Category Archives: Sellers

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6 Essential Steps for Selling a Home With Pets

Dog

We love our pets, whether they be dogs, cats, hamsters, capybaras, hedgehogs, or pygmy goats—but that doesn’t mean that they want to see said pets (or any evidence of them) when looking at a home they’re thinking of buying.

“Pets are either an attractive distraction, so cute they distract prospective buyers from looking at the real estate, or completely the opposite—smelly, frightening, or otherwise off-putting,” says Diane Saatchi, an East Hampton, NY, real estate broker with Saunders & Associates.

Don’t want your precious property to be known as “that dog house”? Well, you need to pet-proof your place when preparing and showing it for sale. Here’s how, in six simple steps.

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Big Expectations That’ll Drive Housing in 2017

Young Family

The 2017 housing market is looking bright, fueled by a big wave of first-time home buyers emerging.

First-time home buyers are predicted to make up more than half of home buyers next year – up to 52 percent, surging from 33 percent in 2016, according to realtor.com®’s Active Home Shopper Report, based on survey data from buyers who plan to purchase homes in the spring or summer of 2017. Also, realtor.com® predicts that will spark greater demand for suburban homes in the new year.

Millennials are finally expected to unleash their buying arm in 2017. They are predicted to make up 61 percent of the first-time home buyers under age 35 in the new year. The top motivators getting millennials moving now are getting married or moving in with a partner, growing tired of their current living space, and planning to increase their family size.

Read the article on REALTORmag…

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Predictions Roll in: 2017 Housing Forecasts

Thoughts

We can expect a hot year for home sales in 2017, according to recent forecasts from the National Association of REALTORS®, the Mortgage Bankers’ Association, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and more.

NAR is predicting existing-home sales to reach 6 million in 2017, higher than its 5.8 million forecast for this year. But other entities are even more bullish. MBA is predicting home sales to eclipse 6.5 million next year, while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are both predicting 6.2 million.

A huge wave of Generation Yers, who have delayed home buying, are emerging into their key buying years. They are predicted to keep home sales and condo sales strong well into 2020, according to economists.

The top markets for price appreciation likely will be in Seattle, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Denver, Colo.; and Boston, predicts Eric Fox, vice president of statistical and economic modeling at VeroForecast. These markets’ robust economies have growing populations but a tight supply of homes for sale on the market that will likely lead to some of the largest price increases across the country.

Meanwhile, new-home construction starts likely will tick up to about 1.5 million per year to 2024, predicts Forisk Research.

Home builders likely will continue to be more subdued, despite calls for more inventory.

“Home builders behavior likely is a continuing echo of their experience during the crash,” Pantheon Macro Chief Economist Ian Shepherdson told MarketWatch. “No one wants to be caught with excess inventory during a sudden downshift in demand. In this cycle, the pursuit of market share and volumes is less important than profitability and balance sheet resistance.”

Source: REALTORmag

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Staging Tips for Sprucing Up the Basement

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Basements often have the reputation as being dark and dank. But the basement shouldn’t be forgotten when it comes to staging a property.

“Buyers will definitely poke their heads down in this cold, dark place,” notes an article at realtor.com®. “So, imagine their pleasant surprise when it’s actually a functional, comfortable room where they might even want to hang out.”

Here are a few tips…

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7 Ideas for Using Feng Shui to Create a Harmonious Home

feng-shui

The ancient Chinese art of feng shui uses design principles to create harmonious spaces that encourage health, wealth and happiness. According to the practice, colors encourage energy to flow freely throughout a structure, and each color is thought of as an expression of one of the five feng shui elements: fire, earth, metal water and wood.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when designing your home using general feng shui color principles.

  1. Wake up a space with yellow

Yellow energizes spaces and is great for brightening rooms and adding a welcoming feeling. Yellows can be an excellent choice for kitchens, living rooms, hallways and offices.

