Central Ohio Real Estate Market News

Entries categorized as ‘Sellers’

Uncle Sam is willing to give you some money

11/06/2009 · Leave a Comment

NEWS FLASH!! Homebuyer Tax Credit has been extended for 1st Time Buyers and expanded to include Current Homeowners who want to move!

Did you hear today’s news that government has passed an extension to the 1st Time Home Buyers Tax Credit AND have added another credit for current homeowners.

Here are some details that are the same for both segments of the bill:

  • Both segments of the bill will be for transactions that go into contract between the date that Obama signs (Nov 6)  thru Apr 30, 2010. The transactions must close prior to Jul 1, 2010.
  • Income limits have been increased to $125,000 for singles, $225,000 for married couples.
  • Limit on the price of the home is $800,000.
  • Purchaser must attach documentation of purchase to their tax return.

Details for 1st Time Buyers

  • Can receive up to $8,000 ($4,000 married, filing separate)
  • Cannot have owned a home (principal residence) for the past 3 years

Details for Current Homeowners – NEW!

  • Can receive up to $6,500 ($3,250 married, filing separate)
  • Must have used their current home as principal residence consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years.
  • The new home you buy doesn’t have to be more expensive than the home you’re selling. In other words, you can downsize if you want.

While many 1st Time Buyers took advantage of the tax credit this past year, there was nothing to help the move-up market because those 1st Timers often bought REO, short-sale or foreclosed homes. The National Association of Realtors® and numerous real estate bloggers begged and pleaded for help with homes in the upper prices since they were often just sitting on the market. 

This new program will benefit higher-priced buyers as well as help sell homes in the higher price ranges.

If you’re a higher-priced buyer, should you act now? Naturally, only you can decide that, but here are some things to consider:

  • Interest rates have been hovering around 5%. Bernanke is watching for signs of inflation. If inflation begins to creep up, interest rates may be allowed to increase to stem inflation. They know that this could slow real estate’s recovery, and they really need the real estate market to improve, so it will be a tough decision.
  • If this new bill works as we hope it will, increased demand may actually cause prices to rise somewhat.
  • If you were thinking of putting your home on the market next year, you may want to move up your timing to take advantage of these tax credits both for you and for the appeal to your buyers.
  • Also, if buyers act on this program by April, that may mean that demand will be lessened (exhausted) by the end of April. If demand decreases afterward, so will your potential price.

A 1-point interest rate increase will cost you far more than waiting for prices to decrease further

For instance in the example below, a $200,000 price with 3.5% down at a current interest rate of 5%, would result in a mortgage payment (P&I) of $1,036. At 6% interest, the payment would be $1,158. Over 30 yrs, that will cost you an additional $43,772. Even if the price comes down $10,000 to $190,000 but the rate increases to 6%, your monthly payment would be $1,100, costing you an additional $22,928. If the price increases just 5% and the interest goes to 6%, then you would pay an extra $179 per month.

Home Price $200,000
Price Chg -5% No Chg +5%
New Price $190,000 $200,000 $210,000
3.5% Dwn Pmt $6,650 $7,000 $7,350
Mtg Amt $183,350 $193,000 $202,650
P&I at 5% Int $984.59 $1,036.41 $1,088.23
P&I at 6% Int $1,100.10 $1,158.00 $1,215.90

Naturally the higher priced the home, the greater the savings. Notice that the money coming from Uncle Sam hasn’t even been included in the above data. Interested or want more info? Give me a call and we’ll get your home on the market.

View comparison chart to the 2009 Tax Credit

Read FAQ’s for New Tax Credit

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Home buying process · Home prices · Home selling process · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Sellers
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What constitutes a real estate expert?

10/23/2009 · 7 Comments

real estate expertThere are a number of people on the Internet who profess to be real estate experts. A lot of them have never sold a home. They’ve never sat across the kitchen table with people planning to sell their home. They’ve never shown a home to buyers looking for a “champagne home on a beer budget”. Yet, they make a substantial income holding seminars to tell us (Realtors®) what we need to do to do it RIGHT.

