Many sellers believe that spring is the best time to put a home on the market – that’s a myth. Market timing is an important consideration to maximize success, but you can’t make assumptions that may be false depending on other factors.
Because many sellers believe that spring is the best time to put a home on the market, inventory often spikes greatly beginning in March – that creates more competition for a limited pool of buyers. November through January tends to be the months with the lowest inventory (thus, less competition). Although there are fewer buyers in the market during the winter months, they are generally serious. In many ways, that’s an ideal situation – fewer showings to fool with, with a higher likelihood of getting an offer from a ready, willing, and able buyer.
Your Liz Moore agent can help you evaluate the right timing for you. They will assess current active listings in your price and area segment, as well as pending sale trends, to arm you with information to make a wise decision.
Pricing high is generally not an advisable strategy, for a number of reasons.
That really depends on the situation. As a rule of thumb, you should consider re-positioning at 30 days if you haven’t had an offer, or after 10 showings that haven’t produced an offer, whichever happens first.
If you’re not getting showings, that tells us that agents are rejecting your listing in favor of other listings that are a better value for your client.
If you’re getting showings – but no nibbles – then that tells us that buyers are rejecting your listing in favor of other homes that are a better value.
Markets are dynamic – and it’s critical to be constantly monitoring changes in activity. At Liz Moore & Associates, our agents sign our sellers up for “get the scoop,” which enables our sellers to receive e-mail alerts every time a new listing hits the market, a home goes under contract (or closes, or expires) in their neighborhood. That way we can watch the market together, so that we can immediately take action if re-positioning becomes necessary.
Your Liz Moore agent will prepare a “net proceeds” form for you, using our exclusive Quick Costs software. This form details all of the expenses related to the sale, including brokerage fees, settlement costs, tax prorations, etc. As a very rough rule of thumb estimate, your costs will average around 7% of the sale price, excluding any seller concessions you pay on the buyers’ behalf.
Getting your home market ready is a very important first step in the listing process. Together with your Liz Moore agent, you’ll work as a team to make sure that your listing stands out as a great value compared to other listings in your price segment.
In most cases, absolutely. Making sure that your home is easy to show is a fundamental first step in making sure your home is market ready. While it is sometimes inconvenient to have your home on the market, it is important that it is ready to show when a potential buyer is ready to look. Lockboxes make showings convenient for agents who are trying to schedule a series of showings.
Yes. Approximately 11% of buyers come from sign calls, according to National Association of Realtors’ research. Especially if your home has good curb appeal, this can be an effective marketing tool. One reason they are important is that if a buyer is looking at other homes in your community, you want to be sure that they are aware that yours is on the market.
That is a great question, and the answer is “it depends.” There are really two factors to consider in order to answer this question: first, what does your “stuff” look like? If you have nice furnishings, and not too much clutter, your home will probably show best furnished. However, if you have over-sized furniture, and/or lots of clutter, you may be better served to move first, and then sell.
As long as your flooring (whether carpet, tile, or hardwood floors) is in good shape, and walls are freshly painted, there are some advantages to selling a vacant home. For a prospective buyer who is looking to relocate quickly, a vacant home signals that they can most likely negotiate a quick close. Another advantage is that the prospective buyer will be able to easily see “the bones” of your home, without being distracted by your belongings and/or art on your walls (or without worrying how many holes there will be to patch, fill and paint, once you move).
There is also an “in between” answer. One of our Stager’s favorite mantra’s is “pack it now or pack it later!” Since you have to move, it might make sense to begin the packing up process sooner than later. By thinning out closets, and packing up treasures to create a de-cluttered look in your home, you will help your home show better. Rent a storage space short term to place boxes, wardrobes and large pieces of furniture.
Your Liz Moore agent will hire a professional stager for a consultation before your home goes live on the market, and that is the ideal time to explore which options in terms of your move timetable will benefit your bottom line the most.
This is a classic home seller’s dilemma. And, like so many questions, it really depends on your specific situation. There are a number of improvements that are “no brainers”…so, let’s take a look at those first. The least expensive investments with the greatest returns are undoubtedly the following:
Answer: A lot. Many consumers confuse a “home appraisal” with a “tax assessment.” Actually, there are a number of different kinds of value, and they are all quite different. Yet, it is important to understand each type of value, and the part it plays in determining what your home is worth.
Home Appraisal
Let’s begin with a home appraisal. Because most buyers today get a mortgage, home sellers need to consider what lenders are willing to lend when they determine a sales price. Lenders do that by ordering a home appraisal by a licensed, independent appraiser. Home appraisals in this area (Newport News, Hampton, Yorktown, Poquoson, Williamsburg, James City County, Gloucester and surrounding areas) generally run between $350 and $450, depending on the size of the home and the scope of the appraisal.
Because appraisers approach value in an entirely different way than buyers (they look backward up to 6 months for sold comparable sales, rather than considering the current competition), home sellers are often surprised (and not always pleasantly!) at the home value numbers reached by appraisers. Professional appraisers typically select 3 to 6 of the most similar properties that have sold within a several mile radius of the subject property in the past 3 to 6 months (with more weight given to more recent comparable sales), and then make value adjustments for any differences (square footage, updated kitchen, special features like fireplaces and porches, etc.).
At Liz Moore & Associates, we offer a complimentary pre-listing appraisal as part of our “No Surprises” program, to help homeowners answer the question “What is my home worth?”
Tax Assessment
A tax assessment, on the other hand, is a totally different benchmark of value. Your assessment is the value that your local government (city or county, depending on where you live) assigns to your property in order to calculate the basis for the property tax it will charge you. In this area (Newport News, Hampton, Poquoson, Williamsburg, James City County, Gloucester and surrounding localities), assessments are generally revisited every 2 years. That is one reason that assessed values often lag behind the market during times (like 2003-2013) when markets are very dynamic and shifting quickly.
Because most Assessor’s offices are understaffed, it is not feasible for them to visit homes and review the interiors before making an assessment, in the same way that home appraisers and real estate agents do. Accordingly, they derive their information from a combination of sources such as a drive by of the property, the last sale price, and permitting information that they have on file.
Experience has taught us that although assessed values can be used as a benchmark, they are rarely an accurate reflection of what a home is really worth based on today’s market conditions.
Home Staging is a cottage industry that has really gained some prominence in recent years. I must admit that the first time I heard of the concept of “home staging” that I surmised it was somewhat of a racket. It just didn’t make sense to me that someone would come into a house, shift furniture around, and make a profit doing it.
Every year, the National Association of REALTORs does a study called the “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” that provides us with a plethora of information gathered from consumers and real estate professionals across the country. As part of this research project, they detail “Where Buyers Found the Home they Purchased” as a percentage distribution. Here are the results, based on the latest data:
Accordingly, your Liz Moore agent will create a marketing strategy that is designed to specifically target buyers using each of these resources proportionately.