I just love it when friends and family ask me “how’s the market?” I tell them the truth and share with them the following figures. These figures are provided to us by the Centre County Association of Realtors MLS. As you see, our market has continued to do well considering what is going on Nationally. Now don’t get me wrong, we do have some price ranges that are not doing as well but overall living in Happy Valley has it’s benefits.

2006   248 Residential Units Sold

2007   254 Residential Units Sold

2008   252 Residential Units Sold

The above data of closed transaction during the 1st quarter of the past 3 years indicate limited market fluctuation.

If you have any questions regarding the market, please do not hesitate to “Meet with Maria”.

Children tend to mirror their parent’s emotions. If you are happy, then they’ll be happy. A child’s world is made up of possessions…my house, my room. Assure them that most of their world is moving too. Have them pack as much of their own stuff as possible. Give them special boxes to pack up their favorite things in and remember be happy!

A current client of mine shared with me the “College Towns Escape the Pain” article from the New York Times dated 11/07/07. In the article, the author explains that American College towns appear to be islands of stability. Finally good news! The article mentions State College as one of the areas with the smallest percentage of high-cost home loans. With what we hear in the media regarding Real Estate, it’s good to know that State College’s housing and job markets are stable and in some cases thriving. Click here to view the full article, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/weekinreview/04fess.html.

You will want to COMPARE! There is a good deal of variation in the mortgage market, not only from week to week but from lender to lender. Ask each lender you meet with for a “Good Faith Estimate”. Walk away from the lender who doesn’t give you one. On the good faith estimate, it will break down all your closing costs and pre-paids to include what your monthly payment will be. Take each good faith estimate and compare to see where the differences are.

Finally, there is no such thing as a “good deal”. When choosing a lender you will want to not only get the best rate but you are also going to want to get the best possible service. Choose a lender who will not only help you get the house of your dreams but who will also help you map out the future…kids college education, vacation home or retirement.

You are probably wondering what went wrong? Like all homeowners, once you put your home on the market you expect it to sell. Most homes do sell but as you’ve found out some don’t sell.

If you are still interested in selling, then the home sale you want is still within reach. Below are some thoughts to take into account before you decide to put your house back on the market.

First of all, ask yourself…Are you committed to selling? Are you committed to do what it takes to properly market your home for today’s market, not yesterday’s or last year’s market but today’s market? If not then don’t sell. It will only cause you to go crazy. Life by itself is crazy enough. Why add the stress of selling a home when you are not willing to do what it takes to sell it in today’s market.

If you are committed to selling then read on.

In my experience, there are four reasons why I think a home did not sell. They are lack of communication, price, condition and marketing.

Lack of communication

Teamwork between an agent and a seller is very important. Did you get the proper feedback? What did buyers say about price and condition? Was this communicated back to you? What did other agents say about your property? Was this communicated back to you? What did you do with the feedback your received from your agent? 

Price

Was your home priced correctly? Did you price your home based on what you “need” to get from your home or did you price it according to the current market? An overpriced home reduces buyers interest and it also makes competing homes look better. Experience has shown, the longer a house is on the market the lower the intial offer will be.

Condition

Going back to communication, what was the feedback you received from the showings? Was it positive or negative? If negative, was it something you could change? If someone didn’t like the floor plan, well there is nothing you can do about that. But if several mentioned your paint job, then you may have to consider hiring someone to repaint. Again, it goes back to “how committed are you to selling?”.

Marketing

How was your home advertised? Gone are the days when all an agent had to do was place a sign in the yard and it would be gone. I have found it takes more than just putting a house in MLS. Look for an agent that is willing to go beyond just putting a sign in the yard. Consider hiring an e-Pro agent. Endorsed by the National Association of Realtors, the e-Pro course teaches an agent the nuts and bolts of working with real estate on-line.

Buyers are out there waiting for your particular home. But before you put your home on the market please take the time to set the right price, improve if necessary the condition of your home and finally hire an agent that is going to market your home to sell. AND, listen to what they have to say.

I wanted to make everyone aware of a great website that allows the public to check on lenders that have already imploded and are unable to fund loans and those that are on the watch list. The website is www.mortgageimplode.com. About midway down the page, click on “Lists” and you will get a list of Lenders that are “Imploded” and “Ailing”.

Imploded lenders can mean bankruptcy filing, temporary but open-ended halting of major operations.

Ailing lenders haven’t shut down operatoins but are surely scaling back.

The website is updated daily. If you plan on doing business with any of these companies, please check with them and check other sources regarding this information. I know locally here in State College, PA  a particular settlement company will not close on a property until the funds from these banks have been wired and confirmed as being received.

Need to declutter your home before putting it on the market? Well, mark your calendars for the week of Oct 15-19, 2007. State College Veoila Environmental Services will collect old furniture, bedding, carpeting, appliances, tires , etc.

This is your opportunity to clean out your attics, basements and garages. Remember to have all items at the curb on your regular collection day. Some restrictions apply.  For additional information go to http://cog.centreconnect.org/refuse.

Should you stick to your listing price?

It depends.

