We’re a week away from the tax credit coming to an end and what do you think is happening? Yes, the phone is ringing and some home buyers are getting into the game late. They hopefully will get under contract and close in time to get the tax credit being offered. The real winners are the sellers though. When you look at the inventory there really isn’t a lot out there and the good stuff is getting multiple offers. My partner Susan took clients out yesterday and their number one choice is already negotiating an offer. Looks like we will still submit and offer but it has to be our best up front. No time to nickel and dime now!
In every market, up or down, sellers think their home is worth more and buyers think it’s worth less. Right now, and I mean this week, sellers may be right because buyers know they will have some money coming back after they close. Buyers may be willing to absorb a little more on the purchase price (since it is financed) always having the protection of an appraisal to make sure that they don’t pay too much.
As a former engineer I still rely on the statistics and they are generally positive. We seem to be in a stable market with regards to homes for sale, home pending, sales and time on the market. Ask me about my newsletter if you want more details on the stats for Palm Beach County.
See you around town!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thinking of Selling...Consider all marketing avenues!
Once again we are selling our inventory faster than we can replenish it. With a number of our listings due to close in March, we will continue to market the homes we still have available using every means possible.
Recently we have been gaining tremendous exposure for our clients through Facebook, Trulia, Realtor.com, Listingbook, the Illustrated Properties website (www.ipre.com), and some more traditional methods such as advertising in the Real Estate Showcase (the only real estate magazine in the airports!) and postcard mailings. What's really surprising is that we hosted a booth at the 2nd Annual Pets in the Plaza in Lake Worth and one of the visitors to our booth wrote a contract on one of our listings the very next day! In this market it is important to adapt to the changing market, culture and technology. We all agree that the internet is king right now, but back to basics feet on the street marketing still works!
I cannot stress enough how important it is that each home is marketed through a variety of methods. It seems that the agents willing to put in the effort are finding that they achieve the best results for their clients.
See you around town!
Recently we have been gaining tremendous exposure for our clients through Facebook, Trulia, Realtor.com, Listingbook, the Illustrated Properties website (www.ipre.com), and some more traditional methods such as advertising in the Real Estate Showcase (the only real estate magazine in the airports!) and postcard mailings. What's really surprising is that we hosted a booth at the 2nd Annual Pets in the Plaza in Lake Worth and one of the visitors to our booth wrote a contract on one of our listings the very next day! In this market it is important to adapt to the changing market, culture and technology. We all agree that the internet is king right now, but back to basics feet on the street marketing still works!
I cannot stress enough how important it is that each home is marketed through a variety of methods. It seems that the agents willing to put in the effort are finding that they achieve the best results for their clients.
See you around town!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
From LP's to Short Sales...
I have had the nostalgic tug lately and so I dusted off my stack of LP’s sitting in the closet, bought a new needle for my turntable and listened to some albums I haven’t listened to since I bought my first CD player in the late 80’s. (By the way, I have some great U2 twelve inch singles)
Anyway, it got me thinking about the recession we were in when I graduated from Northeastern back in 1991. I graduated 3rd in my class in engineering but couldn’t find a job. I moved back home, took some odd manual labor jobs while I sorted through every newspaper, every day. I mailed out resumes, waiting weeks for all those denial letters and occasionally landing an interview. All the hard work finally paid off and someone offered me a job and I went on to a successful engineering career. We came out of that recession and the company that hired me went on to have a pretty good run as the economy turned around.
Now I don’t presume to have all the answers as to when the economy will turn around this time, but what I relate to my experiences is that the successful people (companies) know what their goals are and set a plan to get there. How does this relate to today’s real estate market?
Well, let’s start by looking at the seller’s perspective. If you are a current homeowner and looking to sell your home then you have a goal. Within that goal there are financial and emotional ramifications, which may or may not be at odds with one another. When you owe more on your mortgage than your home is worth then you are in a short sale position. The benefits of going through the short sale is that you achieve your goal (to sell the house) but at the expense of some other terms. You may have put money down and at risk of losing that money. There will also be a dip in your credit. Even in a non short sale situation, the perceived loss of equity can leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth. Ultimately though what I have seen is that the relief from feeling trapped outweighs the negative consequences. This is especially true when someone is moving to be closer to family, to be in a better school district or for a job change. Because then the ultimate goal is achieved.
A buyer will always ask the question, “What’s going to happen with prices?” First time homebuyers don’t know what it feels like to sleep in your own home for the first time. Sort of like when people tried to explain to me what it was like to have kids before I had kids. I just couldn’t get it, but now I do! I still remember that first night going to bed in the first condo my wife and I had bought. I laid down that night and thought about how it was mine! No one could evict me, my parents couldn’t tell me what to do and, most of all, I really wanted to take care of it. So ultimately, while very important, is price really the most important thing when you are buying a home?
