Podcasts about property searc

Here’s a breakdown of which industries were most affected by job losses due to coronavirus. Last week, I discussed how the Raging River housing market will explode within the next month or two. Today, I’ll walk you through a breakdown of which industries were affected by 15% of the people who became unemployed in the last two months due to the coronavirus. When you consider these numbers, bear in mind that while 15% is a lot of jobs lost, that still means 85% are gainfully employed: 59.5% of this group were in the food service industry 7.1% were in temporary help services 6.6% were in retail 6.1% were healthcare office workers 4.1% were construction workers 4.1% were also in the accommodation industry 3.7% were child daycare workers “Those who are unemployed due to COVID-19-related job losses will soon be able to rejoin the workforce.” Just last week, it was announced that all surgical teams will be allowed to go back to work and focus on elective surgeries once more. The bottom line: Those who are unemployed due to COVID-19-related job losses will soon be able to rejoin the workforce, and I think once they do, our market will repair itself quickly. If you have any questions about the Phoenix market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Here are four questions to ask about whether to sell or rent your house to tenants. A frequent question we receive when clients are moving to a new home is: “Should I sell or rent out my previous residence?” Some people consider renting it because they couldn’t sell it, couldn’t get the price they wanted, or think it’ll be a good investment. To help you make this decision, there are four questions you need to ask yourself: 1. Do you want to be a landlord? Responsibilities come with this position. Sometimes tenants don’t pay their rent, repairs need to be done, you’re in charge of maintenance, and more. 2. Does the property have cash flow? After the rent comes in, are you earning money or losing it? If you aren’t gaining, (even if you’re breaking even) it’s not worth holding onto the property. If you do have cash flow, it may be better spent by investing it in a duplex, two-family, or multi-family house; these will have more cash flow potential than a single-family property. “In most cases, you’re better off selling your former primary residence.” 3. Will the tenant take good care of it? Will the tenant take as good of care of the house as you would? In most cases, the answer is no. This was your home—how will that make you feel? Even if you’re fine with that, there are going to be costs associated with getting the property back to great condition when you decide to sell.  4. Will you have to pay capital gains tax? Once it turns into a rental property, you’re potentially subject to paying capital gains taxes. If you don’t close on a sale of the property two years after moving out, it’s considered a rental and you have to pay as much as a 20% tax on any gains you made on it. For all the details, check with your accountant.  As you may be able to tell, in most cases you’re better off selling your former primary residence. If you have further questions about this or any other real estate-related topic, give us a call or send an email. We would love to help you.

Our market is a river, and we have no choice but to go with the flow. I often like to look at the real estate market as a flowing river. There will always be a current, but sometimes that current is moving slowly like a stream and other times it’s roaring quickly.  Coming into January, February, and mid-March, the market was absolutely on fire, with most homes under $350,000 generating multiple offers. Inventory was coming off of the market almost as quickly as it was coming on, and 2020 was primed to be a stellar year.  When stay-at-home orders were issued throughout the states and the reality of life under quarantine settled in, we saw skeptical buyers canceling their purchase and sellers canceling their listings for fear of having exposed individuals walk through their homes. Basically, the current of the market slowed dramatically. When the current drops, it exposes boulders in the middle of the river, causing more rapids; navigating the market in March was treacherous, and everybody was stressed out. “The dam that might have been created by COVID-19 two months ago is now going to release all of the pent-up demand back into the market.” What we’ve noticed, however, is that as inventory levels have come up, the metaphorical water level also rises, which in turn reduces the number of rapids in the market. That’s why April was a pretty strong market, and things are continuing to look healthier.  Though the official dates keep changing, our city is expected to start a multiphase reopening soon. The dam that might have been created by COVID-19 two months ago is now going to release all of the pent-up demand back into the market. That means the river will be raging these next few quarters, and, assuming we can finally put this pandemic behind us, we’ll be preparing for a busy season that extends all the way into December.  If you have any questions about what was discussed in this message, or if you’re interested in buying or selling a home soon but aren’t sure how to proceed in these times, reach out to us. We’re always here to help, and we look forward to hearing from you.

As we head into May, our real estate market is starting to pick back up. Here are the latest numbers. The April numbers are in for our real estate market, so we’re taking a look at them today. Compared to last year, listings are down 21%, pending sales are down 22%, and listings under contract are down 23.7%. The pandemic has slowed down the activity in our market, but things have been starting to pick back up in the last few weeks. Our closings per month that sold over listing price in April was at an all-time high. To learn more about what’s going on, watch this short video.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the process of showing homes has had to change. During this stay-at-home period, real estate is considered an essential business, which means we can still operate by listing, showing, buying, and selling real estate. However, we do have to follow certain guidelines to keep our agents and clients safe. For one, home showings must be done by appointment only, and no more than five people will be allowed into a home at a time—only the decision-makers in a family will be allowed. We’re also asking sellers to leave the home, since the fewer people there, the better. Of course, we’re also practicing social distancing by doing our best to remain six feet away from each other when we go into the house, on top of wearing gloves and masks. The buyers will be instructed not to touch any surfaces, and any surfaces that are touched will be cleaned with sanitizing wipes. Furthermore, we’ve been putting up signs on our listings specifically stating that if the buyer is sick or has symptoms, we don’t want them to enter the premises. “No more than five people will be allowed into a home at a time.” Another option for sellers is to do virtual showings and listing videos to augment your listing photos. Buyers can then make an offer on your home subject to inspection. In the end, even though stay-at-home orders have shaken up our process, you always have options moving forward. If we can help you with your real estate needs during the pandemic, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re here to help.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, buyers are still buying and sellers are still selling in our market. How have the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home ordinances (which have been extended until the end of May) affected the real estate market? Real estate has been deemed an essential service, and obviously, the health and safety of our clients is our top priority. We can still show homes by appointment only and list them, and while showing homes, we do our utmost to practice social distancing. We can’t, however, host open houses or have more than five people inside a house at the same time.  Don’t buy into the myth that homes aren’t selling. From April 1 to April 17, 727 new listings hit the market in the Greater Milwaukee area, and 594 homes went under contract. Buyers are still buying, too—especially with interest rates this low. Home sales last March increased by 8% to 10% in most areas compared to March 2019. This makes now a good time to sell.  “We can still show homes by appointment only and list them, and while showing homes, we do our utmost to practice social distancing.” Prices haven’t dropped, either. If anything, we’re seeing multiple offers for homes over their asking price. We just sold a home in the Sussex/Lisbon area that generated four offers, all of which were over asking price.  Will they eventually go down? Considering everything that’s happening with the economy. If I were a gambling man, I’d say, yes, eventually they will go down, given everything that’s happening with the economy. Everything is based on supply and demand. Right now, supply is low and demand is high, but after the stay-at-home ordinances are lifted, there will be a lot more people listing their homes. When supply rises faster than the demand, that’s when prices drop, and I predict this drop to happen in three to six months. How far prices will drop is anyone’s guess.  If you’re ready to sell or have questions about our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. My team and I would love to help you.

What should you do when there are issues with your appraisal? Find out here. Sellers, do you know what happens if there’s an issue with your appraisal? There are really two main appraisal issues that come up during the selling process: 1. The home doesn’t appraise at the list price or contract price. In this case, your listing agent can show the comps they used when they did your comparative market analysis versus those the appraiser used, and then submit them to the appraiser. There are sometimes homes that weren’t posted on the MLS that your agent has information on that the appraiser didn’t. 2. The lender requires repairs. During the option period after the inspection report is done, your listing agent and the buyer’s agent should go through the report and identify the repairs ahead of time. That way, everything is fixed and well-prepared before the appraiser comes out. If you have any other questions about what to do if your appraisal comes back with an issue, feel free to contact me.

Join me for an informative online home seller seminar this April. Here’s all the information you need to know. America always overcomes adversity, and in adversity, there is always opportunity. In these challenging times, homeowners are wondering how the virus outbreak affects the value of their homes. They are also wondering whether it’s a good time to put their home on the market. On April 4, 2020, at 9 a.m., I will be holding a virtual home seller seminar answering these questions and many more. The market was hot before the virus; there was low inventory and the interest rates were very low. We would see 30 to 60 people coming to an open house. Now, there are no homes coming on the market, but there are still many buyers who want to take advantage of the low rates and purchase a home. The demand is high—people need and want to move. How safe is it right now for a home seller to open their doors to prospective homebuyers?  How can home sellers limit unwarranted foot traffic coming into their homes? These are examples of questions I’ll answer in the seminar. We have put together a strategy that only allows for five-star buyers to come into our client’s home. “I think home values will remain the same as they would have without the outbreak.” What is a five-star buyer? They have all five of these characteristics: They are looking to buy in the next three to four months They are financially able to purchase in your home’s price range  They are committed to buying a home  They are looking in the immediate neighborhood of your home   They are friendly, cooperative, and want someone to help them So what is going to happen to the value of your home? I think home values will remain the same as they would have without the outbreak, or even higher. The first people to come on the market this spring will capture the eyes of the buyers first. Once buyers are allowed out of their homes to preview other ones, they will be hungry to purchase and will do whatever it takes to buy.  Therefore, I would be ready to put your home up as “Coming Soon” as many as 21 days before this market opens for business. It is predicted that we will be ready to leave our homes in three weeks, so now is the time! At the seminar, I will also go over many of my tips that are necessary in this market to capture the eyes of eager buyers who are just waiting for homes to come on the market. You will learn about my eight Strategies, especially the Pre-Home Inspection Strategy, our Room-by-Room Strategy and all of our top marketing strategies. Lastly, we will give each online seminar attendee an autographed copy of my “Home Selling Sharks” book. You can register at www.2155768666.com, or call us at 215-576-8666 extension 2. As always, reach out if you have any questions regarding this or other real estate topics. We’re here to help!

