Indy Home Book » For Home Sellers

Open House Marketing

Richard — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:42:02 +0000

Marketing a property is sort of like fishing. One line in the water is good, but ten is even better. You increase the probability of success by the number and quality of ways that the public and their agents can encounter the property. A huge part is Internet exposure on multiple websites so people can find them with search engines. But also good ‘ol direct mail to areas where a likely move-up prospect resides now, or getting the word out to fellow agents within the company and other companies can work. Just the sign in the front yard or the brochure box there can sometimes lure in a prospect. Another facet of marketing is Open Houses. It’s not one of the most important parts, but it definitely can increase exposure which is always a good thing. Some homes lend themselves better to Open Houses than others. For instance, in a VERY expensive neighborhood, you might not get a lot of of real prospects there, just people who want to look at the cool house. Something not too much lower or too much higher than the average price in our market probably works the best, i.e. the deepest water if you are fishing. But that doesn’t mean it won’t work for other price points. For homes off the beaten path with very little drive-by exposure, the probability is lower for attendance. The best would be a home in a neighborhood with higher than average demand and sales activity historically. One with good drive-by exposure for your main Open House sign on a well-traveled street. A home that’s easy to navigate to from a main road is best vs. one all the way at the back of a subdivision with eight turns and eight signs to follow in order to find it. I always advertise the Open House up to a week in advance on our public website for people searching for Open Houses. More people are finding them that way than before, but still, the Open House sign is by far the most common way that people find it. I enjoy hosting open houses. It’s fun to talk to people, and you never know for sure what will happen unless you try.

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Showings Increase

Richard — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:42:03 +0000

One of the ways to get a read on the residential market is to track the number of home showings on listings. Over time it’s proven to be a fairly reliable indicator of future sales. It stands to reason that when showings are down, then there are less potential buyers out there looking. Conversely, an increase usually means there are more buyers actively considering a home purchase. In the Indianapolis area, our market is seasonal, so when trying to understand the market, it makes sense to compare a time period now with the same time period in previous years. Showings in 2005-2006 were record years, but had fallen off somewhat in recent years due to the economic climate. That’s been swinging back the other way this year though. For instance, the number of showings this last week, were up 33% over this same week last year for my office. We all have a sense that there was a general increase in activity, but it’s interesting to see a measurement that supports it.

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Selling Homes One by One

Richard — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:42:27 +0000

A transaction I had been working on for quite a while closed today. As closings go it was a little different because the buyer wasn’t local and couldn’t attend on the day closing was to be. So the seller signed their documents here, then copies overnighted to the buyer and signed the next day, and overnighted back to be finalized on day three today. Usually buyers and sellers along with their agents meet at a title company together to close, and the whole process takes usually a little less than an hour. But I’ve seen all kinds of variations of that. Like, one party is only free in the morning and the other party is only free in the afternoon…so a two part closing. Or occasionally there is a divorcing couple who are selling but don’t want to be in the same room as each other. That’s kind of fun to deal with, but we do. Anyway or either way, all’s well that ends well so they say. My focus is on making sure my client is happy with the outcome and try very hard so that the other party is too. That time is an important one in people’s lives and the closing should be friendly and a have positive energy to it. One chapter ending and another beginning for everyone.

I had closings on my mind so I took a look at the stats today for the nine counties that make up the greater metropolitan Indianapolis area. Our Board of Realtors site says that so far this year 14,353 homes or condos have sold/closed in 2011. And there are 15,193 homes or condos that are listed for sale. If you are one of those that has a home for sale or thinking about putting your home on the market, as you can see, homes are selling…one by one.

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Counter Offer Strategy

Richard — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 23:18:52 +0000

Now days, when an offer is made on a property, it feels like there are larger differences of opinion on price and terms between buyers and sellers at the start of negotiations, than what’s been typical. That doesn’t mean it’s that way for most properties, but I’ve seen and heard of some crazy-low offers being made on properties these days, even if the property is priced correctly. I guess I don’t blame people for trying to get the best deal possible. It’s a free market. But I think some have been watching too much television or taking bad advice away from articles they have read. The media enjoys making all-inclusive general statements about anything. That’s what they do. It could be a piece about a slow real estate market someplace, or comments about a financially distressed property situation here or there, and so somehow that is processed by some to believe that every seller, every home is ripe for a low-ball offer now. It’s kind of interesting times actually. I honestly haven’t seen it quite like this before, ever.

