Realistic Sellers Sell Their Houses
January 25th, 2012 categories: Selling Strategies
A few days ago, I showed a house to a motivated couple who want to find their next Denver home before Valentine’s Day.
They liked it, and decided they might make an offer. Being savvy buyers, they asked me to give them an analysis of other properties that had recently sold around the listing they were considering.
I also pulled the history of the listing, and we found that the house had been on the market for 10 months, with two different real estate brokers. I called the current broker and asked him a few of the usual questions, when do the sellers want to close, is there anything we need to know, etc.
Then came the shocker. The broker said, “I’d suggest your buyers not low ball the price, these sellers don’t have to sell.”
Wow! They’ve endured showings for 10 months, kept the house in show-ready condition, and expected their broker(s) to work hard on the marketing. You almost wonder if that For Sale sign means anything?
I’ve heard sellers tell me this same thing in listing appointments, “I don’t have to sell, so I won’t take anything less than my price.”
Sellers Beware! You may not sell your house if this is your attitude. Don’t expect a professional broker to come in armed with her analysis and years of experience, only to tell her you’ll decide the price. Pricing is not an exact science, and it’s definitely a collaborative effort with sellers’ motivation factored in, but don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. Pay attention to the data if you really DO want to sell your house.
There are times when the initial analysis needs adjustment based on the ever moving barometer of closed sales, and the broker doesn’t always nail it the first time. In certain instances an initial market analysis might actually be a little high, and downward adjustments are warranted. If the seller and the broker can collaborate based on a new analysis, it will be a much better working relationship than one based on a seller dictating the price without credence to the market. If the price is low, you’ll know by the bidding war that ensues. If the price is right, you’ll sell quickly without a lot of drama.
Buyers won’t offer you what you need. They won’t offer you what you put into it. They won’t offer you what you owe. They’ll offer you what their own analysis suggests is a realistic price – less some negotiating factor. Buyers don’t walk in and over pay because you have your house on the market and you’re a nice, deserving person. In fact, you’re reinforcing their decision to go make an offer on the competition.
Sellers – if you don’t have to sell, then your house isn’t really “on the market.” Save yourself months of grief and frustration. Save me and my buyers some time, please. Thank you.
Gretchen Faber works with buyers and sellers in Metro Denver’s luxury home market, as well as in-town neighborhoods, new construction and corporate relocations. Check out all the Metro Denver listings at www.GretchensDenver.com.
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Pine Needles Plauge Denver Area Gutters
November 20th, 2011 categories: Life In Denver, Selling Strategies
Have you cleaned your gutters lately?
I was showing a home in Park Hill recently, and we noticed piles of pine needles in the gutters. The buyers remarked that it looked like a fire hazard.
Denver area pine trees shed massive numbers of needles this time of year, which clog gutters and prevent proper drainage. Remember to check your gutters for needles and leaves, and clean them out before the rain and snow descend. This should be one of your regular home maintenance items. If you’ve already checked it off your list – good for you!
Don’t let pine needles or leaves plague your gutters, inspect all of your gutters this week while the weather is still gorgeous! It’s one of those things that home buyers may not overtly notice, but gives your home a well-maintained look.
Gretchen Faber, LifeStyle Denver author, is a local Denver real estate broker. Contact Gretchen about listing your Denver area home for sale.
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Should I Decorate My Listed House for the Holidays?
November 16th, 2011 categories: Selling Strategies
Every year, sellers ask whether they should decorate for the holidays.
The answer is yes! Within reason. Here are 5 things to keep in mind:
- Keep it simple. Don’t overdo the clutter or festive air. Less is more. Just like you cleaned out your closets to make your home feel larger, resist the temptation to pull out every decoration you’ve collected over the years and fill up the space.
- Tasteful decorations add to the warmth and homey feeling, but over-the-top or outlandish will distract from the buyers’ opportunity to see the bones of your house.
