Not all remodeling projects deliver the same bang for the buck when it comes to resale. If you are planning to sell soon and think that renovations will increase the value of your home, then some research might be in order. Studies suggest that most renovation projects do increase the price of a house; however, the increase is typically less than the cost of the project. The 2020 Cost vs. Value Report shows a homeowner will generally experience a return of 60% to 75% on the dollar at resale. Some of the more cost effective improvements are minor kitchen upgrades (recoups 74% of cost), garage door replacement (recoups 99%), and window replacements (recoups 75%). Keep in mind the cost recouped can be affected by the quality of finish and even the type of neighborhood and local conditions.
One of the biggest advantages remodeling has is the fact it increases the appeal of your home to buyers. A gleaming state of the art kitchen with granite countertops and bathrooms with tile and glass can sell a house more quickly. Given the nature of this market, buyers are definitely willing to pay more for an updated, move-in ready home. Feel free to contact me for more advice on prepping your home for sale! 603-526-4116; www.DonnaForest.com; Donna @DonnaForest.com
There are a number of myths about how real estate actually works. These misbeliefs can hurt your chances of selling at the right price and in a timely manner. Below are a few common misconceptions.
1. Overpricing leads to higher offers. Quite the opposite is true. Overpriced homes sit on the market longer and end up with lower offers. They become stale listings and buyers wonder what is wrong with them.
2. Spring is the best time to sell. Typically spring & summer are known as the selling seasons. However, any time can be best depending on the market. Given the lack of homes for sale, sellers are still seeing multiple offers and quick sales - we expect this to continue through the winter.
3. If you get an offer right away then the house was underpriced. A correctly priced home will receive offers right away. After all, isn’t the goal to sell the house and not have it sit on the market for weeks on end? Buyers are online constantly looking and are ready to jump when something comes on that fits their needs.
4. Homes don’t need to be prepped for sale. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Most buyers want move-in condition homes. Houses that are decluttered, cleaned, and staged sell faster and for more money.
5. Good marketing includes open houses. The reality is only 6% of buyers find their home through an open house.
Contact me for more professional advice on the right way to sell your house. 603-526-4116; www.DonnaForest.com; Donna @DonnaForest.com
With the national housing inventory down 39% since last year, the high buyer demand and low inventory means the housing market will continue to be strong through the end of the year and into 2021. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors says “it will be one of the best winter sales years ever.” He also said “home sales continue to amaze, and there are plenty of buyers in the pipeline ready to enter the market…Further gains in sales are likely for the remainder of the year, with mortgage rates hovering around 3% and with continued job recovery.”
Like the rest of the nation, NH is experiencing strong buyer demand and not enough homes to sell. The median selling price thru September was $329,500, up 9.8% from 2019. The average days on market was 52 days, although it seems like most houses in our area tend to go under contract in a week! Bottom line, many economists feel the housing market will continue its momentum through the winter. Contact me if you are interested in taking advantage of this current sellers’ market!
603-526-4116; www.DonnaForest.com; Donna @DonnaForest.com
Every year the National Association of REALTORS conducts a survey of recent home buyers and sellers to gain insight on the home buying and selling process. Below are some highlights from this report about buyers last year.
- 33% of all home buyers were firstt time buyers and financed 94% of the purchase price.
- Buyers searched 10 weeks and looked at 9 homes before buying a home.
- The typical home purchased was 1850 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, built in 1990.
- 93% of buyers found online websites their most useful source; photos and detailed information were an important factor.
- 89% of buyers purchased their home using a real estate agent.
- The top 3 factors influencing what buyers chose were: (1) quality of neighborhood, (2) convenience to job, and (3) overall affordability.