But the offering strategy is still the same as it always was and always will be. Buyers offer what they want for whatever reason seems appropriate to them, and Sellers counter with what they would like to do or need to do. And the dialogue continues with more counter offers until they either agree, or disagree. Each home, each Seller, each Buyer has a different set of circumstances. Some Sellers don’t have any room to negotiate because of what they owe. Some do. Some absolutely have to sell. Some don’t. Some Buyers must buy a home to move into by a certain date. Some don’t. There are endless examples to give. The point is, in a national market there are millions of different situations…and every local market is made up of thousands of unique situations. Each neighborhood has homes with dozens of different story-lines and each individual home has different circumstances that effect the outcome of an offer. So…let the negotiations begin.

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Second Showing

Richard — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 13:38:54 +0000

When an agent wants to set an appointment to show my listing, they contact my scheduling service and shortly afterwards I get an email notification from the service with information about the appointment time and the agent who is showing it. The service can tell if the agent has shown this property before, and if so, asks them if it’s a second showing. If it is, the email I receive will say “2nd Showing” someplace on it. That’s semi-interesting to know as it means there might be deeper interest from a prospect that saw it before. A lot of times, buyers come back at least once again before moving forward with a written purchase agreement. But if a property is special and in a highly desirable area then it could be gone if they take their time trying to decide. As a listing agent, it’s good when there’s a second showing, but long ago, when I was just starting in the business, I excitedly told a seasoned agent that there was a showing on my listing and they remarked “showin’ ain’t sellin”… translated, a showing means nothing unless there’s a written offer, and one that is accepted. To prove that point, I’ve had homes listed that received over 50 showings, several of them second showings, without an offer. If so, 99% of the time that means it’s a desirable home but the market feels it’s way overpriced.

If I’m on the other side, working with a buyer, then the most important thing is that they feel comfortable with any decision, so accompanying them to look at a home several times is perfect with me. But if the home is very close to the description of what they are looking for and a desirable property on the market, it’s in their interest for me to remind them that it could be gone if they take their time making a decision. I’ve seen people loose a home they really wanted because their offer was minutes later than another one that the seller just accepted.

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Valuable Effort

Richard — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:41:27 +0000

One of the more interesting facets of being a Realtor is being able to get a close-up look at a number of different homes, inside and out. You’d think that would become routine after so many years, but it’s still really enjoyable. While some designs are similar, each home has a different tale to tell that makes it fun to encounter. The old homes especially have a great story line. The succession of owners have a huge impact obviously. Each owner differs in the amount of time and resources they devote to maintenance, updates, landscaping, etc. Each home is the sum total of everything that people have done. Even small things add up like decorating or furnishings. Value is affected by this too. Even if two homes were exactly alike except that more effort was put into cleanliness, decorating and furnishings, a buyer is probably more likely to purchase the one that exudes the most charm. Time equals money, so the effort put into that adds to the bottom line too. Usually the longer a home is for sale, the market will begin to question the asking price. Typically, the quicker a home sells, the closer it will bring to asking price.

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Sellers Market

Richard — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:47:02 +0000

When was the last time that there was a Sellers market? The last time that occurred here locally was around 2005-2006. But labels like that over-generalizes what really happens in the marketplace. Every home in every neighborhood in every section of town is different than the next. Some homes sell very quickly for full price. Others do not. A number of factors can cause this, but nine times out of ten the main reasons are either price or condition or both. Let’s say two homes in the same neighborhood are for sale and they are priced the same. They are similar in size, floor plan and features. But one needs painting, carpet, landscaping, repairs and updates. It’s obvious which one of the two is going to sell.

I’m thinking about this now because I’ve been talking with someone who is getting their home ready for the market to list with me soon. A lot of Sellers don’t get it, but I can tell from our conversations that they understand what is necessary in this market to sell their home. People thinking about a move may be a little spooked about the market now thinking it’s not a good time to sell a home, but that’s not true. There are lots of homes selling now. Sure, it’s not a red hot market like 2005-2006, but it’s still a good market. Each home is unique in the way the market responds to it. If someone wants their home to sell then price it appropriately and prepare it for the market by removing any condition issues. It will stand out from others and greatly increase the probability of success. Forget how the media portrays the market these days as a Buyers martket. If price and condition are in balance, the home will sell.