- Resist the temptation to advertise your religion too strongly. Remember, you’re trying to make everyone feel that your house could be their house. Don’t alienate potential buyers who may have a different faith than you do. Christmas wreaths and trees or Hanukkah menorahs are wonderful expressions of tradition, and are fine decorations.
- Take the decorations down immediately after the holidays! Don’t leave them up much past the first week in January. Your cozy decorating will feel stale as soon as the new year bells stop ringing.
- If you don’t celebrate the holidays, consider adding more lighting, candles or flower arrangements for showings. Make potential buyers feel at home and ready to celebrate their next holiday in their new home.
LifeStyle Denver is a Denver real estate and lifestyle blog authored by local Realtor Gretchen Faber with The Kentwood Company at Cherry Creek. Subscribe for up-to-date Denver information!
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Bang for Your Buck – Top Home Updating Tips
September 7th, 2011 categories: Selling Strategies
As a Denver area real estate broker, I’m asked by homeowners where they should put their money when getting their house ready for sale. So many times, the Seller has put off updates and improvements they could have enjoyed and they’re now considering those same updates to benefit the next owner.
How can you keep on top of home improvements, keep on budget and enjoy before you sell? Focus on “bang for the buck.”
Bang for the Buck 1: Kitchen counter tops. Replace your laminate or tile counters with granite or quartz. One brand name for quartz counters is Silestone, and their look has come a long way in the past 15 years. If your cabinets are in decent shape, just a counter replacement and a fresh coat of paint on the walls can completely transform a kitchen.
Bang for the Buck 2: Keep it in the kitchen. Consider a new backsplash, adding pull-outs inside your cabinets and updating the appliances. A friend of mine recently had a professional cabinet painter change her cherry cabinets to a muted grey color and the kitchen looks amazing. The cherry was the rage when they built their home, but it never quite meshed with the granite. Painted cabinets may not sound like the way to go, but it did the trick in this kitchen.
Bang for the Buck 3: Update Flooring. Your wood floors will wear out over time, and refinishing them when you live in the house is a royal nuisance. But it has to be done, so plan ahead. It’s less expensive than replacing the floor when it’s too worn to refinish. If you have tile, carpet or vinyl then budget for updating every 7-9 years. That’s how long it takes to begin showing wear and tear, and to look a bit dated. “Carpet allowances” never work. Get the new stuff and enjoy it, but keep it new looking if you’re planning on selling in less than 7 years. Removing shoes at the door goes a long way toward limiting wear and tear.
Bang for the Buck 4: Paint the interior and exterior. You’ll need to paint every 5 to 7 years. More often if you have children or pets. Fresh paint makes a house shine. Paint with color for yourself, and when you’re ready to sell paint neutrally (but not white) to ensure a broad appeal. I love the Devine Paint web site. It’s truly a feast for the eyes.
Bang for the Buck 5: Landscaping. Give your yard a fresh look by cutting back overgrown bushes and trees. Plant blooming flowers, and make sure to pull weeds. Good landscaping adds tremendous value to your curb appeal. This is something you can do yourself, or hire out on an hourly basis. A true bang for the buck if you shop wisely and prune the existing landscape without adding too many new items. It’s fall, so add some bulbs if you’re in a bulb-growing area. You can order beautiful bulbs at White Flower Farm. If you’re in the Denver area, buy locally at Country Fair Garden or City Floral.
Bang for the Buck 6: Easy Bathroom Remodel. Bathrooms are small enough that you can usually find remnants to do an easy renovation. Small lots of tile at mark-down prices, resurfacing tubs and sinks instead of replacing them, and shiny new fixtures on sale at Lowe’s or Home Depot are great ways to give your bathroom an updated look and getting bang for your buck.
Check out the gorgeous homes for sale at GretchensDenver. The photos may give you more bang for the buck ideas.