  1. Hues that work for you

If it’s a calm sanctuary for a restful night’s sleep, feng shui rules suggest water-element colors of calming blues to create tranquility. If you’d like your bedroom to be more passionate than peaceful, fire element colors like red can help crank up the heat.

  1. A blank canvas for the kitchen

In feng shui, white is one of the preferred shades for a kitchen because it encourages purity and freshness. Plus, it creates the perfect palette for the rich colors of food.

  1. Better than a lullaby

Shades of green in a child’s room help make calm, serene spaces for sleeping. Plus, wood-element shades of green also encourage growth and learning.

  1. Mind your reds

While red is the Chinese color of luck and happiness, too much of the fiery color can throw things off balance, bringing aggression and overstimulation.

  1. Shades for success

Wood-element colors like greens and browns promote creativity, and water elements like blues and blacks promote wealth. Combining shades of each can change the energy of your home workspace.

  1. Look outside your walls

According to feng shui principles, adding accent pieces and furniture in elemental shades also can help change the energy of a space. You don’t need to go big (or commit) with an entire wall.

Color can help bring balance to your home, but it works best when you’re living in a place that suits your needs. Looking for harmony in a new zip code? I’ll be happy to help!

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4 Colors That Turn Off Buyers

Designers

Could the wrong shade of paint dampen interest in a home?

First, take note of palettes consumers tell researchers they like: The favorite color combos for exteriors are white and gray, beige and taupe, and slate and black, according to the 2013 National Home Color Survey. On the inside, neutral wins too. The most popular 2016 colors include grays and shades of white, as well as natural-looking greens.

Although it’s tough to prove, a Zillow Digs analysis of 50,000 photos of recently sold homes even suggests homes with creamy yellow or wheat-colored kitchens, light green or khaki bedrooms, dove or light gray living rooms, and mauve or lavender dining rooms sold for $1,100 to $1,300 more than properties decorated with less popular colors.

So, what are the paint chips that should be avoided? Credit.com highlights the findings based on studies of colors.

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New-Home Sales Near 10-Year High

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New-home sales in July jumped to the highest level in nearly a decade, with sales of new single-family homes climbing 12.4 percent month-over-month and reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That marks the highest level since October 2007.

Low mortgage rates, improving income growth, and steady job creation have helped propel home buying for both new and existing homes. New-home sales have posted strong gains since the beginning of this year, up 13.3 percent compared to a year ago. In June, sales of existing homes also reached their strongest pace in nearly a decade, though they slipped in July, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Read the full article…

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Neighborhood Features That Drag Down Prices

Neighborhood

Living near bad schools can decrease a home’s value big time. Indeed, the median home price in ZIP codes with schools that receive a one to three rating (out of possible 10) is only $155,000.

Realtor.com® analyzed home prices and appreciation rates in U.S. ZIP codes to identify possible factors that could drag down prices. Researchers compared the median home price of the ZIP with that facility with the median price for all homes in the same county.

Here are five neighborhood features that had the biggest impact on dragging down nearby home prices.

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Renovation Tips to Attract Millennial Buyers

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Generation Y makes up the largest pool of potential buyers, and builders and current home owners alike are keeping their needs in mind when building and renovating homes.

The millennial generation is overwhelmed with options and information online, which is also reflected in their home search process. They are not looking to settle for a home that is good enough, they want to find one that is ready to move in and enjoy right away.

Read the article on REALTORmag…

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What Are Americans’ Top Housing Concerns?

Planning

It might not be all low inventory and high prices. It seems Americans have a confidence problem when it comes to the housing market. They’re increasingly apprehensive to move forward, citing concerns over the economy and job security, according to the latest ValueInsured Modern Homebuyer Survey, a measure of confidence in the health of the housing market among more than 1,000 home owners and buyers.

Americans also still express lingering concerns from the housing crisis of 2008, particularly millennials. Sixty-three percent of Americans and 72 percent of millennials say the crash worried them and impacted their decision to either purchase their first home or upgrade to a new one, according to the survey.

Read more…