Helping the South Lake Tahoe, CA Home Seller sell their house (pt 3)
(Lake Tahoe Real Estate Blog / February 20, 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 three 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 Size :
This post is a focus on the third of the top five things a home seller needs to know. Characteristics by Size is a look at home values over time. Rather than a focus on the price of a house, this is a focus on the size of a house. This helps a seller understand what homes of similar size are doing in today's marketplace and it compares the key characteristics of median sold price, year built, square foot price and time on 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 Size 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 Size, 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. The average size of today's median sold house is about 1,500 sq ft, which is the house size we will use for this study.
Median Sold Price :
One of the first characteristics of a house is it's median sold price. Lets look at today's 1,500 sq ft South Lake Tahoe, CA house:
- In the last 365-days, the median sold price of the 1,500 sq ft South Lake Tahoe house is $241,000.
- This is $38,000 lower than it was for homes sold in this size-range in 2010.
- This is $51,000 lower than it was for homes sold in 2009.
- It is $232,000 lower than it was for homes in this size-range that sold during our market high in 2005.
Age (Year Built) :
Age is another key characteristic. Lets look at today's 1,500 sq ft South Lake Tahoe, CA house:
- The average age of homes sold in this size-range in the last 365-days is 40 years old.
- The average year built was 1972.
- Lake Tahoe environmental growth restrictions cause few new houses to be built. As such the average year built remains rather constant in year in year out home sales.
- Since 2003, the average year built for homes sold in this size range has not varied by more than 3 years (from 1972 to 1975).
Square Foot Value :
Square foot value is certainly a key characteristic. Lets look at the square foot value of today's 1,500 sq ft house.
- In the last 365-days, the avg sq ft value of homes sold in this size-range is $27 less than it was in 2010.
- It is $4 per sq ft less than it was two months ago.
- It is $49 less, and a much better deal for home buyers, than it was at our market high in 2005.
Days on Market :
Understanding time on market is helpful to a seller. Here's a look at how long it takes to sell a 1,500 sq ft South Lake Tahoe, CA home;
- In the last 365-days it takes an average of 148 days to sell a 1,500 sq ft home.
- This is one more day than it took in 2011, which means demand is about the same now as it was last year (this will increase substantially as we get deeper into the year, as it always does).
- It takes 20 more days to sell a 1,500 sq ft house than in 2010.
- It takes 80 more days to sell a house of this size than it did in 2005.
Demand :
Understanding the total number of homes sold is helpful to a seller. Here's a look at market appetite for a 1,500 sq ft South Lake Tahoe, CA home:
- In the last 365-days 140 South Lake Tahoe, CA homes sold in the 1,500 sq ft size-range.
- This is 28 more homes sold than in 2010, and 49 more homes sold than in 2008.
- In the last 365-days 78 of these 140 home sales in this size-range were distressed properties (either bank owned or short sales).
- This is 26 more distressed sales than there were in 2010.
Thinking like a Home Seller :
Based on this information, here are some thoughts a home seller might consider to sell a home in this size-range.
- 1. Homes sold in this size-range are selling lower than a year ago, and much lower than 2 years ago.
- 2. Unless my house in this size-range is the nicest house in town, I should not list it for much more than $250,000, if that.
- 3. Because of local environmental growth controls, unless my house is new, or newer, I should list it at about the same price of other homes of similar age in this size-range.
- 4. Unless my house is spectacular in every sense of the word, and house characteristic, I should not list my house in this-size range higher than $170 per sq ft, and possibly lower if I want to sell quicker.
- 5. More homes are selling in this size-range than a year ago, and more than that two years ago. With demand up, a seller has a decent chance of success… if they do not list their house too high.
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 24, 2012: (Pt 5) The Effect of Listing Too High: one of the Top Five Things a South Lake Tahoe Home Seller Needs to Know
Feb 21, 2012: (Pt 4) The Odds of Selling: one of the Top Five Things a South Lake Tahoe Home Seller Needs to Know
Feb 18, 2012: (Pt 2) Characteristics by Price: one of the Top Five Things a South Lake Tahoe Home Seller Needs to Know
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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