Helping the South Lake Tahoe, CA Home Seller sell their house (pt 2)
(Lake Tahoe Real Estate Blog / February 18, 2012 / Richard Bolen)
One of the things we do is provide as much information as we possibly can to help a South Lake Tahoe, CA home seller sell their house. To be successful at that there is much a seller needs to know, comprehend and ultimately accept. This is part two in a five-part series to help all home sellers.
In general, and this is the bottom line, a seller needs to price their house properly to sell it successfully. To do that, one has to be informed, or fully market aware. It is market awareness that helps prevent a home seller's biggest mistake: listing their house too high.
When a home seller lists their house too high, it costs them time and money. This series will detail exactly how much time and how much money listing too high costs.
A summary of all of the Top Five things a Seller needs to know is found below.
Characteristics by Price :
This post is a focus on the second of the top five things a home seller needs to know. Characteristics by Price is a look at home values over time. It looks at and compares the key characteristics of age, size, square foot price and time on market to help a seller see the value of their house in today's market. This gives a seller a true picture, and clarifies the difference in value today against whatever they seller thought the value of their house might be.
Characteristics by Price also helps a home buyer recognize the deal they are looking for, and it gives them facts to know they are not paying too much. As such, it's an equally effective, and sober, value guide for the Seller as well.
For this detailed look on Characteristics by Price, we will use the median sold South Lake Tahoe, CA house as an example.
As of right now, the median South Lake Tahoe, CA house is $225,000. This is based on all single family home sales in the last 180-days. Here, the Tahoe Keys is not included. Throughout the last year, home sales in this particularly unique neighborhood skew the median sold price upward by almost 10%.
Year Built :
One of the first characteristics of a house is it's age, or how old it is. Lets look at today's house in the price range between $200,000 – $250,000:
- It is 18 years newer than it was in 2007.
- Today's house in this price range is on average 4 years newer than in 2010.
- It is 7 years newer than in 2009.
Square Foot Size :
Size is another key characteristic, and today's house in this same price range is:
- 113%, or 714 square feet larger than it was in 2005.
- Today's house in this price-range is 49 sq ft larger than in 2010.
- It is 229 sq ft larger than in 2009.
- It is 368 sq ft larger than in 2008.
Square Foot Value :
Square foot value is certainly a key characteristic, and today's house in this same price range is:
- Sold at an average square foot value of $171 per square foot.
- This is 57% less per sq ft than it was in 2005.
- Today's house in this price range is $14 per sq ft less than in 2010.
- It is $45 per sq ft less than in 2009.
- It is $225 less per sq ft than at the market high in 2005.
Demand :
The number of homes sold in this price range is helpful for a seller to understand demand.
- 89 homes have sold in this price-range in the last 365-days (almost 8 per month).
- 9 less homes have sold in this price range in the last 365-days than in 2011 overall.
- 17 more homes sold in 2011 than in 2010.
- Only 5 homes sold in this price range in 2007 and 2006, and 6 sold in 2005.
- The cause of this was not lack of housing appetite; houses with the characteristics reviewed here were almost all priced much higher.
Thinking like a Home Seller :
Based on this information, here are some thoughts a home seller might consider to sell a home in this price range.
- 1. A home seller has a good chance of selling, or at least appearing compelling to today's buyer if their house in this price-range is newer than homes sold 5 years ago. If it is not, then the seller will have to list at a lower price, or at least near the bottom of the price-range.
- 2. A seller has a good chance of success if their house in this price range is some 700 sq ft larger than those sold in 2005, or 200 sq ft larger than those sold in 2009. If not, the seller will have to list lower for success.
- 3. The seller will more likely be successful if they list their house in this price-range at a square foot value consistent with recent sales, or about $171 per sq ft. If not, and the Seller lists higher, and there is no real reason to list higher, other than false hope, the seller will lose much time and much money.
- 4. By checking demand, and understanding that an average of nearly 8 homes in this price range sell per month, a home seller can ask himself this important question: of all the homes listed in this price range right now, is mine the nicest? Is it among the 8 nicest? Is it the worst? When answered honestly, these questions affect listing price and strategy when factored with the seller's desired time frame.
Summary of the top five things a home seller needs to be aware of are:
1. Absorption Rates
This informs a seller about market demand; it identifies a seller's competition, tracks the number of competitive sales a month and pinpoints how long it will take to sell the current inventory in a seller's price-range.
2. Characteristics by Price
This informs a seller about current home prices by examining the key characteristics of a house over time.
3. Characteristics by Size
This helps a seller develop a listing strategy by examining key characteristics of a house based on comparative size.
4. The Odds of Selling
This helps a home seller fully understand their odds of achieving success over time.
5. The Effect of Listing Too High
This exactly identifies what it costs a home seller to list their house too high, both in terms of time and money. The results are both stunning… and a great savings for the South Lake Tahoe, CA homeowner.
Posts in this Top Five Things a Seller Needs to Know series:
Feb 16, 2012: (Pt 1) Absorption Rates: one of the Top Five Things a South Lake Tahoe Home Seller Needs to Know
Feb 14, 2012: Intro: The Top Five Things a South Lake Tahoe Home Seller Needs to Know
A few more Lake Tahoe Real Estate Blog posts about House Characteristics:
Feb 10, 2012: Characteristics of the Median Sold South Lake Tahoe House
Oct 19, 2011: The South Lake Tahoe House Now and Then
Some of our videos you may enjoy:
Jul 5, 2011: Awesome Fireworks Finale: South Lake Tahoe, July 4, 2011
Dec 9, 2010: How to find and use our Bolero Button… and why you should.
Oct 20, 2010: Bijou Neighborhood video
Sep 28, 2010: A South Lake Tahoe Indian Summer
Sep 23, 2010: Emerald Bay Treetops… and a Bald Eagle
Sep 16, 2010: Walking on Water… South Lake Tahoe Style
Sep 11, 2010: Al Tahoe Neighborhood video
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