (for ambience) 
Besides the practical features that you need to include in an outdoor space, you should also create an environment that reflects warmth and happiness. White lights strung on railings or dangling from the ceiling will make it look like a winter wonderland. Put candles on all the surfaces and light them at night for a delicate flickering that will make you feel warm and toasty.
Screen it in
If it's feasible with the type of outdoor space you have, install screens to help keep out the elements. A major project would be to install glass windows and a roof if you don't already have one, but as long as you have a heat source like a roaring fire and some soft sweaters, screens will help reduce bitter winds.
Throws galore 
Make sure that every piece of furniture you have in your outdoor space has an extra blanket or throw. Outdoor spaces are never going to be like indoor ones — there will always be some element of chill — but that's part of the fun. Layering blankets is a great way to add texture and warmth.
Looking for even more ways to make over your home for winter? Give us a call today for insider tips!

Excited About Buying A Home This Year? Here’s What to Watch

As we kick off the new year, many families have made resolutions to enter the housing market in 2019. Whether you are thinking of finally ditching your landlord and buying your first home or selling your starter house to move into your forever home, there are two pieces of the real estate puzzle you need to watch carefully: interest rates & inventory.

Interest Rates

Mortgage interest rates had been on the rise for much of 2018, but they made a welcome reversal at the end of the year. According to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, rates climbed to 4.94% in November before falling to 4.62% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage last week. Despite the recent drop, interest rates are projected to reach 5% in 2019.
The interest rate you secure when buying a home not only greatly impacts your monthly housing costs, but also impacts your purchasing power.
Purchasing power, simply put, is the amount of home you can afford to buy for the budget you have available to spend. As rates increase, the price of the house you can afford to buy will decrease if you plan to stay within a certain monthly housing budget.
The chart below shows the impact that rising interest rates would have if you planned to purchase a $400,000 home while keeping your principal and interest payments between $2,020-$2,050 a month.

With each quarter of a percent increase in interest rate, the value of the home you can afford decreases by 2.5% (in this example, $10,000).

Inventory

A ‘normal’ real estate market requires there to be a 6-month supply of homes for sale in order for prices to increase only with inflation. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), listing inventory is currently at a 3.9-month supply (still well below the 6-months needed), which has put upward pressure on home prices. Home prices have increased year-over-year for the last 81 straight months.
The inventory of homes for sale in the real estate market had been on a steady decline and experienced year-over-year drops for 36 straight months (from July 2015 to May 2018), but we are starting to see a shift in inventory over the last six months.
The chart below shows the change in housing supply over the last 12 months compared to the previous 12 months. As you can see, since June, inventory levels have started to increase as compared to the same time last year.

This is a trend to watch as we move further into the new year. If we continue to see an increase in homes for sale, we could start moving further away from a seller’s market and closer to a normal market.

Bottom Line

If you are planning to enter the housing market, either as a buyer or a seller, make sure that you have an experienced local agent who can help you navigate the changes in mortgage interest rates and inventory.