Seven Tips To Sell Your House

The Wall Street Journal has published seven tips for selling your house. I thought I'd pass them along to you.

1. Don't sit things out. Hundreds, perhaps millions, of sellers nationwide are sitting on their hands hoping that prices will go up soon. They won't. Maybe not for years. If you're going to sell your house, get on with it now.

2. Fix it up and clean it up. The Wall Street Journal points out that your house has to make a good first impression. They advise you not to spend a lot of money and not to buy any big-ticket items for the house, but do see that everything is in good repair. Give the place a fresh paint job and general spruce up. Declutter the place ... no buyer wants to see a house filled to the brim with your stuff.

3. Price it cheaply. Set a realistic price from day one. Forget what you think the house should be worth three years ago -- it's worth less today and this is the market you have to deal with. Buyers today are only buying bargains, so set your price below comparable nearby properties.

4. Hire a top real estate agent. Hire the best, most aggressive listing agent you can find. Forget about your cousin with the real estate license. Interview several agents and insist that they present a comprehensive marketing plan that goes way beyond the usual internet page, open house and yard sign. Anybody can do that. Now's the time to get aggressive. Offering a bonus for a fast sale or a full price sale might be a good idea.

5. Promote, promote. The agent can't do all the work, you have to help. The agent should take on and pay for the usual marketing stuff, but the seller should be prepared to pony up for extras. If you want the house listed regularly in the classified section of your local newspaper, be prepared to pay for it yourself. Make sure you are in the top internet sites, like Trulia, Zillow, Cyberhomes, Eppraisal and Realtor.com. Advertise in corporate newsletters. Check with relocation firms that help transferring executives find new homes. Use your church bulletin. Get creative, but pay the costs yourself.

6. Play the banker. If you have no mortgage to pay off, your strongest selling feature might be your ability to finance all or part of the buyer's purchase. Hire a real estate lawyer to make sure everything is done to protect your interests, and get a good accountant to structure the payment system. The worst that can happen is that the buyer defaults and you get the house back to sell it again.

7. Take the offer. Once you get anything resembling a reasonable offer, take it. Don't lose a deal by digging in your heals over a few dollars or some silly terms. Negotiate, but recognize that this is a buyer's market and the buyer has way more clout than you.

Hey, pretty darn good advice if you ask me. In fact, I've said these same things before in this blog a number of times. Nice to see the Wall Street Journal summarize it in one easy to read story.

For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my blogsite at http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.

-30-

August Sales Figures Almost Duplicate July's

If you liked July's sales figures, you're gonna enjoy August as well.

Let's start with the Absorption Rate (AR). The AR, as you know, is the inventory turn for Pinellas County and is determined by dividing the number of units sold during the month by the total number of units listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

For single family homes, the AR for August was 6.1 perecent. It was also 6.1 percent in July. Starting to get the picture? For condos the AR for August was 4.3 percent. In July it was also 4.3 percent.

I guess that kind of explains why August felt a lot like July to me.

Single Family Homes

Listings and sales of single family homes for July and August were virtually the same in real numbers.

Listings for August stood at 8,621 according to MLS data. In July there were 8,643. Almost identical.

Sales were almost exactly the same. In August there were 526 single family homes sold in Pinellas County, while in July the number of sales stood at 529. Very close.

The median price of single family homes has taken a significant reduction in the last year. The median price in August of 2007 was $219,900. In August 2008 it fell to $175,900. That is a 20 percent reduction in median price. Sellers who are serious about selling need to price their homes to reflect that loss in median pricing during the last twelve months. The last time we saw a median price that low for single family homes was in 2003.

Condominium Sales Data

The data for condos for August is just about the same as the data for July.

In August the MLS reports that there were 7,134 condos on the market. In July, that number stood at 7,276. Pretty close.

August sales totaled 306 condo units. In July, there were 312 units sold according to MLS for Pinellas County.

Here's something that is interesting. The median price for condos was $150,800 for August of 2008, but was only at $155,900 for August of 2007. That's a drop of only 3 percent. You have to remember, however, that condos took a big price hit last winter, so maybe condo prices are starting to stabilize a bit. Only time will tell.