Here’s what you must remember when choosing between multiple offers. As a seller, what’s the best way to choose between multiple offers on your home? There are a couple tips to keep in mind. First, make sure your offers are organized. For example, you can try having your offers on a spreadsheet so you can easily identify which has the most earnest money, which has the highest price overall, etc.  “You must lean on your Realtor to help you decide.” Second, make sure your Realtor “plays detective” with each buyer. They should be talking to each of their agents and asking questions about them. They should also talk to each buyer’s lender and learn more about their financial situation. This will give you a better idea of how strong each buyer is, and your Realtor should know which questions to ask without crossing the line.  After gathering this information, you and your Realtor should be able to choose the best offer. Don’t get fixated on an offer that’s way above your asking price, either. Offers like these sometimes cause your house to not appraise.  When it comes to choosing between multiple offers, the bottom line is that you must lean on your Realtor to help you decide.  If you have questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

There are many things to think about before moving to a new area—what should you consider before moving to Central Texas? What should you consider before moving to Fort Hood and the surrounding areas?  I moved to Fort Hood in 2005, and a couple of things I really thought about before deciding to plant roots in Central Texas were affordability and whether this is a good area to raise my family in, with great schools and amenities. The answer is that Fort Hood has great amenities and plenty to do! Austin is about an hour’s drive away, Dallas is within two and a half hours, and Houston is about three hours away. You can get to many different events, sports, and concerts for a day trip. “We have a wonderful community that just keeps growing.” Another thing to think about is the outdoors. There are many lakes and hiking trails here. For community events, there are plenty of things going on for families. We have dog parks and a new YMCA. We have a wonderful community that just keeps growing. Central Texas has developed a lot and has secured a piece of my heart. If you have any other questions give me a call or send me an email, I would be happy to help you.

Join me for our February market report. Today I’m sharing everything you need to know about our current real estate market. Today I have your February hot-off-the-press market report. I’m eager to share all the new information with you. Despite last year’s doom and gloom about where the economy is headed, economists are now pushing back the recession timeline. Here is everything you need to know about our current market.  Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:  0:05: Introduction to today’s topic 0:25: The recession timeline is being pushed back. 0:55: Why home sales are increasing in every region of the U.S. 1:45: What a senior economist has to say 2:15: Home inventory over the last decade 3:00: Home price projections 3:50: Factors that can change your mortgage payments 5:30: Current interest rates  5:40: Wrapping up today’s topic I’m excited to see where 2020 will take us. I’ll be back with another market update in March. Please give me a call or send me an email to learn how to beat the competition or with any questions you have. Also, if you or someone you know may be selling their home in the next five years, contact me to learn about advanced real estate planning.

Today I’m explaining how lessons from former NBA player Mark Eaton’s amazing book apply to real estate agents. At a conference in Orlando last week, I had the pleasure of listening to speaker Mark Eaton, author of “The Four Commitments of a Winning Team.” Many may be familiar with Eaton, who stands seven feet, four inches tall, from his professional basketball career with the Utah Jazz.  His book is an absolute page-turner that recounts his personal story. He was a mechanic who didn’t play basketball in high school and never went to college. A coach who encountered Eaton at the auto shop tried to talk him into becoming a member of a junior college basketball team.  Eaton had zero interest in basketball and shooed the coach away. However, as Eaton recalls, the coach was incredibly persistent; he approached Eaton 15 more times! Ultimately, he convinced this mechanic with no basketball experience to come attend workouts and devote just an hour of his daily time to the junior college team. Eaton joined the team and had success on the court. He went on to play for UCLA, where he didn’t enjoy nearly as much success. Nevertheless, coaches sent out some highlight reels to the worst team in the NBA at that time, the Utah Jazz, and they drafted Eaton in the fourth round.  As fans of the league know, Eaton went on to become one of the best defensive players to ever play the sport, racking up a record 14 blocks in one game and setting a record for single-season blocks (456) that has yet to be broken. “If you protect clients, they’ll remember what you did for them.” How did this transformation happen? It started with someone believing in him. Together, they started by working on the basics of the sport—how to dribble, how to block and get in the lane, and how to rebound.  So here are Eaton’s four commitments as applied to the real estate industry:  Know your job. Study scripts, do your roleplays, etc. Day in and day out, do whatever you must to master the craft. Do as you’re asked. There’s a lot of noise from supposed gurus telling you how to excel in this industry, but focus only on what clients are asking you to do for them. Make people around you look good. Be positive. If you’re cross-selling with someone, don’t drag them down or be dragged down to their level. Don’t blame anybody, either. Protect others. Our license requires us to look out for people’s best interests. If you protect clients, they’ll remember what you did for them and tell others about you. If you have any questions about the topic covered in today’s message, feel free to call or email me. I would love to speak with you.

I have a story to share with you that demonstrates what it takes to be a successful REALTOR®. What does it take to be a successful REALTOR®? To answer that question, I’ll share a quick story I posted on Facebook a couple of days ago. If you’re new to real estate, this story is especially important. Most of us are diligent about posting our successes online (e.g., “We sold a house in three days for full price with multiple offers!”) The downside to this is that the consumer thinks our job is easy.  The story starts when I was referred a client from an out-of-town RE/MAX agent. The client was the agent’s brother, and he was relocating to the Phoenix area due to a job transfer. He was a high Type D personality type—the kind of person who wants everything done immediately. I got the referral a couple of days before Christmas, but he needed to be in a house by January 6. It was a busy time in my household. Along with Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day, I was celebrating my 60th birthday on Christmas. Furthermore, this buyer had three kids (one of which was a special-needs child) and four large dogs, so he needed a one-acre property on the west side of town.  We had a challenge on our hands. We found a home, but we couldn’t negotiate the proper close of escrow so we had to back out. Once we found another home, we got the offer accepted and negotiated the contracts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The day after, however, we performed the inspection and found some issues. All the while, the seller’s agent wasn’t very helpful, and she actually told me she didn’t care whether the home sold or not. “Inventory is historically low, and as the year goes on, buyer demand will be high.” That’s when we started looking for a backup property, and we found one, but we still made another counteroffer to the previous seller and their agent to make the situation right. They didn’t, so we canceled that contract and moved on to the third house. Fortunately, this seller’s agent was great and expedited everything for us. On the 6th, we were able to hand over the keys to the house to my buyer.  We got the deal done, but it took a lot of time and teamwork. That’s what it takes in today’s market to represent a client, especially one who’s relocating. Inventory is historically low, and as the year goes on, buyer demand will be high.  We’re in a service industry, so remember to go the extra mile to make sure your clients are happy.  If you’d like to talk more about what it takes to be a successful REALTOR® or have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

I’m excited for 2020, and after today’s market report, you will be too. Despite last year’s doom-and-gloom predictions about where the economy was headed in 2020, economists are changing their views, and the news is good.  According to George Ratiu, Senior Economist at Realtor.com, “Housing remains a solid foundation for the U.S. economy going into 2020.” Raving fans, the housing market is so strong that it’s actually preventing the recession from taking place. As you can see at 0:42 in the video above, the NAR, the Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac all predict more homes will sell in 2020 than 2019.  So if you couple this year’s increase in sales with the new projections, it adds up to a very good 2020. Freddie Mac has contributed to this optimism by stating, “We expect mortgage rates to remain low over the next two years, averaging 3.8% in 2020 and 2021.” As a matter of fact, some experts predict rates will drop below 3.5% for the next two years, and that will continue to drive the market.  Everything looks like it’s heading in the right direction. Interest rates are down, and homebuyers really want to buy and take advantage of these rates. That’s a sweet and sassy recipe for lots of home sales.  However, there is one challenge, and that’s your home going on the market. In other words, we have low inventory. The latest numbers for the month’s supply of inventory have decreased both year over year and month over month. An average market has about six months of inventory, but we’re at 3.7 months, and that number might continue to fall.  As you recall, last month we talked about the winter slowdown of home listings due to sellers’ belief that there aren’t a lot of buyers out there. That’s not the case for 2020, though. “Housing remains a solid foundation for the U.S. economy.” To quote George Ratiu once more: “As millennials embrace homeownership and take advantage of this year’s unexpectedly low mortgage rates, demand is outstripping supply, causing inventory to vanish…The issue is further compounded by the fact that sellers tend to be more reluctant to list during the colder time of year when the market typically makes a seasonal slowdown.”  So more buyers are entering the market earlier each year. As a listing expert, I’ve been having my home sellers start the selling process as early in the year as possible these past few years. I’ve also emphasized doing this in all my blog posts the past couple of months, and studies have confirmed what I’ve been saying.  According to a study by Move.com, people have begun their home search earlier each year since 2015. This study also found that January 2019 fell just 1% behind February for the highest number of views per listing, and in 20% of the large markets, January saw the highest number of listing views in 2019.  If you’re waiting for the spring market to sell your home, you’re waiting too long. Don’t wait for your competition to enter the market. Buyers are out there right now. At 4:22, you can see that ShowingTime’s latest report shows that every region of the country saw a huge annual increase in buyer’s scheduling appointments.  I’m very excited for 2020, so if you’re thinking of selling shortly, give me a call as soon as possible so I can help you beat the competition. If you plan on selling later on, it’s always good to learn more about my advanced real estate planning strategy, which includes advice on how to fight the “home selling sharks” who eat away at your home’s value.  You’re also invited to attend my next Home Selling Sharks Seminar on April 4. To register and learn more details, just visit homesharkseminar.com or call (215) 576-8666.  If you have any other real estate questions, feel free to call or email me as well. In the meantime, stay tuned for my next video blog, where I’ll show you how I sold a home for $60,000 over its market value by using my expert marketing strategies.