That’s one of the problems in real estate. There is rarely a “cut and dry” answer to any question. Answers are more like, “if this…then that…but…”

However, we’ll just talk about prices, rather than condition, location, and all those “other” variables. There are enough variables just dealing with price.

So, during the first weeks the house was listed, was there plenty of agent and buyer activity, but no offers? If so, there is probably no need to immediately drop your price unless you have some special motivation to sell quickly.

If no one is coming around, though…this may indicate a problem with your price. The first thing you need to consider is whether there is a reason to think you are overpriced.

Some homeowners do mistakenly overprice their home. They occasionally base their price on what they “need” to net from the sale. Others mistakenly base their price on what they have spent improving the property.

Neither method works.

One method is like tying to sell a $72 stock for $80, “just because” you want $80. The other is like trying to sell the same stock for $80 “just because” that is what you paid for it.

The market is the market.

A $72 stock is going to sell for $72. Today. Tomorrow might be different.

Sometimes it is a seller’s market, sometimes a buyer’s market, sometimes it is a balanced market, and at other times…it is a changing market.

If you analyze how you priced your home initially and determine that you did not overprice (either purposely or mistakenly), it could be that the market has changed.

You say that happens gradually?

The market can change suddenly. One homeowner could put his house on the market in June and receive multiple offers within days. A month later, a nearby neighbor could put an identical home up for sale at the same price and…

…nothing happens.

Why?

It could be a number of reasons, but in this article we are focusing on price.

In June 2003 and July 2004, interest rates shot up over one percent in a matter of weeks. Sometimes it happens faster than that with a greater change. When it does happen, sometimes there is a sudden flurry of buying. Buyers want to get their home before rates really go up. Then, the flurry is followed by a equally sudden slowdown while buyers wait to see “what happens.”

Sudden.

Interest rates aren’t the only reason the market turns.

The point is that a listing price set 60 days ago may not always be the right listing price for today. Today’s listing price may not be right 60 days from now.

In the end, this is what you should do…

If you made a “mistake” in your listing price, “fix it” right away. If you did not, then reanalyze your price policy every 30 days…just to be sure.

Today I developed my Home Sale Preparation Report for a seller. It details room-by-room my suggestions for preparing a home to go on the market. I organize home sale preparation into 3 phases.

1. Repair & Clean – This phase involves making any repairs so that all parts of the home function correctly and appear unblemished. Examples include: completion of in-progress projects, repair of damaged surfaces, repair of malfunctioning fixtures (e.g. doors, windows, and appliances), carpet cleaning and window washing.

2. Stage – This phase involves rearranging, adding, and/or removing personal items outside and within the home to help buyers visualize themselves living in the home. Staging also helps highlight key architectural features and maximize the perceived space. Examples include: removing furniture that makes a room look smaller, removing clutter such as magnets on a refrigerator, and rearranging furniture to draw the buyer’s attention to a room’s focal point.

3. Show – This phase involves maintaining the home’s staged appearance until the home is off the market. Examples include: place settings on a dining table when it isn’t being used, making sure all light bulbs are functioning, and displaying fresh flowers to add color.

Each property is going to be different but for the most part these 3 items will get you to where you want to be…at the closing table.

From a prospective buyer’s perspective, the ideal way to preview a listing is when the seller is out of the house and the home is looking its best. This means that all the essentials you need for your day-to-day life must be kept out of sight toothpaste containers, hair dryers, newspapers, sponges, dishtowels and kitchen appliances that clutter countertops.

Keeping your home ready to show on short notice and then leaving when buyers show up can be trying and inconvenient. But there are ways to make the experience bearable.

First, set up showing instructions that you can live with. Ideally, your home should be available to be shown when buyers want to see it. The easier it is for agents to show your home, the more often it will be shown. There’s usually a direct correlation between the number of showings a listing receives and the time it takes to sell it: the more showings, the quicker the sale.

A vacant listing can be shown any time without disturbing the owner.

But, if you’re living in a property that’s on the market, insist that agents call you before they come. Most agents will respect these instructions. However, occasionally an inconsiderate or unwitting agent will show up with no advance warning and with an eager buyer in tow.

Home Seller Tip: To cope with short notice viewings, keep plastic bins handy so you can quickly scoop up toiletries and kitchen utensils and hide them out of sight in a closet or cabinet. Not only will this make it easier to clean up quickly, it’ll make it easier to find what you need later.

Pets can be problematic when a home is on the market. If your cat is to stay inside, put notes on exterior doors to remind agents not to let the cat out. Dogs require a little more planning. Some people are afraid of dogs. If unsuspecting agents show up at a listing with their buyers and there is a barking dog, they may decide it’s too risky to enter.

Some sellers have the dog stay elsewhere when the house is on the market. If this isn’t possible, make sure that agents know that there is a dog in the house and that they need to arrange showings with the seller. One solution to the problem is to take the dog for a walk during showings. Plan to take pets away during open houses.

Cooking can be messy. Also, some cooking odors are offensive. So, plan to eat out more often while your home is on the market, especially during summer months when listings are often shown after work hours.

Entertain someplace other than home if your listing is being shown a lot. Rather than have children’s overnight parties at your home, see if other parents can make their homes available.

Good luck and keep in mind this is only a short term sacrafice for a long-term goal.