I guess you could read this and say that the real estate market is in the summer doldrums and nothing much is happening. Frankly, I think there are a few other factors that are at work here in August. The biggest of which is probably market uncertainty regarding Fannie and Freddie, and what kind of effect the uproar with these two mortgage giants is going to have. Also, tropical storm and hurricane threats have probably had an adverse effect on sales.

On the bright side however, you have to admit that things didn't get any worse. I'll take that as a moral victory.

For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, please visit my website at http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.

-30-

Put A Little Light On The Subject, Please

I love good marketing ideas.

The fellow who invented those information boxes that attach to "for sale" signs gets a tip of the hat from me, whoever he (or she) happens to be.

Now, those clever guys at Brightpost have made that idea even better.

Brightpost has developed the solar powered brochure box, called the Brightflyer, and it is ideal for 24-hour distribution of real estate flyers and brochures.

The Brightflyer solar powered brochure box looks like a standard information box but built into the lid is a solar panel that converts sunlight into enough power to charge two AAA Ni-Mh batteries. These batteries power a small light in the lid that illuminates your information sheets all night long. This means your property is promoted 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It's cool! Brightflyer charges all day and automatically lights at night.

The Brightflyer box itself has some big improvements beyond the illumination capability. It holds up to 150 brochures like most boxes, but built into it are slots that will hold 100 business cards. Brightflyer is crafted from heavy-weight ABS with a UV guard so it resists yellowing and does not become brittle. The price includes two wood screws so you can attach the box to the 4x4 wooden post on your sign frames, or you can attach the box using plastic straps available at most hardware and home supply stores. Brightflyer even has a sprinkler guard to prevent brochures from getting wet.

The Brightflyer solar brochure box can be ordered at http://www.brightpost.com/ for about $29.95 each (on sale now at $24.95), batteries included. Or you can call Brightpost at 925-952-9298. It is available in black or white, but I suggest white if you live in a hot climate like Florida, Texas or the southwest.

This is one of those innovative ideas that makes you say, "Gee, why didn't I think of that." Well, you didn't. They did. Now, the best thing to do is make use of the product.

For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website at http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.

-30-

Tips For Selling In A Slow Market

I like to pass along good ideas from wherever I find them. Some good info has just been published by the St. Petersburg Times, and since many folks don't read the paper regularly or live out of town, I thought I'd pass a synopsis of this Times advice along to everybody.

If your house or condo has been on the market for months and months, here are some suggestions from Judy Stark, Times Homes and Garden Editor.

First, Judy recommends that you lower the price. This may not be what you want to hear, but price remains the biggest issue with buyers. Apparently the houses that are selling are the ones that have 2003-2004 pricing. The ones priced like it is still 2005-2006 are sitting unsold. In the Pinellas MLS system, the median single family home prices have been ranging around $175,000 to $180,000 which is comparable to the median prices from 2003. For condos, they need to be priced around the 2005 level when medians were around $152,000 or so. In other words, it's a buyer's market and sellers need to price accordingly.

Second, Judy suggests you get your real estate agent to run more recent comparables, and pay attention to the results. If your home has been on the market for many months, you may need to re-price it. Reviewing sales figures from comparable homes is the best way to update your price.

Third, Judy asks you to honestly analyze if you have already taken out your profit. If you took out a home equity loan to remodel your house, buy a new car, pay for college expenses or fly off to Europe, well, those were your profits. You can not make the same profit twice on the same house. You need to readjust your expectations.

Fourth, take a look at your competition. Many times I have heard sellers say that their house is worth more because it is "nicer" than the others in the neighborhood. Well, maybe. Maybe not. Judy suggests that you put in some time and take a look at similar homes in your neighborhood to see what they have for sale, and what their price is. This lets you get some price reality into your asking price. Open houses are a great way to shop your competition.

Fifth, Judy says you might want to do a little spruce-up work. If the house has been on the market for a long time, it may be time to do some painting and fix-up. Remember, the home you want to move out of is somebody else's move-up opportunity, and it should look like a step up.

Sixth, Judy suggests you hit the ball into your agent's court. Ask your agent to re-write your home's description on the MLS and update the photos. This is like hitting the "refresh" button.