Here’s what you should know about how Zillow determines the value of your home and why it’s flawed. With the growing popularity of Zillow and other instant offer sites like it comes one important question: Can you trust Zillow’s estimate of your home’s value?  For perspective, Zillow has only been around since 2007; I’ve been in real estate since 1981, so I think I have a leg up on Zillow. In most cases, when Zillow comes up with its valuation (known as a Zestimate), they don’t even step foot into your home, they just crunch marketplace data.  “To be honest, I don’t even think Zillow knows why it changes its figures.” Zillow uses an algorithm to estimate home value, and there’s no way for that algorithm to factor in any improvements you’ve made to the property. I’ve had several people ask me, “Well, why did Zillow raise my price,” or, “Why did Zillow lower my price?” To be honest, I don’t even think Zillow knows why it changes its figures.  The bottom line is this: Don’t trust Zillow. What you need to do is get an experienced agent to look at the inherent benefits of and improvements to your home. Here at the Roth Team, we compare what homes like yours have recently sold for with what’s currently on the market. Then, based on your competition, we position your home so you get the highest price possible.  Again, don’t fret if Zillow gives you an estimate that seems leagues lower than what you feel is right. It almost certainly is too low, so seek out a professional opinion. If you’re thinking of selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or someone else on the Roth Team. We’d be happy to sit down with you and figure out how to get you the most money for your home.

I’m sharing why your average commission may have risen by $2,000 in the last five years. I have exceptional news for you: Did you know that over the last five years your average commission per transaction increased by $2,000? Back in 2015, the average commission was roughly $7,000. Today, it’s up to $9,000 per transaction. Those numbers are coming from the median price in Maricopa County.  In 2015 the average home value was $233,000. Every year since saw an increase, and in 2019 the average value was $306,500. I’ve been in real estate for 33 years, and that’s the highest median price I’ve ever seen. Overall, the median price has risen by 31.5% in the last five years. This, of course, helped to increase your commission.  What are you doing with that extra commission? Do you own real estate? If you bought a property back in 2015 for $233,000, it would possibly be worth $306,000 today. That’s a considerable boost.  “I’ve been in real estate for 33 years, and that’s the highest median price I’ve ever seen.” My challenge for you is to buy real estate. Help your clients understand this particular model. To download the graph mentioned in the video above, click here. If you have any questions about your rising commission, feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. I would love to discuss this with you further. 

Today I’m sharing my predictions regarding prices, inventory, interest rates and average days on market. To bring you up to speed on our current real estate market, interest rates are still low, and we’re looking at fixed-rate mortgages as low as 3% to 3.5%. Here are my predictions on what the market will do in this new year:  1. Interest rates will stay low. The government said it wants to hold interest rates, so I think for at least the next six months you can expect them to stay low, but after that—you never know.  2. Inventory will increase. As of the beginning of January, we’re seeing the lowest level of single-family homes for sale in the Milwaukee area, less than 4,000. For reference, compare this number to roughly 9,000 homes in January 2015. However, as we head into the spring and summer months, I do expect that we will see an increase.  “I predict that in 2020 we will see a 3% to 5% increase in prices.” 3. Median sale prices will continue to go up. The rise likely won’t be as high as what we saw recently in the Milwaukee area, where prices in some cases increased by 8% to 10%. I predict that in 2020 we will see a 3% to 5% increase in prices. If inventory levels get higher, prices may even level out.  4. The average days on market will increase. In most market places, the average days on market is about 30 days. The higher price-range homes (anything from $500,000 to $1 million-plus) are still taking longer to sell and aren’t going up in value as much. The average days on market in 2020 will be lengthened by an increase in inventory.  It’s a great time to buy a home when you consider how low the interest rates are; if you need pre-approval, contact us and we can get you set up with a lender. Sellers: take advantage of what will be the seventh year of a strong seller’s market.  If you would like to get a valuation on your home, give me a call or reach out to anyone at the Roth Team. We’d be happy to help you.

As we head into the new year, I’m bringing you one last market report for 2019. Here’s what you need to know. Can you believe that 2019 is over? No matter what your plans are in 2020, I’m here to give you some great news about our real estate market to start the new year. The Wall Street Journal recently surveyed a group of economists and asked them when they expect the next recession to start. 34.2% think it will be in 2020, which might seem like a huge number until you learn that percentage has dropped from nearly 50% earlier in the year. We might not see a recession this year, and frankly, we might not see one at all.  Goldman Sachs says they are reasonably confident that U.S. growth is improving, and the sharp drop in mortgage rates has reinvigorated the housing recovery after a slowdown in 2018 and early 2019. This means that the demand is still higher than the supply. Additionally, Jonathan Kanarek, CEO of BuildFax, said: “Amidst concerns of a recession, it’s promising to see the housing market responding to the impact of mortgage rate decreases and other positive moves in the market. If housing continues showing the promise of growth, or even a leveling off, this activity has the potential to stimulate the larger economy.”  People are afraid that a recession will bring something similar to what we saw in 2008, but I’m not. The NAR puts out a chart every month that shows the percentage of income necessary to buy a median-priced home, and recently that figure has been drastically decreasing. The historic norm is 21.2%, but right now we’re at  just 15.2%. Homes have never been more affordable. “I’d love to give you the gift of my expertise.” Why is this happening? According to First American, although home prices went up 5.7% in the last year, mortgage rates also decreased by 0.85%. Along with a 1.5% increase in wages, the total impact on purchasing power is a positive $24,500. Inventory is still low, more people can afford to buy, and real estate remains one of the strongest investments you can make.  Let me give you one more gift to start the new year: the gift of my expertise. If you’re thinking about selling your home, come and learn about my advanced real estate planning strategy for marketing and selling your home. Sign up today for our next Home Selling Sharks Seminar, Saturday, January 18, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Washington. You can register here.  If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Happy Holidays, raving fans! Today, let’s cover the topic of coming-soon listings and how they can boost the outcome of your home sale. It’s so important that your home gets listed on a coming-soon listing site, even if you’re selling your house in the spring. Recently, though, the board of the National Association of Realtors has decided that they’ll only allow people to put their homes on the market 21 days before—on any site. So, we cannot put listings on our website or any coming-soon page longer than 21 days before the listing goes on the market. This eliminates a lot of creativity in our market. So how important is it to get your home on a coming-soon site more than 21 days before it goes live on the market? Well, ‘coming soon’ means your house will be on the market soon; that attracts a number of buyers ahead of time, giving you an indication of the overall demand for your home, how you could feasibly price your home, and so on. Let’s start with demand. Buyers are looking for homes months in advance; they don’t wait until two months before they intend to purchase to start looking. If you have a coming-soon listing out now for a sale in April, it will tell you whether or not people are actually interested in your home. Similarly to demand, a coming-soon listing will also let you know whether or not your price is viable. You can also raise or lower the price before it goes on the market to see how interest varies. 21 days is simply not enough time to test those variables. “Coming-soon listings attract buyers, let you gauge the market, and can help you get a better price for your home.” Third, coming-soon listings can also help you gauge market volatility. If you put your home on a coming-soon site now for an April sale, you can watch demand between now and then to determine whether or not the market is rising or falling. Knowing whether a market is on the rise six months before everybody else gives you so much negotiating leverage—this also allows you to get a better price when you do sell it. Finally, coming-soon listings create an aura of exclusivity. Buyers often come to the sellers of coming-soon listings looking to make a deal without any competition from other buyers; this can often lead to getting a premium price for your home. As an added bonus, listing this way can also give you time to take photos of your home in a favorable season, adding to the appeal of your property. So if you’re thinking of selling your home in the spring market of 2020, now’s the time to start talking about it. Yes, the holidays have a lot of people busy, but that’s the beauty of it—nobody else is thinking about it now. Reach out and give me a call! I’ll give you all the best home-selling advice I can offer, which, coincidentally, you can also find in my book, “Home Selling Sharks.”

