Bringing You Home

6 Reasons why your house won't sell.

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:24:55 -0500

Great advice in any area!

Via Alan May, Coldwell Banker Evanston Realtor, North Shore Realtor (Evanston Real Estate, Evanston, IL):

1. Your photos are unimpressive. The vast majority of home buyers start their search for a home on the Internet, your house had better look great in print. Not just nice... downright fabulous. Today we are considering internet views as a 'virtual showing'... if your house gets past that, then they might (just might) make an appointment to see it in person... We consider that your SECOND showing. Today's buyers are expecting good quality photos (and lots of them... just 1 shot from the street won't cut it!), a virtual tour, maybe even a floor plan, if applicable.

2. It's overpriced. You've got to view your own property as objectively as possible. Look at the home like a "buyer"... if necessary, go out with your Realtor and view other homes that are priced comparably to yours. Be objective. Given the other options on the market (and yes, you DO have to include short sales and foreclosures on your list... your potential buyers are!), would YOU buy your home, over the others on the market?

If no, then you either have to "update" your home to meet or beat the competition... or lower your price to adjust for it. if you can't afford to sell for the price, that you KNOW it sell for, you may want to consider just removing it from the market.

3. It shows poorly. This could mean almost anything... from the barky, barky dog, to the smell of the diaper pail. Maybe the carpeting is a bit worn, or the woodwork shows a lot of wear. All things that don't show up on the internet, but whoa.... once you get inside the house... they show up, like a cat-urine-smell on a 95 degree day in New Orleans!

4. You're invisible. Today's buyer comes from the internet, almost exclusively. Have you (or your agent) simply plopped the property on the MLS, and started praying? Are you on all the websites...(Trulia, Zillow, Craig's List, Google Base, etc...) all the places that buyers are searching? If not, you want to be.

5. Your listing is tired and stale on the market. Okay... yes, you overpriced your home initially when you first came on the market 2 years ago. But since then you have reduced your price almost monthly... constantly chasing the market down.... Now, finally you're truly priced where you should be... but your listing is tired and stale. Everyone looking for your type of property (ie: 3br/1.1 bath) in your area has already seen it, sometimes twice... and they remember that there was "something" about it that they didn't like... but what they don't remember is... what they didn't like.... was the price. Time to take the listing off market. Let it cool off (3-6 months), and bring it back on fresh in the Spring. Yeah, you'll have 6 mos. worth of holding-costs... but you'll more than make up for it in your purchase price.

btw... Avoid the temptation to bring the house back on at a higher price, than when you left the market. Just "don't do it"!

6. Your house won't appraise. The house looks great... you've finally gotten someone to bring you a bid on your slightly over-priced, but beautiful pied-a-terre. But the bank appraiser says it's worth $20,000 less than what they've agreed to pay. Heavy sigh... bite the bullet.... negotiate with them. If you have to drop the price $20,000 to make it work.... "make it work"... chances are, anybody else trying to buy your house will run into the same problem.

June 2009 Market Update

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:05:11 -0500

The June Monthly Skinny from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. The market continues to look a little better every month with pending sales up 17% over May of 2008 and a decrease in the number of homes on the market. The number of sales in May that were lender mediated was down to 43% of all sales. The median home price was $165,000, down 19.5% from 2008, but slightly higher than the month before.

May Monthly Skinny

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:03:27 -0500

May Monthly Skinny from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. Sales are up, but over 40% of sales are lender mediated. Market is driven by currently low mortgage rates, low prices and the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit. Although there are fewer homes on the market compared to this time last year, it is not a rosy picture for the traditional home seller, as they face fierce competition from the lender mediated listings.

Seven Golden Rules For A Successful Bid On a House

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:12:32 -0500

Great post by a team in California. Multiple offers are happening more often than not in the first time homebuyer price range. If you like the house, chances are that someone else does too! Be prepared by getting pre-approved before looking at homes.

Via Antonio & Alexia Cardenas "The Realtors In Motion" Remax In Motion (Alameda County - San Leandro, CA.):

First time home buyers are looking at a market that shows no mercy, is highly competitive and does not reflect the conditions of a so-called "depressed real estate market." It is not easy to find a good house at the entry level without having to compete with other buyers, but with persistence, good preparation and the help of a professional local Realtor your chances of becoming a homeowner are better. Above all, be realistic, your very first house is not your "Dream House" but getting on the homeownership wagon will eventually get you there.

Many home buyers have decided to jump off the fence and buy their very first house; perhaps it was the drop on interest rates to historical lows, or maybe the number of perceived bargains offered by the banks and a high inventory of homes for sale, or the $8,000 offered as a tax incentive from the government. When all these factors are put together, you will think It's heaven and you will have the time of your life choosing the best possible home at the best possible price with an incredible low interest rate for the next 30 years... or is it?

This is not the true picture of what we are seeing today. It appears that the REO's or bank owned properties that flooded the market before and kept the inventory high due to their inability to dispose of those properties, have finally figure out how to sell them... by under pricing them! This strategy has been paying off for them very nicely. Buyers trying to outbid each other will push the price to the highest point the market can bear.