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Top 5 Reasons Why Home Sellers Need to Position Themselves for 1st Place
January 30th, 2011 categories: Selling Strategies
There are many reasons to position your home to be the next in line to sell. Here are the top 5:
1. You’ve put your house on the market. That means it’s time to sell! You’ve decided to move for a variety of reasons. Maybe a job transfer, maybe a move up or down, maybe a tightening mortgage payment. Regardless, Sellers can’t rely on the old theory, “I’ll just put it on the market and see what I get.” That’s so yesterday. Don’t waste your time or your Broker’s time. The Buyers out there are too savvy. They won’t “just make an offer.” Too many Sellers still haven’t realized how important positioning is, and how competitive the market is right now. Regardless of a renewed sense of consumer confidence, there will not be a marked appreciation on your house for quite awhile.
2. When rates do begin to rise, and they have been over the past two weeks, Buyers’ purchase power will begin to erode. That means the pool of potential customers for the product you’re selling will get smaller. Your house is on the market – it’s a product. It should appeal to the largest number of potential purchasers as possible. And it should either be a phenomenal deal, or be updated to current taste and style. Don’t underestimate the feedback if you hear the price is too high. That might be a reflection that rates are impacting Buyers and their willingness to make an offer on a property they view as average – either for reasons of pricing or condition, or both.
3. There is an unseen pent-up inventory of homes waiting to hit the market. More inventory will translate into more competition and eroding or flat prices. Sell now, before you’re competing against the Seriously Delinquent, Pre-Foreclosures and Bank-Owned Properties (REO Inventory.) A recent Core Logic study shows how much inventory threatens to come on the market throughout the U.S. in coming months.
4. Don’t think distressed sales won’t affect your price. Should appraisers attempt to use like-kind sales? Yes, they should. But when short sales and foreclosures begin to dominate they will affect pricing throughout the market. In the high-end, we’re seeing more and more short sales, more and more bank-owned properties. Everyone has been affected by the Great Recession – get your home sold if that’s your goal. Listen to what your Broker tells you about price and condition. Your Broker is your consultant. She (or he) is there to help you.
5. It’s time to keep emotion out of it. That’s hard, I know. If I were selling my home today, I would want the highest price possible. But the price in your mind is not usually the price a house sells for. Do you truly want to sell your house now? Isn’t that why you’ve gone to the effort of readying it for the market, making it available to Buyers, and hiring a Broker? Be a savvy Seller, one who can brag to your friends that you sold quickly in a really tough market. Don’t be the Seller with multiple price reductions and months and months on the market. You will lose in the end. Be the Seller who sells – the entire reason you’ve placed your home for SALE!
Visit www.GretchensDenver.com. Gretchen Faber’s Denver Real Estate web site with local resources, homes for sale, and terrific presentations of the top properties in Denver.
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How Long Does it Take to Sell a House in Today’s Market?
August 6th, 2010 categories: Selling Strategies
Real estate brokers are often asked, “How long will my house be on the market?”
We can only speak in averages, utilizing some of our experience to weigh and balance your home’s appeal, decor, location and other salient factors. One key factor is assessing how much inventory we have on the market. And where the new listing falls among the competition for price and condition.
Sellers should pay attention to the length of time their house will take to sell for a few reasons:
- One is to brace yourself for the daily grind of preparing a house to show at any moment.
- Another is to reflect on timing issues. Do you need to be moved by the start of school? Do you want to take advantage of the prime selling season? Are you being relocated in three weeks?
- The most important reason to pay attention to average selling time? Pricing!
In Denver, the MLS posts average Days on Market. Higher inventory generally means longer DoM. When inventory is lower, DoM shrinks too. In May 2010, we had 21,433 homes/condos on the market. Average DoM was 76. In June 2010, we had 22,689 homes/condos on the market and the average DoM went up to 82.
Average DoM is looking back. Looking forward, how long could it take to sell? Take existing inventory and divide by sales that month. In June, Denver had 5.4 months supply of single family homes on the market.
Here’s a simple chart to explain the conventional real estate wisdom around inventory and time on market. When houses take 7 months or more to sell, it’s a depreciating market. When it takes less than 4 months, prices will be appreciating. This is basic real estate supply and demand.