Sellers should be aware of how these buying traits might impact them. For example, a house located out in the boonies with 5 bedrooms and 3000 sq. ft. doesn’t target the typical buyer – which could mean longer time on market. Contact me if you’d like to know how these factors might impact you. 603-526-4116, www.DonnaForest.com, Donna@DonnaForest.com
Data from the NAR 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Many sellers are tempted to take their homes off the market between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. They feel the market significantly slows down and that they have little chance of selling - so why disrupt their holidays? While the slowdown may be true to some degree, there are several advantages for keeping a house on the market during this time frame. First, buyers that are out looking are serious buyers and are ready to offer on something they like. In addition, there usually are fewer properties on the market this time of year so the competition is reduced. Plus the holidays offer a perfect time to dress up a home for prospective buyers. Sellers looking to sell should seriously consider keeping their homes on the market through the holidays – it may turn out to be their most wonderful time of the year!
If you are looking for an experienced REALTOR with the common sense to help sell your house in any season, then give me a call! 603-526-4116, www.DonnaForest.com, Donna@DonnaForest.com
Teamwork from the Team that works –Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
It takes more than just putting a sign on your front lawn to sell a house. Below are some surefire ways to make your house attractive to buyers.
- Maintain the Yard – First impressions count and mowed lawns, trimmed bushes, fresh mulch help.
- Remove Clutter & Personal Items – Decluttered rooms will feel larger. Remove family photos, collections, etc. so buyers can picture themselves in the house.
- Get a Professional Cleaner – Sparkling windows, shampooed carpets, spotless kitchen & baths will speak volumes to buyers.
- Let the Sun in – Light & bright sells. Remove curtains, open blinds, put in high wattage bulbs.
- Paint – A fresh coat of paint (neutral colors) makes the house seem larger, brighter & more appealing.
Getting ready to sell involves a lot of time and energy. Contact me for more sound advice on how to prep your home for sale. www.DonnaForest.com; Donna@DonnaForest.com; 603-526-4116
Whether you bought a starter home or what you hoped would be a forever home,circumstances change. One thing that doesn’t change though, is the inevitable expansion that occurs when you become a homeowner. As time goes on, you acquire tools that need to be used just once or twice a year, like step ladders and extension ladders, lawn mowers, edgers and leaf blowers. When it’s time to sell, you may find you’ve expanded just a bit too much. Getting rid of clutter is the first thing you need to do when you’re thinking of putting your home on the market, and sadly, unless you move frequently, there are very few peoplewho don’t accumulate more than they should.
Here are seven reasons you need to get rid of that clutter to ensure a quick home sale.
1. It’s all about imagined lives
Clutter makes it hard to think.You may not think of your collection of exotic masks from your foreign travels as clutter. But let’s face it, we don’t all like the same things, and if your home is bursting with small objects, buyers can’t imagine themselves in your space. You have to make room for them and their imagined lives in what might soon be their home rather than yours. Store the highly personal collections during the selling process so buyers can see the space as theirs, and they’ll be more likely to make an immediate offer.
2. Help the potential buyer maintain focus
Extra seating, family photos and bone china tea cup collections are all distractions.You don’t want potential buyers to become so intrigued (or puzzled) by the things you’ve collected—none of which they’ll be purchasing—that they don’t actually register the house itself. You want them to look at the space,appreciate its best features and become convinced of its potential for their family.
3. Create the illusion of space to entice buyers
By getting rid of extra seating, paring down the clothes in your closets and weeding out everything in the pantry that’s past its best-before date, you create the illusion of more space, which is always a good thing when trying to sell a home. After all, empty rooms always look bigger than rooms filled with furniture.
Be strategic, though, and don’t leave yourself with nowhere to sit. Think of your home as wearing its Sunday best rather than sweats and a t-shirt, and if there’s a chair the cat’s clawed, the sun has faded or that needs cleaning or reupholstering, get it out of the house while potential buyers are viewing. There will be plenty of time to kick back and relax in that past-its-prime lounger when you’re moved into your new home.
4. Well-staged homes photograph better
While you might get a viewing from a drive-by or after an open house, most potential buyers these days are going to look at your house and its listing online. Good photos make all the difference here, but you’re not going to get them if you haven’t decluttered. Put the family photos away, get all the toys into the toy box, remove the gym equipment that’s migrated from the basement to other living areas and make your real estate agent’s job easier by presenting a home that shows to advantage in both photos and real life.