If you’re thinking of waiting until spring to list, the statistics say this is a bad idea. Before I delve into your November market report, I want to say I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. This is the time of year that we reflect on the things we are grateful for, and my team and I are grateful for you.  Something interesting has been happening in our market lately. As I’ve said before, the increase in home sales has been causing appreciation to slow down. More homes means buyers have a greater selection. Over the past three months, though, things have gone in the other direction. If we look at the year-over-year housing supply over the last 12 months, we see that the gap between this year and last year is getting worse and inventory levels are dropping again.  If you think there are more homes on the market now than there were in 2018, you’re not alone. According to a recent survey done by NerdWallet, roughly 45% of all homeowners believe the same thing, and 58% of those same homeowners plan to sell in the next 18 months.  So, even though there are fewer listings available, many homeowners believe that the opposite is true. If you’re thinking of waiting until spring to list (during the supposed “buyer’s market”), I’ll explain why this isn’t a good idea.  First, the supply of listings increases substantially—including new construction—which lowers the demand for your home. According to the statistics, most listings come on the market during the second quarter of the year (April, May, and June). This means if you’re waiting for the spring market, so are your neighbors. This will result in a dramatic increase in competition from other sellers.  Obviously, I can’t predict what will happen in the next six months, but as you can see on the slide at 2:45 in the video, there were a lot fewer listings on the market during December of last year and January and February of this year than there were in April, May, and June.  If you assume that more listings equals more buyers, the next slide at 3:07 shows that our month’s supply of inventory (i.e., how many listings for sale versus how many people are buying houses) is much lower from now until March than it is in April, May, and June. The higher that number is, the better the conditions are for buyers. “If you’re waiting for the spring market, so are your neighbors.” So whether you’re thinking about upgrading or downsizing, don’t get caught in the crowded spring market. Take advantage of where our market is now. If you still plan on selling in 2020, then now is the time to start preparing. I call this “advanced real estate planning,” and as your real estate planner, I believe it’s important to start earlier than you think.  To learn about all of my home selling strategies, and get a free copy of my book “How to Fight the Home Selling Sharks,” be sure to register for my next home selling seminar on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at the Fort Washington Garden Inn at 9:30 a.m. To find out more, visit homesharkseminar.com or call (215) 576-8666.  If you’d like to sell now, give me a call and I’ll put your home on our “coming soon” website so buyers can see your home weeks before it comes on the market. If you have any questions about our market, feel free to reach out to me as well. I’d love to help you.

Are you thinking about listing your home without having professional photos of it first? As you’ll see, that can be a big mistake. It’s a great time to get your home ready for a 2020 sale. We love helping people prepare their homes months in advance so we can market them in advance. We take listings that aren’t being sold by other Realtors, put our magic touch on them, and sell them extremely quickly.  We recently put a property on the market that had previously failed to sell and got it under contract in just two days. Professional photography is so important. Today I’m excited to show you our work in action by presenting some of our best listing photos compared to the photos that they had previously used. Here’s an outline of the video, with timestamps, so that you can skip around to the section(s) that interest you most: 0:40- How we improved the Rydal Road listing’s exterior photographs2:45- How we improved the Rydal Road listing’s interior photographs4:55- How we improved our Acorn Lane listing’s exterior photographs6:30- How we improved the Acorn Lane listing’s interior photographs8:50- How we improved our Harbor Lane listing’s exterior photos9:50- How we helped transform the Harbor Lane listing’s interior photos As you can see, photography matters so much when you’re selling your home. With each of the homes in this video, we took a failed listing and turned it into a success with good photos, a bit of elbow grease, and some minor repairs. This led to even higher sale prices. If you have any questions for us about selling your home or about real estate in general, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Hello, raving fans! I’m back with your hot-off-the-press market report for the month of October. Remember how last month I told you that home price appreciation would slow down and become more normalized? Well, at least throughout the lower-middle price ranges in the market, it looks as though we might be drifting back toward a seller’s market where price appreciation will reaccelerate. According to CoreLogic, home prices went up by 3.6% over the last 12 months. At 0:40 in the video above, you’ll find a chart that forecasts the year-over-year net change in price for each state in America. Overall, the prediction is that prices will increase by 4.5% throughout the United States in the coming year. By the time my next report comes out, I think that the projected number is going to be over 5%! In Pennsylvania, they’re already predicting that prices will increase by 5.6%, and for New Jersey, they predict a change of 6.2%. With supply and interest rates being low, and with more buyers looking for homes, we’re still looking at a supply-and-demand situation. Now, whenever we talk about prices going up, there is always a group of people who are thinking of selling their home so they can move on to buying their dream home—these are called “trophy homebuyers.” And understandably, trophy homebuyers will worry about if they can afford to buy now. Affordability is determined by three things: Price Wages, or the ability to earn Interest rates Even though home prices are going up, if we take a look at the report released by the NAR, you’ll see that the percentage of income needed to buy a median-priced home is down to 15.7%. This same time last year, that percentage was at 18.2%, and the historic norm is 21.2% Taking everything into consideration, it’s much more affordable to purchase a home now than it has been in the past.  “Now’s the perfect time to make some money.” CoreLogic also broke down the typical mortgage payment that buyers commit to. The most recent reports from June show that the typical payment was $878, which is less than it was a year previous and much less than it was in January of 2000. For June of 2020, it’s projected that the typical mortgage payment for buyers will be $899, which is more than this year, but still less than it was just a year ago. Overall, this means home affordability is in good shape. If this news isn’t good enough for you, take a look at what Frank Nothaft, the chief economist for CoreLogic, had to say about home equity: “Borrower equity rose to an all-time high in the first half of 2019 and has more than doubled since the housing recovery started. Combined with low mortgage rates, this rise in home equity supports spending on home improvements and may help improve balance sheets of households who take out home equity loans to consolidate their debt.” Also, with home equity increasing so dramatically, you might now have enough in equity to use as a down payment to move up to the home of your dreams or to downsize. Now’s the perfect time to make some money. The fall is the ideal time to start thinking about things you could be doing to your home to increase its value for a 2020 sale. If you’re thinking of buying a home next year, there are also things you can to do find your dream home at the lowest price—I call this advanced real estate planning, and as your real estate planner, I believe it’s important to start earlier than you might think when it comes to one of the largest assets you own. If you don’t start now, you’ll lose every opportunity to do the things that bring you the highest return on your investment. To learn all about my strategy and get a free copy of my book, “How to Fight the Home Selling Sharks,” I encourage you to attend my next home selling seminar on Saturday, January 18, 2020, at the Fort Washington Garden Inn at 9:30 a.m. You can also find my book on Amazon right now to get an early start on it.

If you’re thinking of selling in 2020, now is the time to start planning. Let’s discuss what this will involve. Now that we’ve entered October, the start of our hot spring market in April is just six months away. This means now is the perfect time to start planning for your 2020 home sale and/or home purchase, and there are a few key steps you should take as you do so. I like to call these steps, as a whole, “advanced real estate planning.”  So what does advanced real estate planning involve? First, reach out to my team and me. We would be glad to partner with you in pursuing your real estate goals. We want to help you fend off the buying and selling sharks who lurk the waters of our market waiting to eat up your hard-earned equity. When you partner with us, we can ensure that your home buying or selling experience is fast and successful.  And, now, you can get a sneak peek at some of the strategies we’ll employ when you work with my team by reading my new book: “How to Fight the Home Selling Sharks.” This book covers each of the eight main steps sellers must take as they prepare to list, the first four of which are as follows:  1. Find a marketing and negotiating expert.  2. Get a pre-listing inspection. 3. Have exterior photos taken before cold weather dulls your landscaping. 4. Get a room-by-room review. “I want to help you fend off the buying and selling sharks who lurk the waters of our market” Aside from just reading my book, I also highly recommend you attend my next Home Selling Shark Seminar. You can find details and register for the next event by visiting www.homesharkseminar.com.  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.

If you’re a real estate investor, you might be wondering when you should be raising your rent? Here are a few situations where I recommend doing so. In my opinion, the best time to raise the rent on your investment property is on a few different occasions. The first is on annually. The second is when you make any improvements or add any amenities to the property. Finally, any time that you notice the market is headed up, you want to stay competitive with other properties as well by increasing your rent. 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.

Today’s video is about creating a solid business plan. Tune in to learn about the benefits of SWOT analysis. Here is a tip to ensure that your business plan is effective and will lead you to success: Do a SWOT analysis on yourself. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You can also give the form to a spouse, co-worker, or even your favorite mortgage broker to perform the analysis on you. It’s a great way to get feedback from other people. However, don’t be upset by the feedback you receive; take that information and use it to better yourself. If you’re interested in doing using this analysis to improve your business plan, reach out to me and I’ll send you a downloadable file. Strengths. What factors about your business ensure that you’ll get the job done for your clients? Assessing your strengths will help you reflect on the advantages your company has over others.  Weaknesses. Where do you need to improve? Which factors prevent you from getting listings? Maybe you’re not strong enough on the closing side. Determining what you’re not doing as well as you could be will help you improve your plan and have more success. “Don’t be upset by the feedback you receive; take that information and use it to better yourself.” Opportunities. Your strengths are internal, but your opportunities are external. For example, both interest rates and inventory are very low right now and iBuyers are prevalent in the industry; how can you take some of these opportunities and incorporate them into your business plan? Threats. These are somewhat the opposite of your opportunities—what obstacles do you face? A lot of people think that Zillow and other iBuyers are threats, but even if they are a threat to you, your goal should be to learn everything you can about them and try to turn them into opportunities. We’ve witnessed that happening even here. A local agent started a Facebook page to get input from people about iBuyers and then created a whole iBuyer platform to educate Realtors about the iBuyer business. He took a threat and turned it into an opportunity, and you can, too. If you have any questions about today’s topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to speak with you in more detail.

