Does paying cash for a home net the buyer a discount as it might for other transactions? The answer: “It depends.”
If the seller is in a big-time crunch, an all-cash deal can expedite the sale. Also, offering to pay cash gives the buyer less wriggle room, which could comfort a nervous seller.
A seller with minimal equity may be looking for a more generous deal than an all-cash buyer is likely to demand. Also, if there is a bank involved in the deal, it may not be so enthusiastic either because an all-cash transaction could undercut the reason banks are in business.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (11/04/2010)
Renovated kitchens are always popular.
How do you craft a compelling marketing message that draws the perfect buyers to your listings? It’s all about the principle of sacrifice, said Laurie Moore-Moore, founder of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, based in Dallas.
“Don’t waste your time bringing in people who won’t buy the house,” Moore-Moore told REALTORS® on Friday during a session on how to develop a successful marketing plan for luxury properties at the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Conference in New Orleans. “Sacrifice those people and focus on the ones who will buy.”
For example, if you’re struggling to get offers on a beautiful home because it has a miniscule backyard, create a message that targets the small pool of buyers who would see that negative feature as a selling point. The headline to use in your marketing messages: “Backyard Removed for Your Convenience.”
Or, if you can’t seem to find any positives for a condo that’s just like all the others in the building, only it looks out onto a brick wall rather than the city skyline, try a headline like “Willing to Trade View for Value?”
How about proximity to Metro?
“Target the prospects for whom view is not an issue,” Moore-Moore said. “Sometimes the negative is your best hook—it becomes the reason to buy.”
Moore-Moore emphasized the importance of writing an interesting and descriptive headline that’s used in your printed marketing materials, your social networking communications, and possibly even on your For Sale signs. (Tip: Never use the property address as the headline!)
Once you draw the prospects in with a great headline, follow up with a story that defines the home’s lifestyle and calls out the most unique aspects of the home.
“Recognize that marketing is storytelling,” Moore-Moore said. “Ask yourself: What is different about the house that competitive homes can’t say? You have to find that special story.”
—Kelly Quigley, REALTOR® Magazine
The percentage of U.S. households that owned their homes remained at 66.9 percent in the third quarter, unchanged from the second quarter, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.
The homeownership rate held steady for decades at 64 percent, but climbed to 69 percent in 2004. Since the housing bubble burst in 2006, it has declined steadily.
Because of rising foreclosures and tightening lending standards, homeownership is likely to decline to 66.7 percent, the rate in 1999, predicted IHS Global Insight economist Patrick Newport.
Source: The Associated Press, Alan Zibel (11/02/2010)
Home Prices In Arlington Continue To Hike
The housing market in Arlington County is getting more and more expensive as potential buyers continue to have fewer homes and condos to choose from.
Inlet Cove is alongside Route 1 This neighborhood of townhouses is near grocers and eateries Inlet Cove is close to Fort Belvoir, Alexandria, and Potomac Mills shops, in the city of Woodbridge Interior to these properties are multilevel Inlet Cove is serene
Pending home sales increased again in March, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1…
Some of the best housing deals are on high-end homes, many over $1 million. Some of them need TLC or they aren’t in the most-coveted locations. But there are plenty of desirable properties and lots of sellers who are getting impatient. Buyers with cash have the best opportunities. Buyers who need a mortgage should move…
The National Association of Realtors recently did a study about the characteristics of home buyers. Some of the findings might surprise you. Thirteen percent of buyers purchased a home with one or more parents and grandparents together with adult children. There were several reasons given for purchasing a multi-generational home. Cost savings; Children over the…
A survey by American Lives, a consumer research firm in California, conducted a study for the trade magazine Builder to answer that question. Here are their conclusions:
They are young. Most are under 45. Half said they had annual household incomes of $75,000 or less. Two-thirds are married.
They are frugal. They consistently told surveyors they were eager to live a simple lifestyle.
They are concerned about their financial future. About 70 percent said the economy is “not so good” with 27 percent saying it was getting worse and 27 percent saying it was getting better, and two-thirds saying it would get better in a year. Some 55 percent said they were concerned that they might lose their jobs.
They see themselves as energy efficient but not necessarily “green.” About 32 percent said they’d pay extra for energy-efficient features but only 16 percent said they’d pay extra for recycled or renewable construction materials.
Neighborhood is important. Ninety-five percent said they thought the community was as important as the home itself. Seventy-nine percent wanted the most square footage they could afford, but 69 percent said they’d consider a smaller home in the right neighborhood.
Average sale prices for homes in foreclosure and those owned by banks rose 1.6 percent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter and 6.1 percent year over year, according to RealtyTrac, a foreclosure marketing service.