5. Maximize kitchen counter space
Yes, it’s a pain. But even though your family uses the toaster and blender everyday, putting them away in cupboards before viewings provides a clean slate and makes potential home buyers think about all the meals they’re going to prepare in their new home.
If your home’s being shown to first-time home buyers, chances are good they’re looking for more space, particularly an opportunity to expand from a galley kitchen to one that has room for a table and chairs. Help them believe they’regoing to be transformed into hosts with the most when they buy your home by giving them the visual space they need.
6. Don’t borrow trouble
Cluttered homes make potential buyers uneasy. Viewing someone else’s occupied home is slightly uncomfortable for most people. Clutter is not only a distraction; it makes your home look uncared for. This can make potential buyers start to ask themselves, “if they haven’t taken care of their possessions, what other problems are brewing here?” You could lose an offer if this kind of nebulous doubt sets in.
7. Let your home show itself
Let’s face it—you’re selling your home, not the couch and coffee table. By getting rid of clutter and replacing it with neutral but stylish accessories, you lead the buyer’s eye to the features of your home that are its true selling points. That means you’re going to get a quicker sale and a higher price than if you make a potential buyer struggle to see your home’s merits.
OK – I confess – I have a pet peeve about photos. Specifically about poorly done photos on properties that are listed for sale. I get really annoyed when I see dimly lit rooms, kitchens with cluttered countertops, refrigerators covered in magnets and papers, and out of focus pictures. Sellers, you deserve better - homes with high quality photos sell 32% faster.
Given that over 90% of buyers start their search online, if you don’t have great photos, your property is going to be bypassed in seconds. And buyers will not go back to review it once they’ve weeded it out. So sellers, do yourself a favor and go view how your house looks online. If you are not seeing clean lines, decluttered and bright rooms with wide angle lens shots, and crisp photos, then it is time to have an honest conversation with your agent on how you can better prepare your house for photos. And you need to ask the agent how they will take higher quality photos. Contact me if you want to work with an agent who knows how to maximize your online presence. DonnaForest.com; Donna@DonnaForest.com; 603-526-4116
If you are thinking about selling, determining the right value is your number one priority. While sometimes it seems the price is picked out of thin air, there really are 3 methods for determining value. Below is a brief explanation of each.
1. Market Analysis - Prepared by a real estate agent to provide an estimate of the probable selling price, expressed as a range. Using similar active and recently sold properties and factoring in the many characteirstics that impact value, it is a guide to help the seller determine a listing price.
2. Appraisal - a much more in-depth analysis done by a licensed appraiser. Typically appraisals are used in the loan process to ensure the value of the home is equal to or greater than the purchase price, thus protecting the lender's interest.
3. Automated Valuation - Used by Zillow and other companies, the value is calculated by software based on mathematical modeling. While convenient, it misses important price influences such as property condition and location (e.g. on a busy street).
Want to know your home's value? Contact me - I just completed a 6 hour class on mastering the market analysis! 25 years in the business and still keeping current - so put my knowledge to work for you! Donna Forest 526-4116, www.DonnaForest.com, Donna@DonnaForest.com
If you are on the fence about selling, this might be the best year to put your house on the market. Below are 5 reasons why selling now will put more money in your pocket!
- The median home price is at an all-time high. In NH, the median home sales price was $282,500 in 2018, surpassing the peak of the market in 2005 at $270,000.
- There still is low inventory which means buyers are competing for homes. Multiple offers are not unusual!
- Mortgage rates have fallen since the start of the year – meaning more buyers can afford to buy.
- Milennials are entering the market – nearly 5 million will be turning 30 in the next 2 years – they scooped up homes last year and 2019 should be no different.
- Some economists are predicting an economic slowdown in 2020, which could impact housing sales.
If you are thinking about selling, contact me to see how the market could impact you. 603-526-4116, www.DonnaForest.com, Donna@DonnaForest.com