What’s the latest news about home prices as we look toward the fall and winter of 2019? As you can see in the video above at 0:25, the FHFA quarterly report shows that every region of the country has seen year-over-year price appreciation. In our Mid-Atlantic region, prices have appreciated by 3.97%.  Now, there have been signs of deceleration, but deceleration doesn’t equal depreciation. At 0:46, you can see that each state’s home prices have appreciated—not a single one experienced any depreciation, and the overall rate of appreciation is greater than the historical norm of 3.5% to 3.6%. In Pennsylvania, prices have appreciated by 4.9% The home price situation across the country is looking good, but keep in mind that any change in price or appreciation depends on what category your home falls in. Price range matters—lower-priced homes with the least amount of inventory and the highest demand are appreciating much quicker. As we go up in price, there are fewer buyers who can afford those types of homes, which means a greater amount of inventory and slower appreciation. At the 1:42 mark, the CoreLogic Home Price Index breaks down year-over-year price changes by price range, and you can really see this effect take place.  You may have heard that mortgage debt is at an all-time high, and that’s true. People are buying more and houses are more expensive. However, on a per-capita basis, mortgage debt is still close to historic lows. At 2:06, CoreLogic shows the average annual equity gain per borrower, and the last time buyers lost equity was back in 2011, which was also the last year that prices depreciated. Since then, if you’ve owned a home, you’ve gained equity. In fact, during the first quarter of 2019, homeowners gained over $6,000.  Why am I talking about home equity in relation to home appreciation? There’s a lot of talk about how the housing market will be impacted if the economy slows down, but buyers have about $6.3 billion worth of equity right now, which is a different situation than what we’ve seen in the past. The good news is that, overall, there are fewer people in a negative equity situation.  “It’s a great time to buy or sell and get ahead of the competition.” Dr. Frank Nothaft, the Chief Economist of CoreLogic, is quoted as saying, “With incomes up and current mortgage rates about 0.8 percentage points below what they were one year ago, home sales should have a better sales pace in the second half of 2019 than a year earlier, leading to a quickening in price growth over the next year.” So, there are two pieces of promising news here. First, appreciation is still happening. Second, since mortgage rates are going down, sales will pick up through the fall months and into winter. Normally, that’s not the case. In short, it’s a great time to buy or sell and get ahead of the competition. If you’re curious about how to get your home show-ready, I invite you to attend my next Home Selling Sharks Seminar on October 12. I’ll teach you everything you need to know, and you’ll also receive a free copy of my book “Home Selling Sharks.” To register and find out more information, just visit www.HomeSharkSeminar.com. As always, if you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to speak with you. 

About three years ago, I decided to change my business based on some coaching that I received: I started to focus on setting up a perfect weekly schedule. Since then, I haven’t had a perfect week, but I have been working to use data to time block my day-to-day activities. Before then, I probably worked between 50 and 70 hours a week. Today I’m working somewhere around 45 hours a week at max, but I’m earning more and I’m enjoying life more. If you look at my weekly schedule (see 1:28 in the video above), you’ll see that it doesn’t have any appointments scheduled on Saturday or Sunday or anytime after 6 p.m. “If you can focus your time into compartments each day and then review your schedule for efficiency, you can both change your life and your financial success.” Here’s a general overview of my perfect week: 5 a.m.: Wake up to start my “miracle morning activities”: reading, journaling, exercising, and meditating 5:30 or 6 a.m.: Arrive at the gym to work out for an hour  7:30 a.m.: Take my daughter to school 9:30 a.m. on Monday mornings: Attend a call with the leadership of RE/MAX Professionals for 30 minutes 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Attend a team meeting from 11 to 11:30, where I review last week’s numbers: what I accomplished, what my team accomplished, and how my company overall performed 11 a.m.: Take a one-hour lunch break 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.: Do some follow-up calls 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Meet with agents who are considering joining our company 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Blocked out to take listing appointments That’s merely a general overview; certain days of the week have different periods blocked out for specific activities: Tuesdays from 7 a.m. to noon: Coaching calls Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Meeting with RE/MAX leadership Thursday mornings: Training classes Friday mornings: Blocked out for golf If you can focus your time into two compartments each day and then review your schedule for efficiency, you can both change your life and your financial success. If you’d like me to work with you to help you design a perfect week, feel free to reach out to me. We can set up an appointment for coffee or a Zoom call and I can show you in more detail how the perfect week has helped me change my life for the better. Hope to hear from you soon! 

Should sellers still host open houses? Let’s explore this question today. In today’s digital age, many sellers are no longer sure whether open houses are worth hosting. However, in my professional opinion, open houses are the No. 1 source of advertising a listing can have. Open houses are a low-pressure alternative to one-on-one showings. Not only that, but open houses also generate a lot of foot traffic and allow buyers to simultaneously see the home and their competition in person. This helps boost demand for your home. The bottom line is yes: Open houses are still a great marketing tool. 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.

Today I want to give you a few tips about how to maintain and track successful habits in your business. Here in the office, my team uses something called the Daily Success Habits Tracker, and I want to take some time today to tell you about how it can help you. Over my career in real estate, I’ve found that agents either have good habits or bad habits. Obviously, the goal is to take those bad habits and transform them into good habits. With the Daily Success Habits Tracker, we are able to focus on making sure each day is productive. Here’s how it works: Essentially, the tracker is a kind of chart that we’ve attached a point-system to. The left column tracks the time throughout the day in half-hour increments. The center column lists the “61 Points of Rhythm,” which are 61 daily activities that are necessary to maintaining business; each activity is given a certain number of points, which you earn if you complete the tasks. Each task, such as prospecting via phone calls, can be completed more than once to earn multiple points. “This tracker is a good way to hold yourself accountable to productive activities.” The column on the right allows you to track your prospecting times for the various sessions you do throughout the day. At the top of the tracker, there is a dial tracker to allow you to see how many calls you made during your day. To see a visual representation of the tracker and to hear various examples in which agents can earn points, refer to 0:42 in the video above. Overall, this tracker is a good way to hold yourself accountable to productive activities, to help you look back on your day to see what you did right and wrong, and to help you improve your overall business production. If you have any questions about the Daily Success Habits Tracker or would like a copy it for your own purposes, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you.

Once again, Randall Scott has joined me to answer the question, “Can you trust a Zestimate?” The short answer is no. You have to be very careful because websites like Zillow use an algorithm to determine home value that can’t possibly be 100% accurate. They can get close with their estimates in some cases, but it’s very difficult to get an accurate price online. The better route is to get an actual value assessment from a real estate professional. “You need an expert’s advice to determine an accurate price.” A lot of the data they use is outdated or inaccurate. It’s a good starting point, but you need an expert’s advice in order to determine an accurate price. If you’re on a shorter timeline, your price will be different than if you have time and want to get the best price possible. Whether you’re buying or selling, we’re dedicated to making sure you get the most accurate valuation for any home that you’re thinking of buying or selling.  If you have any questions for us about your home’s value or want our expert opinion, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.   

Hello, raving fans! I’m back with your market update, as well as a message about the rumors of an impending recession. Stay tuned! I don’t know about you, but every time I turn on the TV these days, I want to throw something at it. All this talk of recession, all the fake news created by the media, and all the news about a recession from pundits aren’t based on facts or real conditions. Rather, it’s based on a belief that by predicting a recession, they can create one and thus set the stage for a Democratic victory in 2020. This is a good sign that they have an exaggerated opinion of their own influence and have lost touch with the canons of their profession. The odds of a recession occurring in the US over the next year do not appear very high. With all that said, there is definitely no recession in the real estate market! The homes I’m listing are selling in hours, not days or months, all at a realistic price. I have indicators that show a strong housing market that I’m going to share with you today. First, let’s look at FICO scores. There’s a common belief that you need an 800 credit score to qualify for a mortgage, but that’s just not true. If you’re an FHA buyer, the average score needed is 675; that means some of our borrowers are getting loans with scores lower than that. According to Mark Fleming, First American’s chief economist, “If the 30-year fixed rate mortgage declines just a fraction more, consumer home buying power would reach its highest level in almost 20 years.” And it has! Does that sound like an economy that’s ready for a recession? Most people are saying that if there is a recession, it will come and go so fast that you won’t even know what happened. Next, let’s look at the average days on market—for a visual map of averages across the US, refer to 1:45 in the video above. As you can see, most of the United States’ average days on market is between zero and 30 days. That’s amazing because that means you’ll need to differentiate your home even more than in a buyer’s market to gain the edge needed to sell your home for tons of money. That’s why I plan with my sellers years in advance—to maximize their profit in either a buyer’s or a seller’s market. “There is definitely no recession in the real estate market!” Now let’s examine the year-over-year pending home sales in every region (refer to 2:31 in the video above). As you can see, in every region, pending home sales are up, with a total year-over-year change of 1.6% throughout the US. At 2:35 in the video, you can see the forecasted year-over-year change in price. Pennsylvania and New Jersey are projected to increase by 5.2% and 5.9%, respectively. This is all good news for the real estate market and for what could be the largest asset in your financial portfolio. As your real estate planner, I’m now taking listings for 2020 and 2021. If you’re planning to sell your home within the next year or so, now is the time to take some fabulous pictures of your home’s exterior, as experts are predicting a hot real estate market for the spring. Imagine having beautiful, eye-catching exterior photos of your home when your competition will have snow and leafless trees in theirs. Gain the edge and get your price with my exclusive Coming Soon Home Selling System that will put a sold sign on your lawn in hours, not months. Why work with a traditional Realtor who takes pictures with their cell phone, has no marketing or negotiating skills, and is only worried about their commission check? Are you with me here? Call me now to get your exterior photos done and to register for my next home seller seminar at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 12, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. There, you’ll learn that great exterior photos are just one of my eight secret strategies outlined in my book, “Fighting the Home Selling Sharks.” To get a copy for yourself, come to my seminar or give me a call! You’ll get one in your free toolkit.  In the meantime, feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have. Hope to see you in September!