Yesterday I attended such a class at our Board. In this case, the presenter actually was a real estate agent. His topic was Social Media Marketing, which means marketing ourselves and our listings, using such venues as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. He also spoke on the importance of photography and video in our marketing.

Because I’ve been using social media for over three years, much of what he said wasn’t new-news to me. I didn’t agree with everything he said, but I’ll allow that each market (and agent personalities/goals) are different so we adjust as needed. I DID like how he is executing and editing the making of videos and plan to incorporate that technique.

In following up with some of the information he gave us, this morning I checked out his web site and blog. There are several online analytical tools that I can use to measure the effectiveness of having my sites be crawled by Google, such that when someone performs a search for “homes for sale around Hoover Reservoir“, they find my blog on page one of the search results. At least that’s what I strive for.

Guess what! Both my web site and this blog outperform his web site and blog by a fairly wide margin. Also, Google hasn’t crawled his blog for a week, whereas Google crawled this blog today already. So does this make me an EXPERT? Should I go on the speaking circuit? Nah! I’m just glad to know that my marketing efforts are working, and that it’s helping to sell my listings and provide buyers and sellers with the info they need to make informed decisions.

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Advertising · Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Galena Ohio · Home buying process · Home selling process · Internet · Realtor® selection · Sellers · Technology
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Are You Missing The Market?

10/20/2009 · Leave a Comment

computer userOver 80% of the home buyers start their home search on various Internet sites. Sellers select their Realtor® based on how many Internet sites the agent displays the home. Conscientious agents make sure the home is featured in the best way possible by making sure the photos are as best as they can be. Now what happens when the most basic of information about the home is WRONG or MISSING?

Recently, I was pulling info for a specific neighborhood. I knew every home that was for sale in this particular community. However, when I did the computer search a full 25% of the homes were missing from the search. WHY?

I did some digging and found that there were errors or omissions to the original data entry into the MLS system that was incorrect and/or missing. That’s why it is important for an agent to actually print out a hard copy to make sure the spec sheet looks as we intend. Let’s face it … typos happen.

So, Sellers, ask your agent to show you the MLS spec sheet. Is all the data correct? Are there missing search fields and if so, should those boxes be blank or not? You can’t afford to miss showings in this market because of certain errors, so be proactive to make sure your home can be found by Internet buyers who might be searching for a home just like yours.

Buyers, as you are sitting in your jammies doing your home search, consider that your perfect home may not be showing in the search. That’s why it is important to work with a Realtor® who knows the area or knows how to search the data to override the chance that some homes might be missed by a typical computer search.

As the saying goes …GIGO … garbage in, garbage out. Computers only work as well as the agent who input the data.

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Advertising · Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Home buying process · Home selling process · Homes · Homes for sale · Internet · Sellers
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My Crystal Ball Tells Me Fall Home Sales Will Be …

10/19/2009 · Leave a Comment

How will homes sales be the next three months now that the time has passed for the 1st Time Home Buyers? That’s what a lot of Realtors® are wondering. Will it be a “normal” fall period? Will it go into a slump as happenmind-readered after the “Cash for Clunkers” program ended?

Wait a moment while I get out my crystal ball.

The Oct-Dec period is normally slower because people are busy with holidays. However, the buyers that are shopping are SERIOUS buyers ready to make offers. Even though the weather may be less than ideal, the homes inside often look very attractive with minimalist holiday decorating.

Buyers are eager to get in their new home by the year-end holidays. Sellers are eager to have their home sold prior to the cold months of Jan-Feb. So it can be a great time for negotiations.

I checked to see how the Delaware County market did last fall (Oct-Dec) and compared that to homes currently for sale. Actually, quite  a few homes sold last year, which is a positive sign for sellers. The caution for sellers is to consider last year’s average SOLD price, and perhaps adjust their price now for a greater opportunity to go into contract.