Denver’s available single family as compared with closed is pushing us above 5 months of inventory. DoM will likely continue to lengthen in coming months. More homes coming on, fewer selling. Eventually, this could erode the price stabilization we’ve had.
However! Buyers could react to low rates and low prices, realizing that their dream of a new home has more to do with lifestyle than with timing the markets. If banks don’t push out too much new inventory, prices will keep stabilizing.
It’s the shadow inventory that threatens us. Without that, Denver is poised to bump along for awhile and then turn the corner. There are buyers who recognize this is a great time to buy. They will get the good deals at great rates. Sellers must be keenly aware of the fine balance we’re facing – balancing how new inventory could affect their saleability.
Watch the monthly market statistics here. Do the math and calculate how many months inventory we have and determine the best way to move your home to the front of the line – the home that buyers will pick next.
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Top 5 Things You Must Know to Get Your House Sold Now
August 5th, 2010 categories: Selling Strategies
A friend of mine is a lender in a mountain town in Colorado. We’ve been talking about home sales and where the market might be headed. Here is an excerpt of an email he sent me yesterday:
“From what I’m hearing around the country (from lenders,) everyone has seen the buyer market completely dry up. Like off a cliff. Wonderful. At least I’m busy with refinances.”
Why is the buyer market drying up? Rates are at unbelievable lows. Like nothing any of us has seen in our lifetime. Prices are as low as they’ve been since 2004. With low rates and low prices, buyers can now purchase a home they could only dream about 5 or 6 years ago.
But here’s the rub – some buyers are struggling with unemployment, some are pulling back on spending and paying off debt or refinancing, and some have changed their mindset from a house being a home to a house being an investment. Those in the last category seem compelled to wait until the market “bottoms out.”
They may be able to time the bottom, but they’ll likely as not miss it. The buyers who are buying now are the ones who realize that this current combination of low rates and low prices affords them the opportunity to focus on home as a lifestyle. To find the home they want to live in and raise their families in, to retire in, to relax and shut out the craziness of the world in.
How do you get those buyers to make an offer on your house today? Here the top 5 things you must know to get your house sold:
1. Know your competition – There has been a lot of talk about “shadow inventory” the past few months. What does that mean and how does is affect you? Homes that are in the pipeline to come on the market, but aren’t on the market yet are in the shadow inventory. Homeowners who are delinquent, but not yet in foreclosure are highly likely to have their homes added to this inventory. Bank owned properties tend to reduce the value of all homes for sale, so this potential inventory poses some risk that we’ll have flat or reducing prices until we work this pig through the snake. The experts suggest that we have between 4 and 8 million distressed properties not yet on the market.
2. Know where you stand - You MUST pay attention to the feedback. Some sellers say, “no one has said anything about price!” They counter that the feedback has been about the size of the basement, the size of the back yard or the master bedroom closets. I’m here to tell you now – this is disguised price feedback! Sellers, know this – There’s an ass for every saddle. If you are getting feedback like the above the only way to address it is through price. The buyers aren’t finding the value in your house yet, so they’re looking for another saddle. If the feedback says your house is dirty or the paint is chipping, then you can clean and paint.
3. No showings means wrong price – Are you getting no showings? You rightfully feel that you can’t react to the feedback because you aren’t hearing any. First, have your broker review the listing as it’s entered into the MLS. Make sure that there isn’t a mistake like the wrong sub area or incorrect directional information. Check that the house is showing up on the typical internet sites. Then consider whether you are ready to plunge into potentially severe price reductions. With no showings at all, you could we way off target. You’ll need to step down your price until you begin to get showings. You can now react to the feedback and see if you hit it, or if you need to reduce further.