Venturing out into the world of real estate investing starts with these steps. If you’re thinking about investing in real estate, where and how do you start? Before anything else, you’ll need to decide what type of investor you wish to be: a house flipper, one who buys and holds property for rent, or a wholesaler. Your next move should be to sit down with a real estate professional and map out your goals. For example, if you’d like to buy and hold property and your goal is to make x amount in passive income, you and your agent can work together to determine the number of properties you’ll need to invest in. Get laser-focused and get in touch with an agent to begin your investor journey today. If you have any questions or would like more information about your investing options, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help!  

Many people are curious as to what steps go into the home buying process, so today we’ll walk you through a general overview of what to expect.  When our team assists people with the home buying process, the first step we like to take is to send them a list of available homes in our area that meet their search criteria.  Then, we ask that they choose three or four properties from that list for us to see in person.  Once the buyer has found a home they like, the next step is to make an offer. Generally, in the process of getting this offer accepted, our team can negotiate for the buyer to get some money back in the form of closing costs to be paid out by the seller.  “The entire escrow process will take about three or four weeks, after which you’ll be able to close.” After going under contract, you’ll enter escrow, during which you’ll go through the inspection and appraisal, among other steps. Essentially, inspections verify the condition of the home while appraisals verify the value.  The entire escrow process will take about three or four weeks, after which you’ll be able to close. At closing, all you’ll need to do is to visit the title company on a previously agreed-upon date and sign all the loan documents, as well as the deed. And that’s all it takes. After that, you can get your keys and start moving in to your new home! If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.   

No matter if you’re a Realtor® or you offer some other service to buyers and sellers in the Valley, Nate’s List benefits all. Is your list of quality vendors to refer your clients to pretty short right now?  In light of the current construction boom in our Phoenix marketplace, I know mine is, and I’d like to add to my network. To achieve that, my team and I are looking to build an amazing client service list—Nate’s List, as we call it.  When it comes to mortgage lenders, title, and insurance, we have some deeply established relationships already, but our goal is to cast our net a little wider and foster relationships with all sorts of vendors who service buyers and sellers.  Since starting RE/MAX Professionals nineteen years ago, we’ve served around 60,000 clients across the Valley—many of whom would like to enlist the help of a professional, highly reputable provider to fill their specific needs.  Nate’s List will feature everything from landscapers to pool cleaners to clothing cleaners and more. If you provide a service that buyers and sellers can benefit from, I’d like to be the conduit between you and our past clients. “Our goal is to cast our net a little wider and foster relationships with all sorts of vendors who service buyers and homeowners.” Here are just a few examples of questions we’ve recently received from clients: “Do you know someone who can put a snake fence up?” “Do you know someone who can do a plumbing repair?” “Do you know someone who can install an electrical plug for my electric car?” And the list goes on and on!  In closing, if you’re a Realtor® and you’d like to build your own database full of amazing service providers, I’d be happy to sit down with you and discuss what we’re doing to make this happen. If you’re a vendor and you’d like to bring value to our clients, please fill out this form and let us know what sort of expertise you have to offer. No matter your area of specialty, I look forward to hearing from you soon! 

All sellers want to get the most they can out of their home sale. However, there are some issues associated with listing your home for too high of a price. Today, I’ll be discussing the five dangers of overpricing your property. An overpriced home will lead to fewer showings. The fewer showings you have, the fewer chances you have to get an offer on your home. An overpriced home will attract the wrong buyers. Buyers seek out homes based on their price brackets. If your home is missing the features and amenities of other homes within the price range you’ve placed it in, buyers are going to notice. Buyers who are looking in a given price range know what they want and expect from homes. You must price your home according to its true value so that you can capture buyers who will be legitimately interested.“Overpricing your home when you put it on the market can be a huge mistake. Today, I’ll explain why.” An overpriced home helps your competitors.If a buyer looks at your home and then visits another that is priced the same but comes with more features, your competitor’s home will look like a much better deal. An overpriced home takes longer to sell. In some cases, overpriced homes may not sell at all. An overpriced home that is later reduced won’t have the same impact. If you lower your home’s price after it has already been sitting on the market, it will lack the impact of a new home coming onto the market that was priced correctly from the start. 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.

The 2018 Characteristics of New Housing Report is here, and I have all the key statistics to share with you. What does the 2018 Characteristics of New Housing Report say about last year’s national housing market? First of all, it said that 840,000 single-family homes were built, and they had the following characteristics:  10% had two bedrooms or less 45% had three bedrooms 45% had four bedrooms or more  36% of homes had three or more bathrooms (when I first got into real estate 33 years ago, a home with more than two bathrooms outside of the luxury market was unheard of) The median size was 2,386 square feet Of the 617,000 single-family homes sold in 2018, the following numbers were reported: 75% were purchased using conventional financing 6% were purchased using cash The median sale price was $326,400 The average sale price was $385,000 The median size was 2,435 square feet “All in all, our market is fairly strong.” When we look at the NAR statistics for all residential sales, there were 5,340,000 in total. The average days on market for those homes was 120 days. Here are the year-over-year statistics so far for 2019: Home sales are up 2.7% Supply is up 2.4% The average days on market has risen to 130 days Here’s what was recorded for the Phoenix area, in particular: Resale home sales are up 4.3% New inventory is up 4.1% The average sale price is $347,500 The median price is $278,000 The average days on market is 65 days  All in all, our market is fairly strong, and I hope this information helps you with your buying and selling plans moving forward in 2019. If you have any other questions about our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Now that we’re past the midway point of 2019, it’s time to check out some of the latest developments in our market. First of all, inventory has risen. In June of last year, we had 2.3 months’ worth of inventory on the market. This June, we’ve got a 3.3-month supply. This 43.5% increase means sellers still have the upper hand, but that buyers now have more to choose from. Even so, 3.3 months is still not much. If you plan on buying a home this year, you’ll need to work closely with an experienced Realtor to ensure your home search is successful.  Over that same 12-month period, the number of new listings as well as the number of pending sales went up by more than 9%. This just goes to show that our market is still quite active.  “The recent increase in inventory means sellers still have the upper hand, but that buyers now have more to choose from.” However, while homes are still selling, they are taking longer to do so. Last June, it took an average of just 27 days for a listing to sell. This June, listings are spending an average of 40 days on the market—a 48.1% increase. Those planning on selling should, therefore, be especially proactive in working with their agent to market their property.  On the plus side, homes are selling for more money lately. The average sales price in our area went from $338,136 to $354,042 between June of 2018 and June of this year.  Between these favorable conditions and the fact that we’re approaching the hottest time of the year for listing a home, sellers are faced with a lot of opportunities right now. And with interest rates still at historic lows, buyers, too, can take advantage of this great market. 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. 

You’ve got your sights set on buying a new home, but where do you begin? Your first priority should be to get pre-approved with a mortgage professional. That way, you’ll know the extent of your purchasing power. Once you know how much house you can afford, bring this information to a real estate professional who will then show you homes that are within your means. From there, you can begin to narrow down your search and reach a decision. If you have further questions or you’re looking to get the home buying process started soon, please feel free to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help!

What is the Cardano Realtors’ room-by-room review? Learn more about it right here. Like many people who attend our seminars, you might be wondering what our ‘room-by-room review’ actually constitutes and why you should get one if you’re not planning to sell for at least three to five years. Today, let me demonstrate how important it is to learn what you don’t know about selling and staging a home. A room-by-room review is a free 30-minute appointment where we send out a listing specialist to evaluate your home’s current saleability. The agent will be able to give you tips on staging, paint colors, and decluttering. “Give your home a chance to shine and get top dollar by scheduling your free room-by-room review.” This review is like having a real estate doctor make a house call for your home. Some home seller seminar graduates aren’t aware of how important it is to take advantage of this opportunity months or even years ahead of when they plan to sell.  Some people may think their home isn’t ready for this sort of room-by-room review, but the point is that it doesn’t have to be. This review can help sellers put together a plan of action. The agent who assists you will look past any clutter to let you know where you should begin, and how to concentrate your efforts moving forward. Give your home a chance to shine and get top dollar by scheduling your free room-by-room review. We’ve been doing this service for years, and we have tons of testimonials from seller seminar graduates who were able to sell with 26 days or less.  Pat Ingram is one of these happy sellers. She initially didn’t quite agree with some of my ideas, but once she implemented them, she was able to sell in just three days. To see just how well this service can work for you, go to www.FreeRoomByRoom.com to schedule an appointment. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email.