Delaware County Fall Sales
School District # Sold Fall ‘08 Avg $ Fall ‘08 # For Sale Now Avg List $ Now
Olentangy SD 175 $325,195 674 $496,204
Big Walnut SD 26 $211,417 146 $492,658
Buckeye Valley SD 37 $177,049 109 $344,355
Delaware SD 72 $151,390 156 185,026



Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Galena Ohio · Home buying process · Home prices · Home selling process · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Sellers
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Luxury Homes Sales in Delaware County, Ohio

10/18/2009 · Leave a Comment

The luxury home market has had a tough year in 2009. With the economic stimulus favoring the lower end market, upscale homes have encountered slower than normal sales. This seems to be a nationwide problem as reported by other Realtors®.

The following graph reflects monthly sales by price range for just southern Delaware County. Also provided are the number of active listings currently for sale. The important take on this data is the absorption rate, which is how long it will take to sell the current listings based on the sales for the past nine months. For instance, there are 40 active listings priced in the $700,000 range. Between Jan-Sep, 15 such homes were sold. Based on that sales rate, it will take 2 years to sell the current inventory of 40 homes.

Normally, Realtors® will advise sellers to lower their price to the next lower bracket to attract a buyer. However, this chart would seem to indicate that for these upscale homes, that will not have the effect that it can have in lower priced homes. There are simply too few buyers in these upper ranges. Therefore, sellers need to make sure their home is priced at or slightly below the market to have it have maximum appeal to the few buyers that are shopping. Everyone wants to get a good deal, and that applies to the upscale buyer as well as the first-time buyer.

Luxury Homes Sold in Delaware County Ohio

Click to enlarge chart

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Home prices · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Sellers
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Buyer Showings by Zip Code for Central Ohio

10/09/2009 · Leave a Comment

The timing to take advantage of the $8,000 1st Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit is basically over since the closing must occur by Nov 30. Nationally and locally, real estate agents believed it helped sell lower priced homes but did little to stimulate home sales priced over $300K. While REO’s, short-sales and foreclosure inventories may have been reduced, these homes do nothing to benefit the move-up market since they aren’t owned by sellers who plan to buy a different home.

I’ve spoken with other agents who say they have noticed a decline in showings in the past week, especially over $300K. I decided to explore how showings have been the past month by using the market reports from Centralized Showing Service, which is the company most brokers use to conveniently set up our showings.

As the graph shows, there is a substantial difference in the number of showings in the lower price ranges. The chart is by zip code which means 2 or 3 school districts can be in one zip. (CSS reports don’t allow for a search by school district.) If your home is currently for sale or you’re planning to list your home, this will give you an idea as to what you might expect for the number of showings based on your price range or zip code.

Click to enlarge graph

Click to enlarge graph, then click again to read zips

If your home isn’t yet listed and you would like to see data for your specific home, give me a call or email me.

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Galena Ohio · Home prices · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Sellers · Worthington Ohio
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Confession: I was a Realtor’s Nightmare

10/08/2009 · Leave a Comment

The first home I purchased (1987), was a new build. I was so excited watching as it went from just a hole in the ground, through the framing stage to ultimate completion. I had a blank canvas on which to put my touch both inside and out. And, boy, did I take advantage of that for the eight years I lived there.

By the time I sold it in ‘95, the backyard was a jungle, and there were no white walls inside. You see, since my plans were to one day retire to Tucson, I decorated my OHIO home in the way Tucson homes were decorated. I wanted to “feel” like I was living there even though I wasn’t there yet. The colors we associate with Arizona – turquoise, pinks, oranges – are the colors of the soil (caliche), so the homes are actually camouflaged. Obviously, we don’t find those colors here, so … well … it just looks weird here.

When I was ready to sell, I selected a very nice agent that had been recommended to me. Normally, Jim is a quiet person with mild expressions. However, when we met to sign the listing papers and do the walk-thru of my home, I still chuckle at the look he had on his face when he walked into my bedroom. While he was too nice and quiet to ever say it, I’m sure he was thinking “OMG“!scan0004

scan0003I had painted the upper walls the color of the AZ ground, with a special AZ-style wallpaper and co-ordinating border. I had to flip through LOTS of wallpaper books before I found just the “perfect” one. :-)

The purpose of the wall mural was to make me feel like I was looking out on a lanai when I woke up in cold winter mornings.  

scan0002As if the bedroom wasn’t bad enough, the adjoining bath used the THIRD version of the coordinating paper. Don’t ya’ just love it!