Everyone has a budget and everyone has a certain tolerance for pain. We need to manage home sales and purchases within those parameters, but what is really most important is how you feel the day after. Set your goal, frame it with realistic criteria and parameters, and go for it!
Anyway, it got me thinking about the recession we were in when I graduated from Northeastern back in 1991. I graduated 3rd in my class in engineering but couldn’t find a job. I moved back home, took some odd manual labor jobs while I sorted through every newspaper, every day. I mailed out resumes, waiting weeks for all those denial letters and occasionally landing an interview. All the hard work finally paid off and someone offered me a job and I went on to a successful engineering career. We came out of that recession and the company that hired me went on to have a pretty good run as the economy turned around.
Now I don’t presume to have all the answers as to when the economy will turn around this time, but what I relate to my experiences is that the successful people (companies) know what their goals are and set a plan to get there. How does this relate to today’s real estate market?
Well, let’s start by looking at the seller’s perspective. If you are a current homeowner and looking to sell your home then you have a goal. Within that goal there are financial and emotional ramifications, which may or may not be at odds with one another. When you owe more on your mortgage than your home is worth then you are in a short sale position. The benefits of going through the short sale is that you achieve your goal (to sell the house) but at the expense of some other terms. You may have put money down and at risk of losing that money. There will also be a dip in your credit. Even in a non short sale situation, the perceived loss of equity can leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth. Ultimately though what I have seen is that the relief from feeling trapped outweighs the negative consequences. This is especially true when someone is moving to be closer to family, to be in a better school district or for a job change. Because then the ultimate goal is achieved.
A buyer will always ask the question, “What’s going to happen with prices?” First time homebuyers don’t know what it feels like to sleep in your own home for the first time. Sort of like when people tried to explain to me what it was like to have kids before I had kids. I just couldn’t get it, but now I do! I still remember that first night going to bed in the first condo my wife and I had bought. I laid down that night and thought about how it was mine! No one could evict me, my parents couldn’t tell me what to do and, most of all, I really wanted to take care of it. So ultimately, while very important, is price really the most important thing when you are buying a home?
Everyone has a budget and everyone has a certain tolerance for pain. We need to manage home sales and purchases within those parameters, but what is really most important is how you feel the day after. Set your goal, frame it with realistic criteria and parameters, and go for it!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
It's been a while
Well, I used to blog a whole bunch on my old website, www.homatrix.com, but it has been a while, so forgive me if I'm rusty!
My goal has been and always will be to write informative blogs about Lake Worth, the local real estate market and I even throw in some fun blogs like restaurant and golf course reviews (since I am a self proclaimed "foodie" and an avid, but not very good, golfer).
Since I was last blogging I have partnered my business with Susan Fleming and we moved over to Illustrated Properties. We made the move because Illustrated Properties offered us more tools and better ways to market properties, which ultimately helps our clients! The one great thing about this move is that we actually didn't change locations. We are still located in the same office in Manalapan which allows us to serve all the surrounding areas.
As time goes on and I get this blog up and running I hope you will come back and check out what we have to offer. Stay tuned for good stuff.
See you around town!
By the way, my wife is hosting Pets in the Plaza this Saturday the 13th from 10am to 4pm in the Lake Worth Cultural Plaza at the corner of M Street and Lake Ave. It is a great family fun event geared towards promoting responsible pet ownership and pet adoptions. There are a number of rescue groups that will be receiving the proceeds of all donations!
My goal has been and always will be to write informative blogs about Lake Worth, the local real estate market and I even throw in some fun blogs like restaurant and golf course reviews (since I am a self proclaimed "foodie" and an avid, but not very good, golfer).
Since I was last blogging I have partnered my business with Susan Fleming and we moved over to Illustrated Properties. We made the move because Illustrated Properties offered us more tools and better ways to market properties, which ultimately helps our clients! The one great thing about this move is that we actually didn't change locations. We are still located in the same office in Manalapan which allows us to serve all the surrounding areas.
As time goes on and I get this blog up and running I hope you will come back and check out what we have to offer. Stay tuned for good stuff.
See you around town!
By the way, my wife is hosting Pets in the Plaza this Saturday the 13th from 10am to 4pm in the Lake Worth Cultural Plaza at the corner of M Street and Lake Ave. It is a great family fun event geared towards promoting responsible pet ownership and pet adoptions. There are a number of rescue groups that will be receiving the proceeds of all donations!
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