Telling the right stories can help you secure more clients, and today I’ll explain how. I recently read an article that explained how sellers lost $14 billion in equity last year because of the increasing number of iBuyers entering our market. Selling to these companies is usually advertised as a convenient deal, but is actually a very ineffective move for today’s sellers.  So, what can you do to dissuade sellers from going that route? One of the simplest ways is by doing what you do best: offering expert real estate advice. “You can use personal success stories of the clients you’ve helped to secure future clients.” Given that 71% of buyers are afraid to buy a home that needs work, some of the best advice you can offer sellers is to make strategic repairs. The right repairs and upgrades will not only bring a high return, but they’ll also help sellers to close quickly and for top dollar.  Once you’ve guided a seller to closing using this (or any other tips), you can use the success stories that come out of these experiences to help you secure future clients who might have otherwise considered selling to an iBuyer. 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.

Our current market holds strong opportunities for buyers and sellers alike, and today I’ll explain why. For many, the month of June brings to mind warm weather, summer vacations, and the end of the school year. However, did you know that June is also National Homeownership Month? Given all the changes that have taken place in our real estate market over the last several months, some may not realize that it’s still a great time to own a home. There are many reasons buyers and homeowners alike should remain optimistic about the benefits of owning a home.  Average wages are increasing, employment rates are high, the economy is strong, and (as you may have heard) mortgage rates are still at historic lows. On top of all of those reasons, there is also currently plenty of inventory. This means buyers have a ton of options to choose from during their home search.  At 4.2 months’ worth of inventory available across markets nationwide, sellers still have the upper hand, but we’re definitely moving closer to a balanced market. This means those who list can no longer afford to choose any price they please and expect their home to sell quickly no matter what. Even so, it’s definitely still possible for buyers and sellers alike to earn a great deal.  Of course, conditions may change soon. Studies show that 44% of sellers who had plans to sell in the next 18 months have decided to list sooner in response to recent market shifts. “We’re definitely moving closer to a balanced market.” If you’re personally thinking about selling, then please join me for my next Home Selling Sharks Seminar on October 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn. There, you’ll have the chance to mingle and enjoy some great breakfast foods starting at 8:30 a.m., with the main event starting an hour later at 9:30 a.m. You can learn more about this event (and our seminar series, in general) by visiting www.homesharkseminar.com.  And, as always, 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.

Despite a potential recession on the horizon, homebuyers don’t seem to be dissuaded from entering our market. Today’s topic is one I’ve been talking about for over a year and a half, and it’s something that will start creating major headlines in the mainstream media: a possible recession on the horizon. According to four prominent surveys (the first of which was conducted by The Wall Street Journal) of economists who believed that a recession was going to happen soon, 22% thought it would occur this year, 46% thought it would happen next year, 18% thought it would happen in 2021, and 14% predicted it would happen sometime after 2021.   With that in mind, Realtor.com is quoted as saying, “Nearly 70 percent of home shoppers this spring think the U.S. will enter a recession in the next three years, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying to close on a home.” This reiterates a point I’ve been making all along: A recession doesn’t automatically equate to a housing crisis, and people don’t seem to be putting off their home buying plans. Also, more and more economists are starting to think that perhaps a recession isn’t right around the corner.  To quote Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, “I’m not convinced a recession is coming soon…I see an improving housing market (low rates help), a rebound in bank lending, a tight labor market, higher oil prices, and well-behaved credit markets. All these point to a stable U.S. economic outlook.” In other words, people are feeling pretty good about the economy. At 2:23 in the video above, you can see a chart from the 2018 NAR Aspiring Home Buyers Profile that shows that the percentage of non-owners who want to own a home in the future has gradually increased over the course of 2018.  “More and more economists are starting to think that perhaps a recession isn’t right around the corner.” The pending and existing home sales reports have been volatile, but consumer traffic hasn’t yet reached the levels we experienced at this same time last year. However, as you can see in the slide at 3:16, the number of buyers who are coming into the market has increased over the past three months. What are their reasons for buying? There are several different reasons, some of which are in conflict with the others. What about sellers? As it turns out, the top reasons people decide to sell vary by age. As you can see at 3:48 in the video, younger sellers tend to sell because their home is too small, whereas older sellers sell because their home is too large or requires too much upkeep. In a sense, each side is selling the type of inventory that the other side wants.  That’s a wrap on my latest market update—if you have any more questions about our market, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email.  If you plan on selling your home soon, you’re invited to attend my next Home Selling Sharks seminar on June 18. There, you’ll learn everything you need to know in order to sell quickly and for top dollar. To register and learn more, visit my website www.homesharkseminar.com.  I hope to hear from you soon!

Are you wondering how to get more money out of your home sale? I've got just the info to share with you today. Sellers often ask whether staging their property before selling is worthwhile. They probably understand that it could help put their home in a better light, but may still feel uncertain about going through with the process. They wonder things like, “Why is staging important?” and “How much more money will I earn by staging?” These are both good questions. To avoid being bitten by what I like to call the “Staging Shark,” there are a few important points you need to understand. Staging doesn’t need to be expensive. There are many small, low-cost upgrades you can do to boost your home’s value before you sell. Perhaps the most important reason to stage your home is that doing so will help you reach a wide audience of buyers. Only a handful of buyers are looking for a fixer-upper, and these buyers are usually hoping to score a discount. The majority of buyers in our market would prefer a property that’s neat, clean, and move-in ready. Staging is the first “shark” for a few reasons: 1. You want your buyers to have a positive, lasting first impression of your home. Since most people begin their home-hunting process online, it’s a good idea to have a professional photographer capture your listing in its best light, so that when buyers see the interior pictures online, they can decide whether they want to see the home. Did you know that buyers often decide if they want to buy your home within the first 30 seconds after having seen it? 2. It’s important to stand out from the competition and beat them to the punch by selling your home first. 3. Staging keeps the home-selling waters clear of the other home-selling sharks. 4. Staging helps you determine your marketing and pricing strategy. You cannot market or price a home until you know what the product is going to look like once it’s on the market. When the staging plan has been put in place, then you can market the home and price the home accordingly. 6. Staged homes sell six-times faster and can net 169% more than unstaged homes. If you want to attract more buyers and earn more money for your home, then all you need to do is follow these simple tips. Remember: Clutter eats away at your equity. Staging is a critical step in the selling process for those looking to maximize their results. It allows you to make a great first impression. After all, the goal of staging isn’t to show your property as your current house, it’s to show the buyers what it could be like as their future home. You can read all about my other staging tips and advice in my book.

As our market moves through spring, prices are appreciating at a normal rate again. Here’s what that means for buyers and sellers. What’s the latest news from our market as we move through spring? What’s going on with home prices? According to the Home Price Expectation Survey from the first quarter of this year, the pre-bubble (1987-1999) average annual appreciation rate was 3.6%. During the bubble period (2000-2007), it rose to 7.1%. During the bust period (2007-2012), it dropped to -6.1%. Then, during the recovery (2012-2018), it bounced back up to 6.2%. Throughout 2018, the appreciation rate decreased at a steady pace, and at the start of January of this year, it was at 3.6%. Last month, I said that analysts were predicting that home prices would not depreciate any further, but rather keep appreciating at a normal rate.  At the moment, some think the appreciation rate will drop below the 3.6% mark, while others think that because we got off to such a great start this year, appreciation will be even stronger than what was originally expected moving forward. In any case, the situation is normalizing in terms of prices, which is exactly what I predicted would happen last year.  Between now and 2023, the same survey showed that experts predict homes will appreciate by 17.1% on average. The most optimistic think they’ll increase by as much as 28.3%, while the more cautious still think they’ll rise by at least 6.6%. In any case, no one is predicting depreciation of any kind. “If you’re thinking of putting your home on the market, get ahead of the competition so you can increase your odds of selling for top dollar.” How are buyers reacting to this trend? What’s motivating renters to become homeowners?  People who buy homes build equity (i.e., wealth). At 3:21 in the video above, you can see an NAR report that shows the tremendous equity gains homeowners who’ve bought in the last 30 years have acquired, and their net worth is far greater than any renter’s.  Based on these appreciation rate projections, between now and 2023, average home equity is expected to increase by $42,617. It’s no small wonder, then, that 73% of all millennials plan to buy a home in the next five years.  Their biggest challenge is low inventory, but because inventory is so low, more and more new construction homes are being built, and existing home sellers have to compete with this.  Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, says, “Sellers have to think about the competition in a way they haven’t before. Getting ahead of other potential sellers could be even more of a bigger advantage this year given market conditions.”  So if you’re thinking of putting your home on the market, get ahead of the competition so you can increase your odds of selling for top dollar.  To learn all you need to know about how to sell quickly and for top dollar, I invite you to sign up for my next Home Selling Sharks seminar on June 18. To find out all the details, visit www.homesharkseminar.com. You can also order a copy of my book “How to Fight the Home Selling Sharks” on Amazon.   As always, if you have any other questions about our market or you have any real estate needs, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