I agreed to repaint some of the other rooms, but I told Jim that I didn’t have time to redo this room. I remember telling him that the buyers would either like it or they wouldn’t. (I was a “bad” seller) Now that I am a Realtor®, I can fully appreciate what Jim must have been thinking.

Apparently, the buyers liked the rest of the home, and I’ve no idea what their thoughts were on this room, but we went into contract in 13 days at full price. So kudos to Jim for a job well done.

My advice for today’s sellers … don’t do what I did. It’s an entirely different market than it was in ‘95, and today’s buyers want neutral because they’re too busy to undo your “custom” decorating.

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Central Ohio · Fix-ups · Franklin County · Home selling process · Homes · Homes for sale · Sellers
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Current homes for sale for Fall buyers

09/26/2009 · Leave a Comment

Here’s an update to the August chart of homes currently for sale in southern Delaware county and Franklin county by school district. If you’re a first-time home buyer hoping to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit you have plenty of homes to select from in the under $300,000 price range.

If you’re an upscale buyer, you have quite a nice selection as well, as those homes might have been receiving less visibility due to certain dynamics in the financing of homes priced over $400,000.

If you’re in a position to “buy now”, it certainly is a good time to do so. You hear it all the time … interest rates and prices are low … and there’s ample inventory with some fantastic buys available. If you’re a first-time buyer, you’re just about out of time if you want that $8,000 credit because you need to make sure you close PRIOR TO November 30. (Read about the timeline)

Homes For Sale

Click to enlarge chart

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Buyers · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Franklin County · Home buying process · Home prices · Home selling process · Homes · Homes for sale · Housing stats · Schools · Sellers
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Being a real estate agent is a stressful job?

08/26/2009 · Leave a Comment

CareerBuilder posted an article on the 10 Most Stressful Jobs. The one thing they note is that these jobs have equal amounts of stress AND SATISFACTION. What I noticed is that all the jobs in the list are jobs that “help” others. While the salaries aren’t high, they are high on the “feel good at the end of the day” type of jobs. The only one that may not fit that is the Assistant job. While a good assistant is a very valuable person, I suspect some may not always feel appreciated.

The 10 Stressful jobs are: (1) Assistants; (2) EMT’s; (3) Farmers; (4) Flight attendants; (5) Military personnel; (6) Police officers; (7) Real estate agents; (8) Social workers; (9) Stock brokers; (10) Teachers.

How ’bout that! We’re right behind Military and Police Officers! There are similarities to our job vs those jobs but I think I’ll keep those thoughts to myself.

Here’s what CareerBuilder said about the real estate agent job …

Why it’s stressful: Many real estate agents work on commission, so relying on a sale to earn a paycheck is already stressful. Home buyers don’t like to commit to mortgages unless they’re positive it’s the right move; between their timid nature and the fickle economy, you never know what kind of client you’re dealing with.

Why it’s worth it: Aside from having freedom from a regular office job, real estate agents get to fulfill that quintessential dream of adulthood to own property. People save for years to invest in a home, and you get to be a part of that process.

How much you’ll earn: $39,968

I totally agree with the “why it’s worth it”. In the eleven years I’ve been doing this job, after holding corporate jobs prior, I’ve often said that with THIS job I get “hugs”. I like getting hugs at closing or in the supermarket when I run into a past client. It means a lot to me that I get to share the excitement when a young couple receive a promotion allowing them to buy their dream home. I also feel privileged when I am a shoulder to cry on when someone needs to sell because of a divorce or family death. That makes the long hours and the stress all worthwhile. The fact that I receive a paycheck for my work is secondary. I suspect that people working in the other nine jobs feel the same way.

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Buyers · Commentary · Realtors® · Sellers
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Are Open Houses in central Ohio going the way of the dinosaur?