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Diminishing the American Dream

Richard — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:57:05 +0000

I stay away from politics normally, but this is an needed exception. There is a Bill being considered in the US Congress now that everyone needs to be aware of who owns a home or who may buy one in the future. It proposes changes to regulations involved with Qualified Residential Mortgages, drastically changing the rules of who would be able to obtain a mortgage loan. Sellers and Buyers would both be impacted by this. It would be a lot tougher for Sellers to sell their property and so the value of their property would be affected as well. Essentially it requires that even the most credit worthy buyers have a minimum of 20% down payment in order to get a conventional loan to purchase a home. Buyers with excellent credit can now purchase homes with 10% or even 5% down payment now. Please read this White Paper for more details and what the impact would mean.

The intention was well meaning…strengthening lending laws so there won’t be another meltdown like the one a couple years ago due to the sub-prime mortgage debacle. But this just shows what can happen when non-experts don’t think things through in a practical way. The proposed regulatory provisions are too narrowly defined. If you thought the market has been tough the last few years, that would be nothing compared to what would happen if this were to pass. Owning a home would be out of reach for a huge number of Americans. According to the National Association of Realtors research, 60% of recent home buyers made less than a 20% down payment, and it would take 14 years for a typical person to save up a 20% down payment to buy a median-priced home.

I’ve contacted my Senators and Congressman about this already. But if you feel inclined to weigh in with your respective congressmen on this issue, please call, email or write them. If you are from Indiana, here are links to the contact information for Senators Coats and Lugar. For all other states Click Here and “Find Your Senator” in the box in the upper right. And for contact information for the Congressman representing your district, here is a link to the US House of Representative website. Just input your zip code in the box in the upper right.

I strongly believe that this Bill would wrongfully diminish home ownership and is counter-productive to strengthening our economy. Owning our own home gets us involved as citizens in making the country a better place to live, and is one of the cornerstone concepts, right along with freedom and liberty.

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Market Ready

Richard — Tue, 10 May 2011 11:54:57 +0000

For many this time of year, after months or years of thinking, dreaming and planning, the decision has finally been made to go forward with moving which means selling their home. These kinds of life events take a long time to materialize into action. It’s an important step. Meanwhile, their home is still where they live their daily lives. It’s difficult to turn that home which supports them every day into a home that is ready for the market. But it has to be done if they want to be successful. That definitely means completing any repairs or updates that need doing, and brightening up the inside and out with fresh paint where needed, but it also requires depersonalizing the decor from an overabundance of family photos and all the personal mementos laying about…and yes, removing all the patterned wallpaper in a few rooms that they just loved 15 years ago. No one else will want that same wallpaper (or any wallpaper for that matter these days) or want to be faced with doing that removal project. The idea is to make the home inviting and void of any issues that would deter a prospective purchaser. When someone comes to look at the home, they are trying to project themselves into the home. If they see themselves there, then the chances are likely they will buy it.

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Horizontal Living

Richard — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 02:51:19 +0000

Easily the most efficient design for a home is the traditional two-story. A one-level home with the same square footage costs a lot more to build, as the foundation and roof could be twice the size of it’s two-story version. The electric wiring, water lines and furnace runs needed for a one-level home are longer and therefore add more to building costs too. After being built, a two-story home usually is more efficient to heat and cool as well. But despite those logical reasons for a two-level home, the one-level home becomes the one that’s the most practical at a certain point for most people. The reason is simply the stairs. As people age, having to traverse the stairway over and over becomes less attractive and why they feel like making a change to a one-level home. It’s always been like that, but there is an increasing demand for one-level homes in recent years because the average age in the population is increasing. Some make the change at a younger age than others, but it’s inevitable for most people, that their two-story home will at some point become less attractive to them. The problem is, there really aren’t enough one-level homes around that have the modern amenities and features that people want nowadays. Builders aren’t really building very many spec homes these days, especially one-level varieties. So having a custom home designed and built is sometimes the only solution to get a home exactly like what they want. Even though existing home sales have always been the largest part of my business, helping people with building a new custom home occurs more often than it did before. I think it’s a sign of the times and the increasing popularity of the one-level home. Horizontal living…the idea gets better with age.

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