Posts Tagged → Home Buyers
November 29th, 2009
Home Staging Photos: Keeping it Neutral
Most homeowners and realtors are already well aware of the power of both a well staged home as well as online listings with pictures to grab the interest of potential buyers. In our current economic climate it has never been more crucial to showcase the positive aspects of any property for sale. With this being said, however, there are a plethora of atrocious listings out there in cyberspace that cannot possibly be convincing anyone to take them seriously.
The entire point of having your home listed online is to showcase your home to a larger audience. The “larger audience” aspect is pretty straight-forward; once your listing is online the entire internet can access the basic information about your property and look at all the pictures. It is estimated that currently almost 80% of home buyers look at properties on the internet before they decide which homes to tour in person which means that the impression your home can give online is vitally important.
The showcasing aspect of listing online seems to be a little trickier for some people. Take a gander at online home listings and you can see many examples of poorly taken photos that do nothing to highlight the positive aspects of the listing at all, are horribly dated because the house has been on the market for a long time, or they show off some very personal things about the homeowners.
When staging pictures are taken it is vitally important that the home is spotlessly clean, staged decently well, and that the positive aspects of the home are highlighted. Too many pictures are uploaded to online listings that showcase bland home features or dirty, cluttered rooms.
If you list your home and it doesn’t sell over a number of months, check to ensure that your photos don’t tell the prospective buyers that you listed your home months ago. Nothing says “failing to sell” in July more than listing photos with Christmas decorations in them.
Even if you do list your home around a holiday season, it’s best to not have seasonal decorations in your pictures at all as that conveys personal information about your family that’s best left out of listing photos. Other ways that you could keep personal details out of your photos, and out of your home while you’re trying to sell it, include removing religious and political icons whenever possible to reduce the chances of alienating potential buyers; while you’re trying to sell your home is not the appropriate time to make a statement about your personal beliefs.
Keep these ideas in mind when you’re putting together your online listing with your agent; make sure that your agent is on the right page with you. Home staging is more important than ever in our current economic climate; homeowners should be using every possible tool available to them to get their homes sold for as good of a price as they can squeeze out of the market.
By admin • Posted in Uncategorized • No Comment
August 28th, 2009
Buyer’s Market: Know its Latest Condition
Real estate industry is one of the most volatile businesses. It is greatly affected with the latest issues that are going on in the global market. This can be seen in the buyer’s market current condition. In the early portion of this year, the demands for real estate properties have gone down. Thus, sellers are forced to offer big discounts and cheaper prices to be able to go with other competitors. As for home buyers, this is the best time to push through their plans of investing.
Lenders have been very conservative in granting loans. This is due to the volatility of the economy. They want to secure that their applicants are financially able. Hopeful home buyers are striving hard to be approved to be able to fulfill their dreams. Majority of them find for more ways to finance their endeavor.
The actual scenario has a domino effect to other parts of real estate sector. Prices have gone down that prompted the sellers to be innovative in marketing their house. They give huge discounts and adjust their prices. In fact some of them have low ball offers just to eliminate their property as soon as possible. If you really evaluate what is going on right now, everything is beneficial to the buyers.
Moreover, sellers made major home improvements and other upgrading. By doing this, they can emphasize the best features of the houses which can possibly attract more buyers. Some even went out to perform further research on how to manage their finances in times of crisis. Income has been too slow for almost all investors during these times.
But in the case of buyer’s market, everything has been favorable to them despite the recession. Instead of experiencing the negative effects, buyers are indeed grabbing every opportunity they can get. The real estate industry is starting to lose their dreams for their business. However, there are other institutions who continue to remain composed despite the issues going on around them. One of these organizations is the lending companies. They continue to offer various marketing strategies just to entice more clients to avail their loans.
With everything that is happening right now, it is the buyers who have been enjoying the situation. Thus, do not hesitate if you have plans of buying a house. This is the ideal time for acquiring your dream house. If you have not yet decided, then do not be too hasty. Consider every option that you have. As soon as you have set your mind about your endeavor, everything will follow.
By admin • Posted in Real Estate Market • No Comment
July 27th, 2009
Profile Of U.S. Home Sellers
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) conducted a survey to identify the typical profile of homebuyers and home sellers. The most recent findings were published in NAR’s 2006 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report. This article focuses on the profile of a typical home seller based on the NAR report.
According to the report, the median age of a home seller is 46 years, which is older than the typical home buyer’s age of 41 years. Home sellers have a higher income than homebuyers with a median household income of $83,200 in 2005, as compared to $71,800 for homebuyers. Home sellers being older than the typical home buyer are less likely to have children under 18 living in their home, and are more likely to be married-couples.
On average, homeowners sold their property after 6 years of ownership. Approximately 13% of homeowners are first-time home sellers.
According to the report, the most common reasons why homeowners sell their current home is the need for a larger home, or to move closer to friends and family, or to relocate. Older home sellers (ages 65 and above) were more likely to sell their current homes because they wanted to downsize to a smaller home. Younger home sellers (ages 44 and below) were more likely to sell their home because they wanted larger home.
The median sales price was found to be more or less at par with the listing price. According to the report, the median sales price in 2005 was 99% of the median listing price. An average home stayed on the market for 6 weeks before it was sold.
Real estate professionals continue to play a major role in successful home selling. The percentage of home owners who used the services of a real estate agent or broker to sell their homes was 84%. Of these, 80% sold their homes by using an agent or broker exclusively. For Sale By Owner (FSBO’s) accounted for 12% only.
The major factors that influenced home sellers to choose their real estate agents were – Agent’s reputation (35%), honesty and trustworthiness (21%), agent being a friend or family member (15%) and knowledge of a neighborhood (11%). About 44% of sellers chose their agent based on referrals from friends or relatives and 30% based on previous experience with an agent. Home sellers report great satisfaction with their real estate agent; 82% of them said that they would use the same agent again or recommend their agent to others.
The Internet continues to be the major marketing tool of home sellers with 88% of recent home sellers having listed their homes in the local multiple listing service (MLS). More than 50% of home sellers used yard signs and open houses.
If you are considering buying or selling a home, condo or any other type of real estate, be sure to seek out the services of a knowledgeable real estate agent to help you with this complex transaction.
By admin • Posted in Uncategorized • No Comment