In areas of the country where the condo market has been on overdrive, sellers can face major competition for buyers. The challenge is especially tough if several similar units in the same building or complex already are on the market.
Condo sellers in this situation need to think strategically, says Mark Nash, a real estate broker and author of “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home.” Here are five ways to make a condo listing stand out from the competition.
Make sure the price is right. Are you planning to sell an apartment in an area where new condo projects are still in the construction pipeline? Be sure you don’t overshoot the list price. Those seeking to sell a condo in a complex where many similar units are available should do a painstaking review of other apartments that have sold during the previous six months.
Have one or more “brokers’ opens” at the home. These are open houses to which all real estate practitioners in the area are invited. As lures, they often feature food, entertainment or both. This is one way to get more showings.
Develop ‘resource lists.’ In addition to the usual advertising materials and brochures, he recommends that you develop community “resource lists” with your target audience in mind. For example, young, childless purchasers might be interested in an exhaustive list of restaurants in your area, including ratings and reviews. Families may like a roster of local day-care centers, while empty nesters could be grateful for information on cultural or recreational attractions.
Add glitz to the kitchen and bathrooms. Many condos have galley-style kitchens that are relatively small. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be given the sort of pizzazz that will set them apart. If you believe that selling your home could be challenging, you may be willing to spend a few thousand dollars to upgrade your kitchen, Nash says.
Consider incentives. You might choose to advertise that you’ll give the people who purchase the apartment a large plasma TV, or, offer supermarket gift certificates good for several months’ worth of food.
Source: Chicago Tribune, Ellen James Martin (08/25/06)
With reports of a busted market or soon to get even worse market. Is there ever a right time to buy a home? The answer is no. There is never a right time other than right now. If it is a ‘sellers’ market people are always saying “this can never lastâ€, and did so for most of the late 1990’s and early 2000. Now those same people are saying to wait and hold out for the market to go bust. The problem with this thinking is that nobody knows where the bottom or top of the market will be. Today buying a home is looked at as a way to make money, reverse thinking of the fact that we make money to buy a home. A home is a place for you to live, raise a family and over the long term make money on appreciation, realize tax benefits and save by not paying rent. If you look only at the present situation of the housing market and not at the long term there will never be a right time to buy.
Real estate goes in cylces; there will always be ups and down. Your best situation will always be to hold onto your home for a long time and not sweat the minor ups and downs of the market.
Look at the cost of a 4 bedroom home in Pleasanton 30 years ago. That is now the price you pay for a car! Imagine buying a home for $700,000 today and holding it for 20-30 years. You will be worth millions.
Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – dropped 4.1 percent since July 2005, and were 11.2 percent below the 7.13 million-unit level in July 2005 to 6.33 million units.
Not only are we seeing a softening in the prices of homes due to rising inventory, but the rates buyer will be paying on a home are also moving in the right direction. “Many potential home buyers have been on the sidelines, some ‘kicking the tires,’ but mostly waiting for sellers to compromise on prices and terms. Home sellers in many areas of the country are pricing to reflect current market realities. As a result, there could be some lift to home sales, but it’ll likely take some months for price appreciation to rise.” said David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist.
The 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.76 percent in July, up from 6.68 percent in May; the rate was 5.70 percent in June 2005. Last week, the 30-year rate declined to 6.52 percent. “An unexpected quarter-point drop in mortgage interest rates over the last month also could help to stimulate the housing market,†Lereah said.
So what does all of this mean? As a buyer or seller you must understand what is happening in the market from an economic perspective. Understanding how inventory and rates affect you when buying or selling can save or make you thousands of dollars.
Remember real estate is long term.
Money Magazine recently reported that college tuition is increasing faster than the rate of inflation. If you have high school-aged children, buying a condo could be less expensive than paying for room and board for the next four or five years – especially with the tax break and charging rent from your children’s friends. Perhaps downsizing to a smaller home makes more sense now with the children gone. Either way, you may want to tap into your home equity to manage this time of tremendous change.
