Where have all the houses gone?

Great Blog!  Well I was going to get up this morning and write a fantastic piece about how there are not enough listings out there for existing homes in our area.  I had all the stats put together for North Fulton and environs.  The number of listings is down 9%, February sales are down 13%, February prices are up 11% over last February, and interest rates are going up!  Or maybe interest rates aren’t going up; they can’t seem to figure that one out.  What a great time to get in if you have a house to sell.  Sounds pretty good right?  And then I see all this is in an article on the front page of this morning’s newspaper.  Drat!  Can’t these guys find some original material?

It is a great time!  In spite of the fact that the AJC stole some of my thunder, I’m going to go ahead and continue my train of thought.  I have been wondering why there are not more homes for sale in my neighborhood than there are.  Atlanta home prices are back to 2002 levels, and within a couple of miles of my house they seem to be even better than that.  In fact, in the 12 months that ended in February the median price of a home sold in the Johns Creek H.S. district was $487,000 with an average selling price just under $540,000.  What’s also amazing is that the new construction homes, right up the street in both directions, are priced at $600-700,000 even $800,000.  

Talk about value!  I don’t about you, but if I was a home buyer who wanted to be in one of these great North Fulton school districts like Johns Creek H.S. a $487,000 house might seem like a pretty good value; especially compared to $800,000.  Think about a beautiful home in an established subdivision; a home on a large lot with big old trees and a lawn that doesn’t still look like a checkerboard of new sod.  It seems like a house like that and maybe a couple o’ hundred thousand bucks still in your pocket would help you sleep better at night.  You can really do some serious kitchen remodeling with that kind of money.

Go ahead and jump in.  I think there are a lot of folks like me in the area who own some of these valuable homes.  Our kids are up and out the house, hopefully for a good long time.  We’ve survived the last few years of the housing panic relatively unscathed and we are thinking about getting in the market and moving on.  I think if you have been waiting for the right time to make a move we may have found it.  Interest rates are still at near all-time lows.  Local housing prices are near all-time highs.  The projections are for only moderate price increases over the next couple of years. Housing inventory is in short supply and the good ones are selling quickly.  So why don’t you call somebody like me today.  Call a professional REALTOR® who knows your neighborhood and find out what’s going with your house, right now.  Today just might be the perfect time for you make your move.   

Real Estate for Girls?

Can I say that?  As the father of two beautiful, brilliant and successful daughters I think it might be OK.  At least they haven’t complained to me about being referred to from time to time as girls, but then maybe they’re just going easy on their old man.  I mention this because in my myriad emails this week I saw a comment about a new website for girls and it’s all about real estate; it’s aptly named Girls Guide to Real Estate.

Do we need this?  If you have ever been to a meeting, or a class, or any sort of gathering related to real estate then you know that it is an industry already dominated by women; or is it?  It certainly seems that way if you take things at face value.  And if the industry is dominated by women professionally, do we need a website that focuses specifically on real estate for girls?  It seems like what we really might need is a website focused on real estate for boys.  Of course just looking around at a Board of Realtors meeting or a class in my office isn’t exactly a scientific study, so I thought I had better dig a little deeper.

Girls Rule!  Well what do you know, it’s true; girls do rule the day.  In almost every measure females outpace males in real estate.  There are more female agents than male agents in every state; that’s pretty amazing.  The only stat I found where the guys out scored the girls was in the number of homes listed.  Interestingly though, the ladies overwhelmingly listed more expensive homes.  I’m not quite sure what that means, but it could be that sellers believe that women have a better understanding of the finer things in life.  It’s certainly hard to disagree with that.  But back to the question of why is there a need for a new website targeting girls in an industry already dominated by females? 

Yes we need this!  I spent my career before real estate in the home furnishings business, another industry that is heavily influenced by women.  I started out on the wholesale end dealing largely with male buyers.  It wasn’t until I moved to the retail side, in the trenches as it were, that I realized who was really driving the business.  Women not only work in home furnishings in large numbers, but most of the ultimate buying decisions are made by women.  And guys, if you don’t think the women in your life are heavily influencing buying decisions in real estate then you haven’t been paying attention.  Houses and furniture certainly seem to be made for each other don’t they?  Both are pretty big ticket items, and the purchase process can become very emotionally charged.  And these are decisions that usually have long term ramifications.  I think it might be a good idea if we all moved a little beyond the “prices on a map” thought process for buying and selling residential real estate, and considered how much more is involved in the process.

 

Maybe it is time.  We went through the housing bubble a few years ago when it really was sometimes just a chess game with other people’s money.  People were buying houses just to sell them in a couple years at a profit.  It wasn’t so much about the house, as it was about the turnaround time on the investment.  I think today’s market forces are going to be quite different now that the foreclosures and other distressed properties are beginning to go away.  There have been a lot of buyers and sellers on the sidelines in recent years, but they won’t be there forever.  And I think a lot of those folks will be looking for their next home, not just a 24 month investment vehicle with a good looking front door.  And women will surely drive a lot of this next wave of real estate buying and selling, as they always have.  So whether you’re a real estate pro, a home buyer or seller, and whether you’re girl or a boy; if you want to see what’s going on out there I would recommend you visit http://girlsguidetorealestate.com/.  As for the boys guide to real estate website idea, I think I’m just going to wait for further instructions from the girls.

 

 Just FYI, I am not affiliated with the website girls guide to real estate. I just saw it and liked it.

How valuable is your real estate listing agent?

How valuable is your real estate listing agent?

That’s a question you should definitely ask yourself whenever you are selling real property.  What can he, or she, bring to the table that offers real value to you and your transaction?