4. Keep abreast of new competitors – Shadow inventory doesn’t only include bank owned properties. It’s also comprised of the homes that sellers will be putting on the market while you’re still trying to sell. Studies suggest that a tremendous number of sellers have been waiting until they perceive the market is turning around. In Denver, this shadow inventory has been hitting the market since our news got better. Available properties are increasing as the news about homes sales improves. The good news has been fabulous, but the added inventory will lengthen the time it takes to sell a home, which could result in further price depreciation. 22 million people in the U.S. are at least somewhat likely to put their home on the market at signs of a turnaround.
5. Don’t get behind the rock – No, not Dwayne Johnson. I wouldn’t mind being behind Dwayne. I mean the rock that’s rolling downhill. If your house has been on the market for more than 30 days and/or 25 showings without an offer, you’re behind the rock. Once you’re behind a rock that’s rolling downhill, it’s very hard to get back out in front of it. Get in front of it now. Look at the last chart carefully. This is Case Shiller’s projected increase in inventory for the Denver area. We’re facing an 89% increase in inventory in the next year. Of course, that won’t be released all on the same day or week, but it’s a number to pay attention to. If they’re even half right, we’ll have a lot of homes to sell in coming months.
Your broker’s job is to expose the house to the larger market – via MLS, internet marketing, personal networking, open houses, blogging, mailings, etc. Your job is to react to the feedback. Don’t take it personally. It’s not a reflection on your choice to buy the house (it may be if you live on a freeway.) It’s a reflection on the market and what buyers – the only ones who count – think the house is worth.
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Is Your House For Sale? Why Isn’t it Sold!?
August 4th, 2010 categories: Selling Strategies
You’ve been on the market a few weeks, or a few months. You’ve cleaned, you vacuum and turn on the lights before every showing.
Your broker carefully analyzed the recent sales and the current competition – the price seemed ok. Not too high, but not leaving money on the table either. You can always come down, you reasoned.
You eagerly await the feedback from every showing. Is this the one?
Now is the time to seriously reflect on why you are selling your house and what you’re going to do about it.
This market is kicking the pants off of experienced brokers and willing sellers. Now is the time to take the emotion out of it and analyze.
Denver has been riding a high. We’re in the news about our recovery. Our Days on Market are down from last year, meaning less time to sell a house. But wait! Days on Market are up since May. Inventory is up since last year and since May. What’s going on?
A Survey of 109 experts, economists and analysts by Macro Markets in the slide above shows that their expectation is that prices will not begin a serious rebound from today’s prices until 2012. And we’re likely to see a decrease in prices between now and then.
Why? The dreaded “shadow inventory” still lurks. Denver real estate has benefited from banks holding back their REO properties. Partly because they’re taking longer to foreclose and partly because they’re waiting for the market to turn. These homes will be on the market in increasing numbers in the months to come. Combine that shadow inventory with pent-up seller desire to sell, and you have a recipe for a huge influx of inventory.
More on this tomorrow. Consider this – you have your house on the market today. Do you want to compete with REO properties that will surely drive prices down? Do you want to compete with new listings when yours may be viewed as stale? Price to sell today. You can move on – for all of the reasons you decided to sell in the first place. I’ll bet that divesting of an “investment” wasn’t your main reason to move. So focus on the real reasons – to be closer to family, to move to new schools, to follow a job. Forget about the idea of waiting it out and getting a few more dollars. My crystal ball tells me that’s gonna take awhile.
Search for your next home at Denver Real Estate.
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Sellers – Are You Taking the Sale of Your Home Seriously?
July 26th, 2010 categories: Relocation Tips, Selling Strategies
I’ve been working with two families who will be relocating to Denver in the next few weeks. Both are lovely couples with school-age children, both are motivated to find a home to land in as soon as their houses sell.
When buyers who are moving to a new town come for a house hunting trip it can be a whirlwind. We hit the ground running, whether it’s 95 degrees out, raining cats and dogs or the snow is anything less than a blizzard. The days are long, the homes run into each other, and sellers have only moments to make an impression.
First impressions count.
This is an actual sign I saw on a home last week. I’ve made one alteration. I’ve altered what was spelled out in full force to hit us between the eyes as we stepped up to the front door.