These tips are valuable information. How valuable? It could mean $21,000. As promised, I’m revealing how I sold a home for $21,000 over the listing price in just two hours and 20 minutes!  How was I able to pull this off? Well, it’s all outlined in my book, “Home Selling Sharks,” so today I’ll cite specific passages that pertain to the pre-listing process.    Before anything else, the trick is to start earlier than you think. Much like Noah with the ark, prepare for the inevitable moment when the figurative flood comes. I should mention, though, that it takes more than a few months—to sell a home this quickly and secure top dollar takes a year’s worth of preparation or more.  From there:  1. Hire a marketing and negotiation expert. This isn’t me telling you to find a Realtor; rather, find someone with an expert understanding of marketing and negotiation and who happens to have a real estate license. In my book, I liken not having an expert on your side to letting the so-called sharks take bites out of your sale price, which is to say you could lose out on thousands of dollars.    2. Get a pre-inspection done on the home. A pre-inspection can actually zero out your repair costs. Acting preemptively with inspections is a surefire way to sell your home for $21,000 above the listing price in two hours and 20 minutes.   3. Showcase your home by doing a professional photo shoot. A picture is worth a thousand words, and the first place buyers will turn to is the internet, so showing your home in a professional way and in its best light online is key. “Find someone with an expert understanding of marketing and negotiation and who happens to have a real estate license.” 4. Do a room-by-room review. Going from one room to the next, assess what improvements you could make so your home will jump out at a buyer. If a particular room could use new paint, get a sense of what the cost will be, but never proceed without first knowing what costs you’ll incur.  Once you’ve checked off these four items, you can market your home online for all to see until it’s time for the next step, which I’ll cover in a future video. If you’d like to learn about this process in greater detail, give me a call at 215-576-8666. I’d be happy to give you a copy of my book, “Home Selling Sharks,” or you can also pick it up on Amazon.  Or if you’d like a free copy personally signed by me, you’re welcome to come to my book signing at Abington Free Library on Saturday, April 27, between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. I look forward to seeing you there! 

Ignore the negative news headlines—today we’ll talk about what’s really happening in the market. Though we’re having great success as spring selling season kicks off, there are some incredibly negative news stories about our market going around. They’ve definitely been taking their toll on buyers, sellers, and homeowners alike. Sam Khater, chief economist at Freddie Mac, said it best: “We’re in a mental recession. It’s a constant stream of headlines for a couple of months…it wears on you.” The issue here is that most of these headlines aren’t even true! Here are a few examples. A recent Bloomberg article makes it a point that to say we’re at risk of the worst year in the market since the last crash. I don’t know where the writer got that information, but Logan Mohtashami of Financial Truth has a much better insight on the topic: In essence, he says we’re not going to see big declines in demand or huge increases in inventory—not anywhere near 2008-crash levels, at least. Currently, the market’s hot and inventory is low, so multiple offers are happening all the time. Don’t take my word for it—take a look at the transaction levels projected by noteworthy lending companies at 1:49 in the video. I’ve sold over 40 homes already this year, and of those, only one failed to sell in less than two days; I even sold one in less than two hours last week! My homes are selling at or up to 8% above list price, and prices are going up across the board nationwide. Take a look at the graph at 2:33 to see the U.S. median sales prices for each year.  “Currently, the market’s hot and inventory is low, so multiple offers are happening all the time.” The chart looks like a rollercoaster, and it seems we’re at the very top—are we going to come flying down again? Well, there’s another graph at 2:59 that compares historical rates, and you’ll see that prices are exactly where they should be. Overall, the market is still favoring sellers but starting to slow down a little. If you’re thinking of selling this year, now is a great time to start the process. You can learn exactly how to do so by attending my next Home Selling Sharks seminar on April 6. Find out more about it at www.HomeSharkSeminar.com. If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Bad photography makes a bad first impression. Here’s how to avoid it. If you want to effectively sell your home, it’s incredibly important to have it staged. However, if you have bad photography that fails to showcase the wonderful qualities of your home, people won’t exactly be lining up to see it in person.  Pictures make such a big first impression, so today we’ll be going over a list of examples that show what you should (and shouldn’t) do when taking home photos.  For your convenience, I’ve included timestamps for each area we cover in the video. Feel free to navigate to the section(s) you’re most interested in viewing: 00:47— The exterior of the home01:19— The entryway02:00— The dining room02:23— The living room02:48— The family room03:09— The powder room03:33— The kitchen03:55— The breakfast room04:45— The sunroom05:20— The pantry and laundry rooms05:35— The garage and mud room05:40— The bedrooms06:34— The basement08:26— Conclusion to today’s video I cover 21 of the best home selling strategies in my upcoming book, and photography is just one part of the process. I’m excited to share it with you in the future, and if you have any questions or need more information in the meantime, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Why do agents join RE/MAX Professionals? Today I’m interviewing fellow agent Brady Bosworth to help answer that question. Today I’m sitting down with fellow RE/MAX agent Brady Bosworth to talk about his career as an agent, why he joined RE/MAX Professionals, and how this decision has benefited his business moving forward.  For your convenience, I’ve provided timestamps of our conversation in the video above so that you can jump ahead to the section(s) that interest you the most: 0:22—Some background on Brady’s career  5:05—Why he joined RE/MAX Professionals a little over a year ago7:47—The success he’s enjoyed because of this switch9:11—How he met his last client11:08—What he does for fun outside of real estate12:49—The best vacation he’s ever had 13:43—What’s on his travel bucket list 15:03—His business goals for 2019 1615—The assistance he’s gotten from other RE/MAX agents17:36—Why RE/MAX looks for learning-based individuals18:25—The value of our training classes 19:19—The type of mindset we encourage 20:26—What a solo agent can gain from joining RE/MAX22:38—Why Brady chose real estate 23:53—A recent transaction that’s symbolic of what RE/MAX is all about 25:54—Wrapping things up  As always, if you have any questions or there’s anything I can help you with, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you. 

Today I want to give you my professional advice about how to track your leads. At one point in my 33-year career, I used to only track where my closings came from. But about two years ago, I was introduced to tracking every lead—how it comes in, the source, and our conversion rate. Let me give you an example: You do an open house and you get five leads. You add the five leads to the tracker, including their name, address, phone number, and you include the source (the open house, in this case). Additionally, if they give you the information that they’re interested in buying or selling, you’ll want to categorize them in the tracker accordingly. On our lead-tracking spreadsheet, we have all that information recorded, plus, the first contact date with the lead, the next contact date scheduled with them, and also the value of that lead—for example, a buyer looking to purchase in the $300,000 price range. From there, we can calculate a $9,000 projected commission. Looking at my 2018 tracker, I notice that we had 213 leads come in, 45 of which came in with an income potential of $912,000. My leads had an average of $20,000 in potential income per lead. “Knowing exactly how much return you get on your leads and their sources is vital.” By tracking our leads, I’ve found that we’re able to save money and/or move our money away from something that isn’t giving us the conversion we’re looking for and put it towards something with a higher conversion. Last year, we underwent 10 months of parallel tracking for two different high-cost marketing for internet leads.  For example, after tracking Zillow and a pay-per-click service, we found that one of those was producing three times the amount of revenue as the other. Because we could see that, we stopped paying money for one and then doubled down on the one that was working. Don’t be afraid to stop investing in something that isn’t working because you’re afraid of losing a possible lead that will come in. Knowing exactly how much return you get on your leads and their sources is vital, no matter if you’re running a team or if you’re working as an individual. Here are some other interesting facts our tracker also tells me about our 2018 business: 11% came from agent and client referrals 22% was tracked all the way to close 26% came from open houses 9% came from Zillow 4% came from sign calls 5% came from our sphere of influence At the end of the day, we know exactly where all our leads are coming from. I challenge you to start tracking each and every one of your own leads so that you can identify which sources are worth investing in. If you have any questions about lead tracking, feel free to reach out to me. I’d be happy to speak with you.

Using this one strategy, sellers can feel confident that they are getting the most money in the least amount of time. Buying a home?** Click here to perform a full home search**Selling a home?** Click here for a FREE Home Price EvaluationCall me at 215-576-8666 for a **FREE home buying or selling consultation When it comes to selling a property, it is never too early to get a jump start on the process. Today, we want to let you in on a secret that can save you thousands: a pre-marketing home inspection. We teach future home sellers each month at our seminar how to sell for up to 18% more. One of the ways to do this is by fighting off the “staging shark.” Real estate is a new world these days, and it’s a world where differentiating your home from the others is essential. I’ve taught over 1,000 home sellers so far, and from doing so I’ve learned that most sellers want three key things. They want to sell for the most money, in the least amount of time, and they want to sell hassle free. Having a pre-marketing home inspection takes care of all three of these points. When you get your home inspection taken care of prior to listing, you’re saving yourself a lot of money. If you discover anything in your property that needs a repair, you can choose from Cardano’s List—a compilation of business contractors my team and I trust to meet your needs. When you have your inspection done in advance, you can have repairs done at your own pace and with your own preferred contractors instead of ones chosen by the buyer. Additionally, buyers love being able to read home inspection reports as well as any receipts from the repairs you’ve made. This makes buyers more comfortable and will let them make you a clean offer at top dollar. In fact, a recent statistic says that 100% of home buyers feel more comfortable buying a pre-inspected home. “100% of home buyers feel more comfortable buying a pre-inspected home.” A pre-home inspection also saves you time, since most buyers won’t feel the need to perform another after seeing your report. This eliminates the 14 to 21-day contingency period, and offers tend to be submitted in just days. This strategy means home sellers don’t need to worry about a buyer backing out because of a home inspection. All cards are on the table. Sellers will be able to put their market on the home feeling confident that they’ve already taken care of all repairs. So make sure that when you’re listing your home, you choose an expert advisor who utilizes this strategy. 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.