Southwest Indiana Real Estate Podcast with Trae Dauby

There are two major mistakes home sellers sometimes make before listing. So if you plan to put your home on the market, be sure to avoid these easy-to-make errors. The first is making the wrong repairs. Sellers often assume they need to make repairs to their home before listing it, which is mostly true, but I always advise consulting with a professional before deciding what to repair. A couple of times, I’ve walked into kitchens of home sellers who proudly told me that they just refinished their cabinets. Unfortunately, just by looking at those cabinets, I could tell that they refinished them themselves instead of hiring a professional to do it. This kind of thing will hurt your home’s value rather than help it. All that time, energy, and money they spent was wasted. “If you’re thinking of making a move, always consult with a professional first.” The second mistake sellers make is misjudging their current home’s value when they try buying their new home before selling. If your current home’s value isn’t what you anticipated or you list it with the wrong Realtor, it will sell for a lower price and put you in a tight spot financially. If you’re thinking of making a move, always consult with a professional first. Our team would be happy to give you a free consultation if you’re ready to put your home on the market. If this sounds like something that interests you or you have any other real estate needs we can take care of, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help you.  

It’s hard to believe it, but the first half of 2018 is already in the books. So now it’s time to take a look at how our market shaped up in that time. First of all, sales were down a total of 3% year over year across most of the seven counties I track, which are Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey, Spencer, Perry, Dubois, and Gibson. However, Vanderburgh and Warrick were each down 5%, Spencer County was down 20%, and Perry County was actually up over 30%. The big story in the first six months of 2018 was, once again, inventory. There still aren’t enough homes in the market. Believe it or not, supply is in worse shape than it was in 2017. Six of the seven counties I track are down 20% since last year in terms of inventory, while Vanderburgh County is actually down 30%. The inventory crisis is especially clear when you look at current supply in relation to statistics from the past five years. In June of 2013, there were about 2,300 homes on the market. In June of 2018, there were just 1,068. This is less than 50% of what was available five years ago. “The key to your success regardless of your goals will be to hire a Realtor who has plenty of experience with just market conditions.” Even so, the number of home sales has remained steady over time, which has contributed to high levels of demand among buyers in our market. We don’t have enough homes on the market right now to satisfy the number of interested buyers. Moving on, the average number of days on market has remained fairly steady as well. Listings spent an average of 63 days on market in 2017 and an average of 58 days on the market during the first half of this year. And sales price is another statistic which has stayed similar to what we saw last year. Since this time in 2017, the sales price has risen from the $154,000 range to the $155,000 range. Yet, with interest rates beginning to rise, homes are set to become less affordable in the future. This drop in affordability could help to even out our inventory levels, though. Overall, the lack of homes available in our market is good news if you’re looking to sell, but not so much if you have plans to buy. The key to your success regardless of your goals will be to hire a Realtor who has plenty of experience with just market conditions. They will know how to help you write a favorable offer, or how to help you market your listing and earn top dollar. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

In today’s market update, I’ll go over what happened in the first quarter of 2018 and how our current market compares to the first quarter of 2017. Today, I want to take a couple minutes to give you an update on the first quarter of 2018.  Homes were selling at a good pace, with a little over 900 homes sold during the first quarter here in Southwest Indiana. However, that is down 8% compared to the first quarter of 2017, where we had about 1,000 home sales. That said, I believe the reason for that is the lack of inventory in our market. There just aren’t enough homes for sale. This is also reflected in home prices. In the first quarter of 2018, the average sales price was a little over $150,000 compared to $144,000 in 2017, so homes escalated in price by about 4%, which is kind of the norm.  The average days on market right now is around 65 days, so that’s right in line with the first quarter of 2017. Overall, there are no huge shakeups when you compare the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018. “The biggest challenge for the 2018 real estate market is low inventory.” 2017 was one of the strongest years in real estate that we’ve had in a while, and it looks like 2018 is on pace to follow suit.  The biggest problem this year is the number of homes on the market. We had between three and four months of inventory for most of 2017, which is a strong seller’s market. Anything under six months is a balanced market, and anything over six months is a buyer’s market. However, now we have less than two months of homes on the market.   We need more homes to come on the market. If you are curious about what your home is worth or are thinking of making a move, let us know. We would be happy to talk about what you can expect in the market as a seller.  If you have any other real estate questions or topics you would like to see covered in our next video, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Today, I’d like to talk to you about getting your home ready to sell. The spring season is coming up fast, and this is the time when there seems to be a big flood of homes hitting the market. If you’re getting ready to put your home on the market, here are a few tips you can use to sell your home quicker and for a higher price. 1. Curb appeal. First impressions are important, so make sure the exterior of your home is in good shape. Clean up the dead leaves and trim your landscaping. It’s always a good idea to add some color, so plant fresh, vibrant flowers in neat beds. Additionally, clean the exterior of the house by power washing your siding and clearing out your gutters and soffits. 2. Decluttering. Clear out spare items you have laying around the house, including things on countertops, in cabinets, and any toys your kids might have left lying around.“Buyers tend to be put off by wallpaper, knowing how hard it can be to remove.” 3. Depersonalize. If you have pictures of your family hanging from the walls, it will be difficult for buyers to visualize themselves living in the home. 4. Deep cleaning. Vacuum, sweep, and mop your floors, and give everything a good dusting. 5. Minor projects. If your home is dated, something easy that you can do in order to sell the home quickly is to remove wallpaper. Buyers tend to be put off by wallpaper, knowing how hard it can be to remove. We can recommend a couple contractors who are very affordable to remove it for you. Instead of wallpaper, paint your home using neutral colors. If you have any questions about getting your home ready to sell, feel free to reach out to us. We can come take a look at your home and create a personalized plan for you.