An underpriced REO home goes on the market and attracts a good number of home buyers who think that they finally found their dream home, or ideal investment. They quickly realize that they are not the only ones out looking at homes for sale. Here in the east shores of the San Francisco bay, in Alameda County, we are seen 40-50 and even 60 offers presented within days.

How can a home buyer compete and win this bidding war? By understanding how offers are viewed by the seller and being prepared to meet those requirements as much as possible. If you can pay all cash, there will be no financing contingencies or appraisals to wait for, and the escrow can close within days, but if that is not possible, follow these steps to strengthen your position and get your offer accepted;

•1.   Do a complete loan application and bring every piece of paper requested by the lender

•2.   Have the bank issue a complete pre-approval letter, signed by a real person

•3.   Offer to pay more than the asking price if you can

•4.   Put a large down payment if possible, this will help when your offer is compared to others

•5.   Be prepared to take the house on an "as-is" condition and spell that out in the contract

•6.   Reduce the inspection contingency from 17 to about 5-7 days only

•7.   Reduce the close of escrow to less than 30 days if possible

Realize that the sellers don't care who buys their house, all they look for is to get the maximum amount of money they can, in the quickest amount of time with the least amount of inconvenience. They don't want to do any work, or wait too long to close the escrow or pay for anything extra.

Now that you finally decided to jump off the fence and get into the housing market and become a homeowner, you need to give this idea some time and dedication, as we get closer to the end of the $8,000 tax credit window of November 30 2009, there will be far more competition and you will need all the help you can get. Work closely with your chosen Realtor, don't go at it alone and be prepared to go see a house within minutes and possibly right an offer on the spot.

This market offers you a great opportunity to make the purchase of a lifetime... but others are also aware of these positive conditions and you will meet them when they compete with you... just when YOU think YOU found YOUR dream home. Happy House Hunting!

Antonio & Alexia Cardenas, "The Realtors In Motion" Professional Realtors, Amateur Balleroom Dance competitors. Serving Alameda & Contra Costa counties in the East Shores of the San Francisco Bay. Specially the cities of San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, Castro Valley and Oakland. Visit us at: www.ListedByAntonio.com (510) 326-4263. Call us, we'll come and TANGO with you.

Twin Cities Housing Market Update April 2009

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Fri, 01 May 2009 07:58:41 -0500

The Monthly Skinny from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors

Foreclosures and Short Sales in the Twin Cities Housing Market Q4 2008 Update

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:09:57 -0600

The Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors just put out some great information about how short sales and foreclosures are impacting the sale of "traditional" owner occupied homes in the area. Please take time to view "Foreclosures and Short Sales in the Twin Cities Housing Market Q4 2008 Update" in the link below - it gives specific detail as to the number of foreclosure vs traditional home sales in 2008, and the percentage on the market right now. Make sure that you scroll down in the report to see how the foreclosure market is impacting your area. Click here for the report.

The good news is that many sellers are choosing to stay off the market right now, which is bringing inventory levels down. Some buyers do not want to deal with the banks or buy a home that is "as is" with no previous seller disclosures. This makes the homes that are staged well and priced right very attractive to a buyer. Please feel free to call or email with questions or comments, and to forward this information to your friends and co-workers.

Myra Jensen

The Jensen Team

Keller Williams Classic Realty NW

www.HotHomesMN.com

January 2009 - The Monthly Skinny from the Mpls Area Association of Realtors

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:16:39 -0600

Here is some great information from the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors
Finally some good news - listings down, sales starting to go up. But foreclosures are still the hot item right now. For a free list of homes including foreclosures and short sales, visit http://www.hothomesmn.com

Myra Jensen
The Jensen Team
Keller Williams Classic Realty NW

Rogers Market Update -2008 Summary

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:49:41 -0600

Happy New Year! The Rogers Real Estate Market had a tough 2008, but you will be happy to know that there were homes selling! The TOTAL number of Sold Single Family Homes in Rogers in 2008 was 108 homes.

Of these 108 homes:

56% of homes sold were priced between $200,000-300,000

24% were priced between $300,000-$400,000

The lowest priced home that sold in Rogers in 2008 was a 3br, 1ba home built in 1946 that sold for $95,000 and the highest priced home sold in 2008 was on over 6 acres on the Crow River in Hassan Township that sold for $680,000.

The average sales price was $267,041, and average Days on Market was 188 days. Sellers received an average of 92% of list price, down from 95% in 2007.

A little bit of good news right now, as of January 17th 2009, there are only 68 Single Family homes on the market, down 30% from the same time in 2007. This means that we currently have between 7-8 months of inventory on the market, which is quite a bit lower than the past few months. The market is considered "balanced" when it has between 5-6 months of inventory.

So if you are thinking about selling, this may be a good time to put your home on the market. But if you are not willing to be aggressive and flexible with pricing and staging, you may as well not list, because buyers are still looking for that 'Deal".