Interest rates are at their best levels in five months and are near the lows of late last year. If you’re thinking about buying a home or capitalizing on your home equity, you have many options available to address all the big changes that may impact your financial success.
Rates at a Glance
30-Year Fixed
Mid 6’s
15-Year Fixed
Low 6’s
5/1 ARM
Low 6’s
3/1 ARM
High 5’s
1-Year ARM
Mid 5′s
These rates do not reference a specific loan program; rather, they reflect general market conditions, which are subject to change.
© Copyright 2006. All About News, Inc.
There are many great reasons for purchasing a home. Whether you purchase a home to save money by not paying rent, make money on increasing property values (6.8 % per year since 1968. source N.A.R.) Or you just want to have a home to call your own. One of the best reasons to purchase a home is the money you save by not paying taxes. Homeowners can deduct both interest and property taxes.
If you purchase a home for $524,020 and property taxes are one percent of the property value, the property tax deduction for the home would be $5,240 each year. In the first 12 months, the interest paid on the home loan would total $24,470 (assuming a 20 percent down payment with 5.87 percent fixed rate mortgage).
Your total mortgage interest deduction and property tax deduction for the first year of homeownership would be $29,700. If you fall into the marginal 25 percent tax bracket, the total tax savings in the first year would be $7,430 ($29,700 interest paid and property taxes multiplied by the 25 percent marginal tax bracket).
If two households making the same amount of money are compared side by side, and one household owns their home while the other does not, the tax savings of the homeowners are significant. For example, if a household bought a home for $445,400, after accounting for mortgage interest and property tax deductions, their taxable income is $87,105. Let’s assume these homeowners have no other deductions, their total taxes owed to the IRS would be about 15,120. If we look at a renting household with the same earnings and marital status, their taxable income will be $105,000 and they will pay about $19,580 in taxes. Because of the interest and property tax deductions, the household that owns its home is able to reduce taxable income and save over $4,400 in taxes.
Owning a home is cheaper in the long run due to huge tax deductions, property value appreciation, and saving money by not paying rent. If owning a home is important to you, give us a call and we can show you how to buy a home.
MoxleyTeam.com
Located in South Livermore’s Wine Country. This prestigious home offers 3 bedrooms plus a loft/optional 4th bedroom and a home office. 4 bathrooms add to this home’s overall 3,482+/- square feet. Located on the main floor is the master suite complete with a spacious walk-in closet and an upgraded bathroom with cherry cabinets, separate shower and Jacuzzi tub. Also located on the main floor is the home office with custom built-in cherry cabinetry and an adjoining bathroom. The upgraded kitchen offers granite counters, a cooking island with bar seating and a breakfast nook. This home’s private rear yard offers a built-in BBQ with a cooking island complete with bar seating, an arbor and a raised patio area with a fire pit. The low maintenance rear yard is accented with a “Field-Turf” lawn. The detached four-car tandem garage located at the end of the driveway will welcome you home.
Here is the original post:
2949 DANIELLE LANE: 4 bed 4 Full bath, Sold $1,285,000
Leave a Comment |
The Moxley Team | August 8, 2006
Tagged: bathrooms-add, bedrooms-plus, custom-built-in, driveway, low-maintenance, offers-granite, prestigious, separate-shower, Sold Properties, south-livermore, suite-complete
It’s true; technology is amazing, if you know how to harness its mighty power towards something useful. The internet, a good tool, but I’ve been using it for 15 years. Cell phones, not bad either, but I’ve had one for about 5, and a ipod, well who doesn’t own one or know someone who does. This brings me to my next point, podcasting. Podcasting is relatively new. Like the internet in its infancy many people thought it to be a fad, but I say, oh no, this is the next step in our internet revolution. A podcast is a downloadable audio file that can be played on your computer or loaded on an ipod or the like. People are able to create audio files of whatever topic they choose. Send it as an email, post on websites, and download its content for later listening. This is the next step in the technology driven culture we live in. Check my website out in the near future to see podcasts in action as we highlight homes for sale in your neighborhood. A live audio tour of your next home from anywhere in the world.
