12 Ways To Sell Your House In This Crappy Market #3

12 Ways To Sell Your House In This Crappy Market

Be flexible

I'm not saying bend over backward to accommodate real estate buyers. Bend forward and sideways, too. Be ready to negotiate and offer extras such as closing costs, paid property taxes, remodeling work (or a cash credit), appliances, paid condo association/homeowner association dues, a few months of mortgage payments or even seller financing. Home sellers who've been on the sidelines and who advised their agents to ignore offers by low-ballers don't have that luxury now. Instruct your agent to listen intently to prospective homebuyers' misgivings about the home and adjust accordingly and immediately.

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Some Up, Some Down

The Arkansas REALTORS® Association, the voice of real estate in Arkansas, announced that existing-home prices rose for the fourth month in December. Average prices of homes in the 42 county area monitored by the Association increased 2 percent from $144,842 in December 2010 to $147,795 in 2011.  The number of units sold in December decreased 6 percent from 1,903 in December 2010 to 1,785 for the same month in 2011.

For the year, the number of home sold as compared to 2010 decreased less than 1 percent while average prices decreased slightly more than 1 percent.

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12 Ways To Sell Your House In This Crappy Market #2

12 Ways To Sell Your House In This Crappy Market

Put your best footage forward:  Prep, paint, stage, scrub, improve, repeat. Efforts can include caulking, plastering, planting flowers, adding potted plants, making the windows spotless, pressure washing that oily driveway, edging the walks, trimming the bushes and trees, and mending the fences. None of these is excessively capital-intensive, but when applied en masse, they say "buy me."

The little things can make a large difference in the perception of the buyers.  Go all out to prepare your home for the market.  Today’s picky buyers will move on to the next home if they aren’t initially impressed.

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New Arkansas Home Improvement License Required

New Arkansas Home Improvement License Required

“A person shall not act as a home improvement contractor after January 01, 2012, unless licensed by the Arkansas State Residential Contractors Committee.”  This means that anyone doing ‘home improvement’ type work on your residence must now be licensed IF the complete job, including material and labor, is over $2000 in cost.    Of course, also exempt is the owner of the residence.  You can do your own work, but if you hire it out, and it is over $2000 in cost….the person doing the work, must be licensed!

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Road to Recovery: List of Improving Housing Markets Nearly Doubles in January

Road to Recovery: List of Improving Housing Markets Nearly Doubles in January

The number of housing markets showing measurable improvement nearly doubled in January with the addition of 40 new metros to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI).  The IMI now boasts 76 improving markets, up from 41 in December, with 31 states and the District of Columbia represented by at least one entry.

The index identifies metropolitan areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months. New entrants to the list in January include the following (listed alphabetically by state):

“The fact that the list of improving housing markets nearly doubled this month shows that a significant, positive trend is developing, and is even more relevant when you consider the expanding geographic distribution of the list—which now includes 31 states and the District of Columbia,” notes NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen, a home builder from Reno, Nev. “This trend could be even stronger if not for the numerous impediments that continue to slow a housing and economic recovery, including overly restrictive lending policies and the growing inventory of distressed properties in certain markets.”

“While relatively small metropolitan areas continue to dominate the list of improving housing markets, it’s important to note that several major metros in diverse parts of the country have now joined the field as well—including such metros as Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Nashville and Philadelphia,” adds NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “This is an encouraging sign that gradually strengthening economic conditions are starting to take hold across a broader swath of America.”

The IMI is designed to track housing markets throughout the country that are showing signs of improving economic health. The index measures three sets of independent monthly data to get a mark on the top improving Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The three indicators that are analyzed are employment growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, house price appreciation from Freddie Mac, and single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau. NAHB uses the latest available data from these sources to generate a list of improving markets. A metropolitan area must see improvement in all three areas for at least six months following their respective troughs before being included on the improving markets list.

Posted By susanne On January 10, 2012 @ 4:51 pm In Consumer News and Advice,Finance and Economy,Home Owner News,Real Estate Information,Real Estate News,Real Estate Trends,Today's Marketplace,Today's Top Story,Today's Top Story - Consumer |

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12 Ways To Sell Your House In This Crappy Market

Starting a new blog post in 2012 - 12 Tips To Sell Your House.  New tip each week, starting with:

Price it right from the get-go:  The old-school strategy of real estate sellers crossing their arms and holding out for a better offer will be brushed off by most homebuyers. Consider that of the homes that took four months or more to sell in the past year, almost half of their owners accepted less than 90 percent of the asking price, according to the National Association of Realtors. For a gauge, have your agent produce the latest comparable sales including short sales and foreclosures as well as a recent summary of sales prices versus original list prices. But be wary that such information doesn't reflect the homes that failed to sell.

Thanks, from Steve McLinden, Bankrate.com

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Home sales up nearly 9 percent in November with Pulaski County Leading

Home sales up nearly 9 percent in November

Home sales rose for the fifth straight month in November, up 8.92 percent compared to the same month a year ago, the Arkansas Realtors Association reported today.  In November, 1,759 homes sold in the state compared to 1,615 homes sold in November 2010, the association said in its monthly report.

The average price of a home was $150,781, up 3.11 percent from $146,233 a year ago.

“These numbers are an outstanding sign that home buyers in Arkansas are growing in confidence and are taking advantage of the buyer’s market that continues to exist,” association spokeswoman Amy Glover Bryant said, adding that there appears to be renewed faith that the economy is on an upswing.

Pulaski County led the state with 283 homes sold during the month, followed by Benton County with 248, Washington County with 147 and Saline and Craighead counties with 101 each.

Eighty-nine homes sold in Sebastian County in November and 22 sold in Jefferson County.

The average price of homes sold was highest in Garland County at $219,406, followed by Pulaski County at $187,648, Cleburne County at $184,832, Washington County at $171,463 and Benton County at $167,638.

The average price of homes sold in Sebastian County was $155,392 and $110,411 in Jefferson County.

The number of homes sold in the state the first 11 months of the year was 22,267, down 0.38 percent from 22,353 in the first 11 months of 2010. Arkansas News Bureau

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