Rogers Homes For Sale

Information taken from the Northstar MLS and North Metro Realtors Association NMRA The 100+ Report.

Robbinsdale MN Quick Links and Market Information

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:58:06 -0600

Interested in living in the City of Robbinsdale? Here are some great shortcuts to help you find city information quickly!

City of Robbinsdale Website http://www.ci.robbinsdale.mn.us/

Robbinsdale School Dist: http://rdale.org/

School Referendum Article

Parks and Rec - Information on Classes and events

Links A lot of good links to area schools, utilities, businesses, etc.

North Memorial Hospital http://www.northmemorial.com/

As of 12/12/2008, there are 114 single family homes for sale in Robbinsdale, with 79 of them listed for under $200,000, and 28 of them under $150,000! Combine this affordability with the convenient location, and it is a great place to live! For a list of all Robbinsdale homes for sale, click here!

Rogers Market Update November, 2008

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:43:01 -0600

As of November 30th, 2008 the Market Statistics for Rogers, MN, including Hassan Township

Single Family

85 Single Family Homes for Sale

5 Single Family Homes Pending Sale

6 Single Family Homes closed in the Month of November

100 Single Family Homes Sold in the past 12 Months

This gives us about 10 months of inventory on the market right now. That means that if no other homes were to come on the market, it would take about 10 months to sell off all of the existing inventory. A balanced market will have 5-6 months of inventory. Rogers is clearly a buyers market.

Pricing and staging are the keys to selling in Rogers. There have been many great deals on foreclosures, including new construction, that have put downward pressure on the non-foreclosure homes. The good news is that the Maple Grove market is still hot in the first-time homebuyer price range, which should send some of those buyers to Rogers, where they can find a newer or larger home for less money. Isn't that why a lot of us moved to this beautiful area in the first place?

View All Listings in Rogers, MN

Visit our Site:

www.HotHomesMN.com

Easy and Free Way to Get Local Real Estate Market Information

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:01:05 -0600

Rogers, MN Real Estate Market Outlook- Single Family

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:37:07 -0500

As of July 19, 2008 the Market Outlook for Rogers, MN -including Hassan Township is as follows:

Active Single Family: 86 Homes

Pending (sold but not closed): 16 Homes

Sold in Past 12 Months: 98

Current Inventory Level: 9 Months (5-6 Months of Inventory is Considered a Balanced Market)

Down Payment Assistance Programs - HUD Has the Blinders ON

Myra Jensen (Keller Williams Classic Realty Northwest) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:08:15 -0500

As a Realtor®, I am out in the trenches every day, and see first-hand the huge number of foreclosures and the problems they have brought not to only the owners that have lost their homes, but to the owners that are diligently paying their mortgage every month. And then finally, a glimmer of hope in the form of the Down Payment Assistance Program. After a long and slow winter in the housing market, we suddenly have activity - homes are starting to sell, and now HUD wants to pull the plug.

I have heard countless ideas from well-intentioned law-makers - delay foreclosures, give financial assistance to homeowners, regulate lenders - none of which have provided a cure -So now, we have the only solution that IS working - in the form of DPA programs, and HUD decides it is a bad thing. I want to point out specifically how the DPA programs are helping the market - right now:

•1. The obvious. It is making it easier for buyers to buy a home. HUD doesn't like this for some reason, but I will point out that the vast majority of the people that used the 100% financing plans of the past - ARE still paying their mortgage. Right now, a renter can potentially purchase a home and have a mortgage payment for close to the same or sometimes less than they are paying in rent. Buyers can buy a great home for a great price, and come into it with a little equity complements of the DPA. Isn't that a good thing?

•2. The less obvious. Say you are a seller that has taken a job in a new city. You have to move, and you have plenty of money saved for that downpayment. But, due to the high number of foreclosures in the area, your home is worth less money than you owe to the bank. Right now the only options these sellers have is to default on that home, because they are unable to sell- adding to the foreclosure problem or, negotiate a "short sale" where the bank will accept less money for the home - but also nicks your credit so you can't buy a new home. Or you can bring a check to closing for the difference between what the new buyer is paying for the home and what you owe to the bank. (The highest number I have heard personally is $40,000.) This saves your credit, but wipes out your reserves for a downpayment on the next home. But you can use the downpayment assistance program, enabling you to buy a home in the new city.

•3. Helping Sellers. Sellers don't realize it yet, but they love this program too. It is allowing them to sell their home. Five out of my last 8 transactions have utilized a down payment assistance program. The sellers always grumble about contributing to the program, cutting into their bottom line, but they are always happy when the home is sold and they can move on. The reality of this market is that most sellers are competing against foreclosures in their neighborhood and it is difficult to sell without offering a low price and incentives to the buyer.

In my view, The DPA programs are saving the market. Without these programs, the number of buyers out there would be grossly depleted, and more homes will sit unsold, driving up the foreclosure rate because sellers can't sell, and driving down the prices even more than the low levels of today - devastating the market, and more importantly - homeowners. We need this program, it is working, everyone is happy, please leave it alone.