Seventh, taking it off the market is a bad idea. Some sellers think if they pull the house off the market and re-list it a few months later, they can fool agents and buyers into thinking it's a new listing. Not a good idea. MLS has an "archive" feature and the past listing history of your house pops up. Good buyer's agents always look into the history of a house before writing an offer for the buyer.

Eighth, Judy reminds sellers to be realistic about time frames. In July, Judy reports that of the 15,507 active listings in the Hillsborough MLS, 12,723 had been on the market for 270 days or longer. I'll bet you will find about the same kind of data in the Pinellas MLS. If your house is languishing on the market, you have lots of company. So, be realistic about how long it will take to sell ... and be a little patient with your agent.

Ninth -- and this is very good advice -- Judy reminds you to consider all your alternatives. Judy reminds panicky sellers that a short sale may not be the only answer to selling the house. Lenders may be willing to rewrite the loan, or tag the interest to the end of the loan term. Consider a reverse mortgage. Or, you may be able to bring cash to the closing table and pay some of the buyer's closing costs or buy-down the interest rate to close the deal.

Judy mentions one other thing in her story, "... if you don't absolutely need to sell, get out of the game." This is a tough time to be a seller. There is a lot of inventory. Buyers have a hard time getting mortgages. Prices are falling. Unless you have a real, legitimate reason for selling now, you might want to put it off until the housing market shows signs of a positive recovery. Maybe you should consider renting the property. It might help your cash flow and renting could eventually lead to a sale if the renter decides to buy your property.

I hope some of these tips prove helpful, and thanks to Judy Stark for preparing such a good story.

For more information about real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website at http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.

-30-

How To Tell If Your Property Is Overpriced

Let's say you have a single family home that has been for sale for months and months. You've reduced the price a few times and your real estate agent keeps hounding you to make the price even lower.

How do you know if the house is overpriced?

Should you have your agent do another CMA?

Should you hire an appraiser to prepare a certified appraisal?

Should you look around the neighborhood to see what other houses are selling for?

Well, those are all good ideas that make sense.

But here's a better idea: Make an in-depth review of the marketing program executed by your agent before trimming the price further.

By doing a marketing review, you will discover if your property is being properly advertised. Remember, if nobody knows your house is for sale, nobody's going to buy it no matter what the price is.

You should make a close examination of everything except price.

Among the many items you need to examine in a marketing review are:
1. The general real estate market. It might be that the market is weak where you are and everyone is experiencing long periods of time on market. You need to know the overall market in which you are trying to sell.

2. Property appeal. Stand out in the street and try to honestly gauge your home's curb appeal. Be honest. Then, look down the street and examine how appealing your neighborhood is. Is this the kind of house and neighborhood people want? If not, correct what you can.

3. Advertising. You and your agent need to discuss both the quantity and the quality of the advertising. Is it good advertising that emphasizes the better points of your property and neighborhood? Is the advertising frequent enough to have real impact among prospective buyers. An ad once in a blue moon just won't cut it in today's market.

4. Open houses. Have you had open houses with enough frequency that buyers are aware of your home? Or, have open houses been few and far between? When you had an open house, were it heavily promoted, or just lightly hyped?

5. Internet. Over 80-percent of buyers today start shopping for a home on various internet sites. Is your house being promoted on internet sites beyond the local MLS system?

6. Exposure to agents. Most likely, your house is going to be sold by an agent who is not your own. Is your agent advertising your house to other agents? He should be because that's most likely where the buyer is hiding.

I'm not going to write a marketing plan here but the above are a few of the kinds of things you should be looking at in this marketing review.

Now, if you are comfortable with the marketing effort and the house still has not sold, then the problem is probably not related to marketing. So, it might very well be a pricing issue. In that case, most likely the house is still overpriced.

On the other hand, if the marketing effort seems lacking, I wouldn't drop the price again. I'd require the agent to beef up the marketing and see if a buyer can't be found at the current price if you think it is fair. If the agent won't punch-up the marketing, well, maybe it's time for a more aggressive agent rather than a less aggressive price.

I'm of the opinion that houses stay on the market for one of two reasons: They are either overpriced or undermarketed. If the marketing is okay, then it's probably the price ... and vice versa. You need to determine which boat you're in and correct your course to get your property sold.

For more information on real estate in the Tampa Bay area, visit my website at http://www.thestpeterealestatesite.com/.

-30-