08/15/2009 · 3 Comments

Elaine Reese, Real Living HER Realtor OpenHouse signHave you noticed fewer and fewer Sunday Open House signs in Delaware County in recent months? I don’t seem to see as many as I used to a few years ago. This Sunday, Real Living HER was holding a “SUPER SUNDAY” ad campaign. Generally, that causes many HER agents to sign up their sellers for an open house to appear in the full page office ad.

I decided to check to see if it was my imagination or “for real” that fewer open houses were being scheduled. I checked the Real Living Open House search page for several different suburbs. Guess what! It wasn’t my imagination.

For Galena and Lewis Center there were NO scheduled open houses. Delaware and Sunbury each had ONE open house scheduled. For Powell, only 5 open houses were scheduled. That’s a total of only 7 homes in southern Delaware County! Amazing!

Franklin County suburbs are still doing open houses, but I’ll bet it’s fewer than in the past: Hilliard – 15 homes, Dublin – 12 homes, Westerville – 8 homes, Upper Arlington – 8 homes, Worthington – 3 homes, Clintonville – 2 homes, and New Albany – 2 homes. That’s a total of 50 homes for these 7 suburbs. Quite a difference from Delaware County.

Why are fewer Open Houses being held now?

There may be several factors coming in to play. While I’m only surmising here, I suspect technology and security are strong contributors. Current market dynamics may also be a factor.

TECHNOLOGY

With most Internet sites allowing us to post up to 25 photos, sellers are beginning to tell their listing agent that a buyer can view the home online and if interested, set up a showing with their (buyer) agent. This ensures the seller that only legitimate, pre-approved buyers are walking through their home. Numerous agents have stopped doing open houses for this reason. We used to be able to only put 6 photos online so it was much more important for the buyer to see the home in person and hopefully, fall in love with it.

SECURITY

Security concerns not only for the seller’s possessions but also for the agent, have become more prevalent. We have no way of knowing anything about the people walking through the front door. They can be a sweet couple or they could be a thieving tag team or a serial rapist. Our MLS system advises us with crime alerts and that’s why we take safety classes. Vacant homes are especially risky because “bad people” know that no seller will be returning home at the close of the open house. Agents and sellers alike may feel that the chance that the home will actually sell as a result of an open house is too small considering the risks associated with it.

MARKET DYNAMICS

First of all, for any given home, there are simply fewer buyers which can equal fewer open house guests (if any) which equals a waste of an agent’s time and needless hassle for the seller. Sometimes the guests have their current home on the market and are out looking while their own home is held open, but until their current home goes into contract, they really can’t act on buying a new home. In past years, these people could put a “contingent-escape” offer on a home and stand a pretty decent chance of having their current home sell in rather short order. Not so anymore. We’re seeing very few CE offers being accepted by sellers. Another type of guest are those people who are simply curious or “thinking” about putting their home on the market. They aren’t yet a serious buyer because they don’t yet have their current home on the market. So of all the guests that might visit the open house, very few are in a position to actually buy it, and those buyers can easily set up with their agent to view it through normal showing procedures.

I have always enjoyed doing open houses and have had my listings sell as a result of the open house. I like chatting with people (no surprise there :-) ) and hearing their perceptions/comments about the home. That’s always helpful information to give to a seller. However, since I take LOTS of photos and they’re available on MANY Internet sites, I’m beginning to question whether the security issues for my sellers is worth the risk.

If you have a different opinion or want to provide further insight, please feel free to leave your comment. What’s YOUR opinion on the value to sellers of holding open houses?

EDITED: To make sure this wasn’t just a Real Living HER occurrence, I also checked Coldwell Banker KT open houses from their web site. For the same 12 suburbs, only 18 open houses were scheduled. So it appears CBKT agents are also pulling back on doing open houses.

Copyright © 2009. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Categories: Advertising · Central Ohio · Delaware County · Delaware Ohio · Dublin Ohio · Franklin County · Galena Ohio · Hilliard Ohio · Home selling process · Homes · Homes for sale · Internet · Lewis Center Ohio · Powell Ohio · Real Living HER · Realtors® · Realtors® · Safety · Sellers · Sellers · Worthington Ohio
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