Today I want to talk with you real quick about the timeline of purchasing or selling a home. When you’re getting ready to list your home on the market for sale, it’s best to get the ball rolling early on in the process. We’d love to come out and give you some tips on what will help it sell for more. Once it’s ready, we can go over comparable homes and find a good listing price for your home. Once we have the home listed, the market average for Southwest Indiana was 62 days in 2017. Our team actually averaged 47 days. Once the home goes pending, it usually takes 30 to 40 days for the transaction to close. Sometimes we can negotiate possession of the property for up to 30 days after closing if you need it. “Once the home goes pending, it takes 30 to 40 days to close.” If you’re looking to buy, you should come in and meet with one of our buyer specialists. It will take a week or two to find something, then another 30 to 40 days to close. We typically tell homebuyers that they really need to start looking about 90 days before they truly need to be in the home. If you’re in a lease and you have to be out in 90 days, it’s time to get the ball rolling. If you have any questions about the timeline or anything else related to real estate, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

Today I want to talk about a few specifics regarding the home inspection process when you are buying or selling a home. When you’re buying a home, we always recommend getting a home inspection done, even if it’s a brand-new home. There are always going to be issues that you won’t be able to see with the naked eye. A home inspector will check the foundation all the way up to the roof to make sure everything is in proper working order. “Keep the repair list to major items only.” When you ask a seller for repairs, try to keep the list to major items only. A blemish on the wall or carpet isn’t worth getting hung up about. Your inspector will go through the home with a fine-toothed comb and be able to tell you any and every imperfection. If you’re a home seller, don’t freak out about the inspection list. A lot of the items are minor. Realize that the inspection is just a part of the home buying process and you will have the opportunity to make repairs. In fact, you might be able to save quite a bit in repairs by having a home inspection completed before you list your home. If you have any questions for us about home inspections or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

What is the best time to get your home on the market? Everyone likes to wait until May or June to list their home. However, I suggest that it might actually be better to get that done a bit earlier. The reason I suggest listing in March or April is that a lot of other people also wait until May and June to list. You’d be setting yourself up to list at the same time as your competition. “If you list your home on the market in March or April, you’re beating your competition to the punch.” If you list your home on the market in March or April, you’re beating your competition to the punch. There will be fewer homes on the market, which means you’ll likely get a higher sales price and a faster sales time. If you have any questions or would like us to take a look at your home, feel free to reach out to me by phone or by visiting www.TheDaubyTeam.com. I would be happy to help you!

Why do we use the team approach in real estate? When I first got started in real estate, I was handling several different aspects of the profession. I was attending closings, managing paperwork, and more. As I became busier, I found that it became increasingly difficult to manage every task at the highest level. At that point, I knew I needed to start utilizing a team approach to real estate. “Having a team approach allows us to provide you with the best service possible.” At the Dauby Team, providing quality customer service is our top priority. Dividing the work across a team allows us to devote a higher level of focus to individual needs. Beyond simply providing quality service, we also care deeply about communication. We strive to provide you with our feedback within 24 hours. On our team we have buyer’s agents, seller’s agents, and other specialized professionals all working together to provide you with the best service possible. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How does housing inventory affect your home’s value? With fewer homes on the market, that affects the demand for those homes, which in turn drives up housing prices. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a real shortage of homes. Right now, throughout Southwest Indiana, we have just under a three-month supply of homes. In case you don’t know, the typical market supply is right around six months. Anything under that mark would be considered a strong seller’s market. Anything above would be considered a strong buyer’s market. “Your home might be worth more than you think.” With our 2.8-month supply of homes, there’s a strong need for additional homes to hit the market. Since there is a huge shortage of available homes, your home might be worth more than what you think. If you’re looking to get an updated value of what your home may be worth, you’re thinking of refinancing your home, or you plan on selling it soon, give me a call so I can help you with that. If you have any other questions about our market or have any other real estate topics you’d like me to address, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.