Auction Your Home for Fast Closings

When you hear the word ‘auction’ thoughts of foreclosures and distressed properties usually appear in many heads.  Strange enough, auctions are the primary way of selling real estate in many countries.  When you think about it, who wants to sign an open-ended contract with a real estate professional who you do not know THAT well or a 120-180 day contract to sell your home.  Yes, that also means 180 days of last minute showing requests, move the dogs to the laundry room or better yet, make them a new home in the garage, pass by your sign when you pull into your driveway for 6 months, have the Realtor say,  “it’s the market, it’s the market…let’s do a price reduction”, have your neighbors think your house must look like crap, or lose equity each day your home stays on the market while the foreclosure rate increases.  In my opinion, many media groups like CNN constantly  create a fear-mongering situation for today’s buyer.  It ultimately keeps the number of home buyers out of the market. Why are we so far behind in innovative methods?  You know, people still equate real estate with those yellow bee colored jackets.

Auctions are an Answer For Many Homeowers

University East Business Park Development; a great piece of Charlotte Real estate, auctioned off the remaining space recently in an auction.  At the beginning of the year, 73 percent of the park was sold.  There were 11 land sites and three office condos remaining.  They collectively totalled 30 acres.  Merrified Partners projected they would not sell the rest of the park until 2012 using the traditional list and sell method.  However, on the day of auction, with 40 bidders ready to purchase, the auction generated more than $2 million in sales in one day. Land sales were as high as $87,000 per acre and condo sales were as high as $110.00 per square foot.
If you are interested in knowing how home auctions can sell your home at top dollar during a changing economy, FAST complete a home valuation request and a representative will assess your situation within 24 hours.

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Days on market has increased from an average 119 days in May of 2007 to an average 131 days in May of 2008.  Yes, I know, I know… “THE MARKET”.  Does the term “the market” have a meaning, or is it just something a broker or homeowner says to give an excuse for an expired listing or a home with little to no traffic.  Guess what?  Homes ARE selling.  We’ve been through dozens of real estate cycles.  It’s similar to the mortgage cycles we’ve gone through as well.  Home buyers have purchased homes during cycles of high interest rates in the 1980’s, so the big blow-out with ARMs will not curb a buyer from wanting to view or put an offer in on the purchase of your home.

Increase Realtor Response with Pricing.

What will ease the traffic on a buyer viewing your home is having too many homes to look at.  Our inventory levels are just too high.  We are currently at 10.6+ month inventory levels.  Price it right, price it right they say.  How do you know HOW to price your home when the mindset of today’s buyer is not fair market price.  It’s not a fair market.  One of the best ways to increase Realtor and buyer response to your home is rock bottom pricing.  If you are a serious seller and need to sell, forget about your improvements, new landscaping and curb appeal efforts, staging costs, and neighborhood comps.  If your competition has beat you by a couple of thousands dollars, your house will not receive an offer.  $2,000 means a lot to a first time home buyer in additional closing costs.  So you ask….”how do I price my home when my competition can lower their pricing daily without me being able to keep track”

Home Auction and Online Bidding!!!

Sure the MLS is fine, but online bidding is great!  Why:

• Online bidding will drive up the price of your home.Buyers will not be turned off by an initial “listing price” and the market will determine what the buyer will pay.  You have the final say so as to agreed price.
  
• Home sellers will get more traffic directed to their home during preview days.  Preview days allows the buyer to gain a perspective on the home and their idea of value.  A fanstastic way to get the buyer through the door.
• It creates a competitive bidding environment.
• It more cases than not, the National Auctioneers Association states that an auction will bring a fair market price or higher. 

Drive more value to your home with home auction. 

Need to know if your home makes a good online bidding home?  Get the Facts….

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When you hear the word ‘auction’ thoughts of foreclosures and distressed properties usually appear in many heads.  Strange enough, auctions are the primary way of selling real estate in many countries.  When you think about it, who wants to sign an open-ended contract with a real estate professional who you do not know THAT well or a 120-180 day contract to sell your home.  Yes, that also means 180 days of last minute showing requests, move the dogs to the laundry room or better yet, make them a new home in the garage, pass by your sign when you pull into your driveway for 6 months, have the Realtor say,  “it’s the market, it’s the market…let’s do a price reduction”, have your neighbors think your house must look like crap, or lose equity each day your home stays on the market while the foreclosure rate increases.  In my opinion, many media groups like CNN constantly  create a fear-mongering situation for today’s buyer.  It ultimately keeps the number of home buyers out of the market. Why are we so far behind in innovative methods?  You know, people still equate real estate with those yellow bee colored jackets.