The buyers had their two young boys with them in their car, and asked me to run up and preview the house quickly before they got the kids out. There was a retail center behind the house we weren’t counting on, and they felt it would be a deal killer. However, being respectful to the sellers, they wanted me to take a quick look and leave my card.
As I came up the walkway, there were cigarette butts all over the front patio and crumpled cigarette packages in an empty planter. The paint on the front door jamb was discolored and poorly re-painted. Then there was the big sign on the door. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Needless to say, we beat it out of there and never looked back.
I have to wonder who those sellers are? This home is priced more than double the average home price in metro Denver, and is in an area of large suburban single family homes. Do these sellers think this is funny? Do they have teenagers and forget that you don’t talk to everyone else like this? (Or anyone else for that matter?)
I sent the listing broker detailed feedback and never received so much as a comment back from him. A match made in heaven. He apparently doesn’t want to sell his listing any more than his seller does.
Sellers – we have plenty of choices for buyers out there. If you aren’t serious, don’t waste my time or my clients’. Get your house looking its best. This is a beauty competition. The house with the sign won for ugly.
Check out my listings online for terrific homes with fabulous sellers!
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Is Hope Your Selling Strategy? The Top 10 Signs You’ve Embraced Reality
March 27th, 2010 categories: Selling Strategies
What do you picture on the sign in front of your house? For Sale? Sold?
Some sellers picture For Sale By Owner, others picture For Sale By the Cheapest Broker We Could Find. The savvy sellers picture For Sale By the Most Experienced Broker for Our Property and Area.
Whatever you picture, ultimately you want to envision Sold And Moved to Our New Home!
Enlisting hope will not get Sold on your sign.
Enlisting reality will.
Here are the top 10 signs that you’ve embraced reality:
- You’ve cleaned every nook and cranny.
- You’ve listened to staging advice, engaging the “eyes of buyers” and disengaging your gut-level, emotional response.
- You’ve emptied closets and stored the useless stuff we all accumulate.
- You’ve had your property inspected and made preemptive repairs.
- You’ve listened to your broker’s pricing advice very carefully, acknowledging that the market – (buyers) – won’t pay “what you need,” “what you put into it” or “the down payment on the next house.” They will pay “what it’s worth.”
- You’ve read through the market analysis and recognize the difference between what has actually sold and what is currently on the market.
- You’ve priced your house to sell – in 30 days or less, or to sell in the time-frame you need it to.
- You’ve requested a marketing plan from your broker, a step-by-step outline.
- In exchange for the marketing plan, you’ve agreed to a step-down pricing strategy if the house doesn’t sell in 30 days, 60 days and 90 days.
- You’ve reacted to the feedback and made necessary adjustments without being defensive. Be thankful for feedback, without it you would be operating in a vacuum.
A few years’ ago, a populist economics book hit the stands, emphasizing that human behavior is based on a calculative rationality. One chapter stated that their research showed real estate brokers purposely under price their listings to sell them faster than they would sell their own homes – a calculated rationality or strategy.
As anecdotal as it is, I’ve watched broker after broker hang on to over-priced listings for months and sometimes years. Even done it myself. Since brokers are generally paid based on a percentage of the sales price, it would be in the brokers’ best interest to price their listings as high as possible. Ultimately, though, it’s not the brokers who decide on the selling price, it’s the sellers and the buyers. Nor is it the brokers’ decision how quickly sellers want to sell. However, a house that isn’t selling because of price is a house that’s not really “on the market.” If the feedback veers toward the blue paint or green carpet, those can be changed.
Getting a home sold entails hiring a professional to help you get the house ready for the market, to find qualified buyers and recognize if they aren’t qualified, to advise you during the negotiations and all phases of the transaction, and to handle the closing details.
If you want to see a sold sign and not just picture one, follow the 10 steps above and be mindful of what the universe is telling you. The universe of buyers for your house.
Looking to sell? Contact Gretchen Faber for an assessment of your home’s market readiness.
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