You have heard it time and time again that one of the most important aspects of selling a home is pricing! Pricing your home properly can be the difference between a relatively quick and hassle-free sale or sleepless nights of wondering why your home has remained on the market for months on end.Sellers should know that their property is going to get the most activity and highest offers in the first couple of weeks- often the first couple of days that the home is on the market. There are buyers who have seen every home that is on the market and, for one reason or another, those homes did not fit their needs. These buyers have been looking for two, three or more months, and are waiting for a new listing that meets their criteria to come on the market. Buyers are tired of searching, and are hungry to purchase a home, which is why if a home is priced correctly, they are more likely to buy it!

Many times, I have heard of a home going under contract in 24 hours or less, but the person who bought that home in 24 hours was often looking for three months or more.

The biggest challenge is that sellers often want as much as the last sale in the area. That is not always a realistic expectation in today’s market. It is important to have a full-time real estate professional do a proper comparative market analysis(CMA) to objectively show a seller what the competition is and at what price comparable homes have sold for in the last six months or less.

What is not included in a CMA are factors that affect perception, and that is the key difference between why one home will ultimately command a higher price than its twin. Perception alters reality, and this is a crucial consideration to understand the buying and selling process. This is why having an experienced, full-time real estate professional to give you solid advice and guidance is paramount to your success.

Your home is never worth more than someone is willing to pay for it. Sellers may set the price, but the market always determines the value. With the Internet age and buyer representation, buyers are smarter than ever, and they will be able to determine very quickly if your home is priced properly. If a market analysis is done correctly, you will get the maximum amount- and a timely sale.

Get it right the first time, and save a lot of money!

The FHA 203(K) rehabilitation loan is HUD’s(U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) primary program for the rehabilitation and repair of single family properties. Contrary to popular belief(even among some real estate agents), HUD does not directly fund these loans. These loans are funded through HUD approved lending institutions and HUD insures the mortgage loans on behalf of the lenders.

The 203k loan allows an owner-occupant borrower the ability to purchase a property in need of rehabilitation with one mortgage loan at a long-term fixed rate with a minimum of 3% down. For example, I had a young couple(first-time buyers) just close on a house in Hamden, CT yesterday and they went FHA 203(k) for the loan. They had a great experience. They actually purchased a bank-owned property for $180,000 and built $25,000 into the loan for the rehab and only put a 3% downpayment plus their closing costs. This program made a lot of sense for them especially since they couldn’t find anything on the market up to their standards. They have 6 months to complete the work and when they are done they basically have a brand new home. This program is surprisingly user-friendly and straight-forward as long as you meet HUD’s requirements to participate in this program.

If anyone has any questions regarding this program or would like to be put in touch with a HUD approved lending institution, just let me know.

Click HERE to easily get real-time snapshots of Connecticut local real estate market conditions.

How does this Market Snapshot compare to other home evaluation services?

Other services may provide a generalized, estimated market evaluation of an average home that has the same basic characteristics as your home. However, such an estimate is only one of many pieces of information you’ll need to make the most informed decisions you can when selling your home. Real-Time Market Snapshots also include graphical analysis of important market trends that will place your home evaluation into perspective. These Snapshots give you:

1. Real-time data on homes similar to yours in your area that have recently sold or are currently for sale
2. How long specific homes were on the market before they sold, as well as time-on-the-market averages for your area
3. Volume comparisons of recent sales, new listings and total listings
4. Percentages comparison of asking price to selling price for recent sales
5. Average, median and high/low prices for homes that have recently sold or are currently for sale

This additional information is crucial in helping to price, position and market your home so that you get top dollar when you sell.

The information provided here is meant to give you a general picture of what the real estate market is doing in your area. If you’d like more detailed market information and my analysis of it, or if you’d like a very precise evaluation of your home’s current market value, please contact me. Additionally, if you’d like to know how you can get the highest possible price for your home when you decide to sell, or if you have any real estate related questions at all, I’d be happy to help you.