Auctions are an Answer For Many Homeowers

University East Business Park Development; a great piece of Charlotte Real estate, auctioned off the remaining space recently in an auction.  At the beginning of the year, 73 percent of the park was sold.  There were 11 land sites and three office condos remaining.  They collectively totalled 30 acres.  Merrified Partners projected they would not sell the rest of the park until 2012 using the traditional list and sell method.  However, on the day of auction, with 40 bidders ready to purchase, the auction generated more than $2 million in sales in one day. Land sales were as high as $87,000 per acre and condo sales were as high as $110.00 per square foot.
If you are interested in knowing how home auctions can sell your home at top dollar during a changing economy, FAST complete a home valuation request and a representative will assess your situation within 24 hours.

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Well there’s certainly a lot of homes for sale in the Charlotte and surrounding areas.  According to the Charlotte Regional Realtors Association MLS, there were 30,975 active homes for sale between April 5th and May 6, 2008.  It’s good to know that sellers aren’t staying away from trying to sell their home despite dark outlooks from the media.  The point is, if you have to sell, sell.  Some homeowners need to sell for relocation, a rising adjustable rate, divorce and separation and they just want to move up to a larger home when many of the new home builders are cutting deals due to 11-month inventory levels.

With the 30,975 homes for sale during the previously mentioned time period, 2400 sold.  Below are the numbers:

So just think… if you are trying to sell your 249,900 home, you are in competition with 4,562 other homeowners.  Can I say marketing plan?  Or better yet, aggressive marketing plan?  It’s not time to play around, and hope for the best.  It’s time to know who you’ve hired to sell your home and expect results.  As a homeowner, it’s time to be realistic.  If you’ve made improvements on your home and are expecting to get the cost back, think wisely.  Don’t price to recoup, price to sell or be prepared to have your home become market worn.

Sales Gains are on the Horizon

Now don’t believe all that you hear when it comes to a down housing market.  Charlotte is still ranking well with stability and pockets of growth in comparison to the rest of the country.    Nationally, we are looking at an upturn in home sales for the second half of 2008.  If you are sitting on the fence to buy, consider getting off. 

According to Lawrence Yun, chief economist  for the National Associaton of Realtors, “Although mortgage interest rates will remain historically favorable, they will start to steadily inch up,”  The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage should rise gradually to 6.3 percent by the end of this year, and then hold at that level for most of 2009.  “Sales gains will be greatest in areas that underwent sharp price declines,” Yun said.  For all of this year, existing-home sales are expected to total 5.40 million, and then rise 6.3 percent to 5.74 million in 2009.

Local Sales Trends

Days on Market has Increased from an average 119 days 4/6/2007- 5/5/2007 to an average of 131 days 4/6/2008-5/5/2008

The average sales price has decreased from this time last year of $225,748 to $221,497.

Residential contracts decreased 26.2 percent from 4/6/2008 – 5/5/2008 over the same period a year ago.

Closings reported from 4/6/2008-5/5/2008 decreased 32.1 percent over the same period a year ago.

Stability Despite Foreclosures

Some areas of Charlotte are experiencing stability despite the mass increase of foreclosures.

As you can see, there are some great neighborhoods of stability and if you are a buyer, there are some great areas of interest for you to pay attention to. Follow the sales trends and be prepared for market changes.  I believe with the predictions of increasing interest rates and a better second half for sales with residential contracts, we will see good news for today’s homeseller and buyer.

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Well, when you think about it, it may sound bad.  Maybe it is, or maybe not.  55 homes have expired in the University area since June 5th.  Some were staged perfectly, lots of media pictures and were in somewhat stable neighborhoods.  You are going to have expired homes when the supply outweighs the demand.  With a current 2624 homes for sale alone in the University, if you are a serious seller, you and your broker better know what you are doing.  The longer your home sits, the less attractive it can become with the description “market worn”.  Okay your broker says “everything is going to be market worn in a down housing market”.  I would then say good-bye.  If you don’t have a plan of attack with a particular date in mind to close, just get comfortable lingering out in the universe until the perfect buyer skips along.  

Now lets discuss some reasons why some of these homes expired:

1. 2 story home on Aberglen Drive – OVERPRICED!  It sat on the market for 184 days.  It shouldn’t take 6 months to discover pricing may be an issue
2. Back Creek Church Road – 99 Days and no pictures?
3. Shuman Court, no interior pictures
4. Most of the other homes…boring, canned descriptions.