Does your guy know the market?  Anybody who can read a newspaper knows that real estate prices are up by double digits and sales are going through the roof. That’s easy, right?  But is the value of your house up by double digits?  Are houses selling quickly in your area?  A valuable agent will know exactly what’s going on in your town and in your neighborhood; even on your street. If he doesn’t, you should find someone who does. With all the tools available to today’s real estate professionals there is no excuse to not be on top of the market facts. If your agent is not totally familiar with what’s going on in the market around you then maybe your guy is not as valuable as you thought he was.

Can your guy help you get your house ready to sell?  That should be easy enough, right? Everybody knows it’s all about curb appeal; paint the shutters, plant some flowers, blow the driveway and put up the sign – House for Sale!  Well, curb appeal is definitely important but a valuable agent knows all the details about what’s most important beyond that pretty face.  He knows the facts about the other houses in the neighborhood.  And he also knows the latest features from the new homes being built around the corner.  And more importantly, he knows what the homebuyers are looking for when they are shopping in today’s market, in your neighborhood, and yes - on your street.  He knows these things because he’s done his homework.  He has visited the other homes for sale in the area, and he has researched all the information available to him about today’s homebuyers.  I assure you those homebuyers two states away aren’t looking for the same things your local homebuyers are.  In fact, buyers south of the city aren’t even looking for the same things that buyers north of the city are.  So to be a valuable agent your guy should be a big help in determining what you need to do to get your house ready to sell. 

Is your guy really going to work at selling your house?  Everybody knows that the listing agent hardly ever sells his own listings.  All he’s going to do is put the wheels in motion; put up a sign, type it into the MLS and wait for the commission check; right?  Well, a valuable agent is going to make sure that he directs the action every step of the way through the selling process.  He’s going to make sure that the property is ready to present every time it’s presented, whether it’s presented online or in person.  He will produce quality photos for the online listing and for fliers and other printed materials. He will make sure that you understand how important it is that your house is ready for every showing by other agents.  He will follow up personally with every agent who shows your house.  And most importantly, a valuable agent will have an internet marketing plan that will help your home standout among the literally tens of thousands of listed homes that are out there in cyberspace. And a valuable agent will have a plan to cause as many of those potential buyers as possible to contact him directly if they are interested in your property.  It’s important that they contact your agent, and not just any agent, because your agent should know more about your home than anyone else and he should have a vested interest in helping you sell your house. Make sure you have a valuable agent who has a plan to create and maintain this marketplace focus for your listing. 

Will your agent be valuable to you by using all the tools at his disposal to make your home stand out in the marketplace?  Will he be valuable to you by directing the action throughout the selling process?   The ultimate bottom line is; will your agent bring value to you by selling your house for the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time?

 

If you are looking for that valuable agent who will take the time and put in the hours to bring value to your transaction in the North Fulton area of Atlanta, GA please give me a call 678-206-6041 or email me at atdallen@gmail.com.  And please visit my website at www.DeeSellsHouses.com. 

An Ounce of Prevention

This has been a pretty crazy winter so far here in fashionable Johns Creek, GA and I’m not sure it’s over with yet.  We’ve had ice and snow, record cold, some thunderstorms and even tornados close by.  The Georgia Bulldogs have won more than a few basketball games on the SEC calendar.  And lo and behold, a bobsled driver from Douglasville, GA won a silver medal at the Sochi Olympics; what is that all about?  And yes thanks for asking, the US Olympic Bobsled Team was sponsored by Century 21.  I can only assume we’ll have snow at The Masters this year. So needless to say everybody at my house is more than ready for spring to arrive; especially that nice lady who pays the gas bill around here.

Well I am looking forward to springtime myself because I’m hoping that more homeowners who have been postponing listing their homes will enter the market this year.  There are lots of buyers out there looking for homes and there is not a lot of inventory to choose from.  The new home builders have recognized this and are definitely getting it in gear.  Even close to me, in a pretty well established area of Johns Creek, there are quite a few new homes coming out of the ground with more on the way.  The new houses being built today offer as standard features things like hardwood floors, tile bathrooms, granite countertops, high ceilings, 3-car garages, stainless steel appliances and many other great upgrades.  But maybe more importantly they also offer superior energy efficiency.  If you have looked at your gas bill in the past few months you know how important that can be.  To be competitive with the newly constructed houses of today, owners of existing homes preparing to enter the market need to be very detailed in their pre-listing preparation.

  

While curb appeal is still the best way to make a good first impression, when it gets down to decision time for your potential buyer a few more factors come into play.  You of course need to make sure that your listed home is freshly painted, clean as a whistle and has a great kitchen and bath set-up.  But you also must remember to be certain that you have taken care of the important details that you can’t see from the curb.  Have you been putting off adding another layer of insulation in the attic?  Have you wrapped those pipes, or are you still just repairing those breaks as they occur?  Have you serviced your HVAC system regularly, is it time for a checkup?  Have you cleaned your ductwork and your chimney?  Have you changed to GFCI outlets in your kitchen and bath?  This list could go on and on.  And if you have seen as many professional home inspection reports as I have then you know the list I’m talking about.  Most of the items that appear on an inspection report are pretty insignificant by themselves, but I have seen a laundry list of minor problems cause a sense of panic in both buyer and seller.  If you have any concerns at all it might be money well spent to have your home inspected by a pro before you put it on the market.

So why not spend a few dollars, and maybe a couple of weekends, and make a preemptive strike against all those things that the guy pitching the new house around the corner from you is going to be selling.  And make sure your listing agent insures that every potential buyer knows that your home is the best it can be by listing these very valuable but often hidden upgrades in your sales literature.  Maybe by investing in that ounce of prevention that Ben Franklin used to talk about, that price difference of potentially tens of thousands of dollars for the newly constructed house will seem pretty significant to the potential buyers in your area.  And it might just make your up-to-date home seem like the best buy in the neighborhood after all.