Is Your Listing Description BOOORING???
The one thing among all the homes that was a constant was the description.  Each home had a gorgeous this, and a beautiful that.  And?  I’m sure it is, but what’s in it for me?  Are you paying my buyer’s discount points?  Throwing in a year of landscaping?  Security?  Paying a few month’s mortgage?  Okay I know you’re saying “I’m paying 6 percent commission and plus I need to pay their kid’s first year of tuition?” 

Yes, you are correct.  That’s traditional real estate in a down housing market.  

So, if you are selling during our current market, know HOW to market to engage today’s buyer without giving everything away

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At Dictionary.com, a specter is an “object or source of terror or dread”.  According to an interesting article on Inman News, the three specters ruining it for our market include poor buyer psychology, falling prices and excessive inventories.  Analysts at Fitch Ratings, an international credit rating agency state says “The highly visible problems in the housing finance system and steadily decreasing prices are contributing to a wait-and-see attitude among prospective home buyers and reducing buyers and reducing builder confidence in the single family housing market”. 

Excessive Inventory, the Real Problem

We currently have a 10.6-month supply of new homes, and a 11.2 supply of existing homes.  Fitch analyst say that we need to be a 5.5 to six months of supply to have equilibrium in supply and demand.  We currently have a single-family rental vacancy near record levels.  Fitch is projecting a further slippage in new builder starts and new-home sales.

No More Subprime Loans?
Fitch has reported that subprime loans at this time seem to be non-existent.  Think about the big buying boom from 2003-2005.  How many buyers who weren’t qualified to purchase a home, purchased a home?  A lot.  These buyer fed the market.  Despite the higher lending requirements, loan applications are up. Mortgage applications have currently risen 10.9 percent.  The Mortgage Bankers Association has reported a rise in mortgage loan applications by more than ten percent for the week ending June 6th.If You are Buying a Home…Listen Up!

Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, move-up buyer, relocating or an investor, now is the time to buy.  You will never know when the market “bottoms out”.  Just as you can’t predict the lowest of the low with interest rates.  If so, you would probably not be reading my post, but would be enjoying your lottery winnings by being so insightful.  Our market is great for buyers.  It is in a self-correcting stage from many inflated home values throughout the country from 2003-2005.  Don’t let the media scare you out of a great deal or investment. It’s moving at a steady pace.  A pace that allows buyers to make the right decisions when buying a home.

If You are Selling Your Home….Listen Up!

You are going to have to price right and market the heck out of your home.  If your broker doesn’t have an up to date and I mean “UP TO DATE” marketing plan, you may be in trouble.  Marketing plans are subject to change weekly or monthly, if not daily.  In a self-correcting market, you AND your broker have to be more than informed with market trends. 

Know the market, know marketing, know correct pricing and then you will know when to schedule closing.

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What is a syndicated listings?

With so many buyers turning to the Internet to search for homes, it is becoming increasingly important to make sure your home is a syndicated listing.  Send your listings out to the world and reach buyers across state lines and in other countries.  There are many websites available that allow Realtors to market their listings at one location, but feed the listing information to hundreds of portals at aggregated websites. 

Aggregated Websites – Get Your Listing Syndicated

These aggregated websites reach different targeted audiences.  Some websites reach first-time homebuyers while another website may reach investors in Paris looking for motivated sellers in cities within the United States.

Many syndicated partners include:

• Yahoo
• Cablevision
• LongIsland Press
• Home Gain
• List-Mania
• Trulia
• Oodle
• Propsmart
• Homeseekers.com
• Real Estate Espanol
  There are hundreds of other methods and portals available to today’s real estate agent to successfully syndicate a real estate listing.

Time for A Change?  Can Buyers Find Your Home?

You know, when you think about it… it may be time for a change.  It seems to be the political buzzword for this election year and it makes sense.  We have been doing real estate the same way for decades.  I’ll even go on record to say that our trade organizations and trade affiliations have been a little slow to embrace and educate the masses of real estate professionals on cutting edge, innovative ways to improve marketing.  Especially in a down economy.  Visit Realtor.com and you will find many ways to search for your new home.  What about home sellers?  What has changed a great deal for them?  I believe each Realtor should update their marketing and presentations each time we have a sizeable shift in the market.  Our firm loves the invention of Web 2.0. We want to remain in the forefront for helping buyers and sellers achieve the best deal in their real estate transaction.

If your home has expired from a listing and you are interested in having your home syndicated, please give us a call at (704) 559-5988 and we will be more than happy to perform this service for you.

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Stop Punishing Buyers

I don’t believe it was Fannie and Freddie’s intent to “punish buyers”, but by requiring higher minimum downs in declining real estate markets when we have to build up our housing market definitely has caused a disadvantage to many.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Cancel Fiver-Percent Down Minimums

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have done away with their five-percent down minimums in hundreds of declining real estate markets across the country. As of June 1, Fannie and Freddie will switch to uniform downpayment minimums nationwide. Under Fannie’s new policy homebuyers anywhere will now be able to qualify for three percent down loans as long as their application is approved through Fannie’s automated system online.

Three-Percent Down Loans are Being Watched Closely.

Some manually underwritten loans may also qualify for three-percent down. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will continue to closely review appraisals, local market conditions and a borrowers capability to handle the applied for mortgage. Large groups largely influenced Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s decision to change their downpayment policy in declining markets.

The National Association of Realtors among other groups blasted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for their policy. They felt it was incredibly unfair to penalize buyers who are still wanting to purchase homes and further punish the buyers by requiring a larger downpayment in a declining area.

This is good news for home buyers wanting to purchase a foreclosure or short sale in an area that may have a larger percentage of foreclosures or distressed properties. First-time buyers, investors and move-up buyers as well are purchasing in all areas.

Great Foreclosures in the Charlotte Area

In the month of May, the Charlotte and surrounding areas had foreclosures priced from $31,500 to over a million dollars with over 6000 square feet with three floors. All buyers considering a purchase should consider viewing at least 2 or 3 foreclosed properties in their price range in Charlotte North Carolina and the surrounding cities.Search equity properties now.

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According to the Wall Street Journal, new data showed a decline in housing supply for the month of May 2008.  The National Association of Realtors has reported that the number of single-family homes on the market in April was enough to last 10.7 months at the current sale rate.  This is the highest since 1985.  The number of foreclosed homes owned by lenders was up in January.  April had a total of 660,00 lender owned foreclosures.  January 2008 had 493,000 and January 2007 has 231,000.  This data comes from First American CoreLogic.

According to the Carolina Multiple Listing Service, there were 30,975 active homes for sale in the Charlotte and surrounding areas for the month of April 2008.  There were the total of 2400 sold listings.  The actual dates of activity are April 6 through May 5, 2008.  The average listing price of the sold homes were $235,127.  The average days on market was 133.1 days.  The largest group of homes for sale were homes priced less than 120K.  There were 5,582 homes for sale in that price point.  The second highest group were homes priced between 250K and 350K at a total of 4,816 homes for sale.

Charlotte real estate and the market trends should be studied and followed closely if you are trying to sell your home.  There is a lot of competition with record number foreclosures and an oversupply of new construction homes.  What makes your home different?  How does it compare in price and value with your competition? 

Answer these questions and get your home sold.

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It’s no surprise that many Charlotte real estate homes are experiencing longer days on market.  Competition is extremely high due to 11-month builder inventory levels and highest recorded amount of foreclosures in history.  Existing homesellers are having a difficult time making their home stand out.  How can you sell your home faster?  What things are in your control?  Here is a list of 21 questions to ask yourself to make your home sell faster:

1. Does your house or any part of your house need painting?

2. Should I re-seed the lawn or get my landscaping in top shape?

3. What about screens? Any holes? What about the windows?  Do they work?

4. Does the carpet need cleaning or replacing?

5. Are pets in control at all times?

6. Are all appliances in good working order?

7. Should I stay out of a prospective buyer’s way?

8. What is the buyer’s first impression of the exterior of our home?  What can I do to improve it?

9. What is the buyer’s first impression as they step inside of the house?  What can I do to improve it?

10. Since the buyer will be looking into the closets, should I remove some items from my closet?

11. Can I take items from kitchens cabinets to make them more spacious?

12. Is there any furniture I could store or dispose of to make rooms appear more larger?

13. Do any cabinets need to be touched up or refinished?

14. Should I give prospect buyers a list of things my family likes about the home or the neighborhood?

15. Should I replace the doormats.

16. Should I remove any ornate items the buyer may want to purchase with the home?

17. Should I consult with an interior designer or home stager for a list of recommended changes for my home?

18. Is the price and terms offered going to appeal to most of the buying public in this price range of my home?

19. Do I need to be aware of other comparable homes in my area?

20. Are the garage and storage areas clean as they can be?

21. Before making continuous changes, should I be consulting with my/an agent?

Selling your home in a changing economy can be a challenge, but economist are predicting this real estate cycle to continue through the next 4-5 years so that the market can properly reset.  Waiting to sell will not neccesarily be an answer for most. 

To get further information on our housing market and ways to increase buyer traffic on your home in Charlotte North Carolina and the surrounding areas, call us today at (704) 559-5988.

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