The average price of these homes in the second quarter was $174,198 nationwide, but was significantly higher in California where the average price, according to RealtyTrac, was $256,833. These prices reflected homes sold by lenders or by homeowners who had received at least one notice of default.
About 24 percent of all properties sold in the second quarter were REOs and foreclosures. Their prices were on average 26 percent lower than those of homes not in foreclosure, RealtyTrac reported.
RealtyTrac Senior Vice President Rick Sharga projected that it would be the end of 2013 before the housing marked works its way through the foreclosure inventory.
Source: Los Angeles Times, Alejandro Lazo and Daily Finance, Hugh Collins (09/30/2010)
Julie Nesbitt
Julie Nesbitt knows the back trails and by-ways of Northern Virginia real estate.
Established in 1974 with a mission to reduce homelessness, increase community support and promote self sufficiency, the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is operated by a multi-denominational board of directors and staff managing over 70 housing units. Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is located in the Mount Zephyr Business Center at 8305 Richmond…
Will mortgage rates ever drop to 0 percent?
Zero percent financing has long been a loss leader in the automotive industry, but Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, a provider of mortgage information, says that scenario is unlikely. You’d have to find an investor who would buy a security with a zero return – a hard sell even today.
Jim Sahnger, mortgage associate Palm Beach Financial Network, concurs that the funding would be hard to find “unless there were significant fees on the front end to compensate for costs to originate, deliver, default, etc.”
If 0 percent financing could be funded, Sahnger believes potential borrowers would be lined up, kicking up demand for houses.
Gumbinger isn’t so sure because buying a home is a bet on the economy and that kind of confidence is hard to find, he says. “People are concerned that tomorrow is not going to be better than today.”
Source: MarketWatch.com, Amy Hoak (09/27/2010)
Julie Nesbitt
Julie Nesbitt knows the back trails and by-ways of Northern Virginia real estate.
Established in 1974 with a mission to reduce homelessness, increase community support and promote self sufficiency, the Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is operated by a multi-denominational board of directors and staff managing over 70 housing units. Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services is located in the Mount Zephyr Business Center at 8305 Richmond…
The percentage home owners with mortgages who spent 30 percent or more of their household income on housing, including mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and utilities, was 37.6 percent in 2009, almost unchanged from 2008. At the same time, the median home price dropped about 6 percent, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Renters weren’t so lucky. The number of renters spending 30 percent or more of their household income on housing-related costs rose to 51.5 percent of all renters in 2009, rising from 50 percent in 2008, according to the Census.
Two factors affected housing affordability:
Median household income, adjusted for inflation, fell 2.9 percent in 2009 as unemployment rose.
Median monthly housing costs, including rent and utilities, rose 3 percent in 2009 from $818 to $842.
Here are the products grabbing the attention of the home building and remodeling industries, according to Bill Millholland, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Case Design/Remodeling in Maryland, and Jamie Gibbs, a New York-based interior designer:
Appliance Drawers. Small warning drawers, modest-sized dishwasher drawers for small loads, refrigerator drawers and microwave drawers.
Counter-depth refrigerators. Some are only 24 inches deep.
Motion-detecting faucets. Like you'd find in the restrooms of businesses.
LED (light-emitting diode) lighting. These are used under cabinets and in ceiling fixtures as a longer-lasting, more efficient alternative to compact fluorescent lamps and incandescent bulbs.
Electric heated floors. A nice touch in bathrooms,
Showers with multiple heads and body sprays. Bathtubs are out.
Housing starts rose 10.5 percent in August to an annual rate of 598,000 homes, the most since April, the Commerce Department announced Monday.
Housing starts were up 2.2 percent in August compared to the same month last year, while permits decreased 6.7 percent.
Construction of single-family houses rose 4.3 percent to a 438,000 annual rate after declining 6.7 percent in July.
Construction of multi-family homes increased 32 percent to an annual pace of 160,000.
Housing starts increased 7 percent in the South, 34.3 percent in the West, and 21.7 percent in the Midwest. Starts fell 24.3 percent in the Northeast.
Source: Bloomberg, Courtney Schlisserman (09/21/2010)
Home Prices In Arlington Continue To Hike
The housing market in Arlington County is getting more and more expensive as potential buyers continue to have fewer homes and condos to choose from.
Inlet Cove is alongside Route 1 This neighborhood of townhouses is near grocers and eateries Inlet Cove is close to Fort Belvoir, Alexandria, and Potomac Mills shops, in the city of Woodbridge Interior to these properties are multilevel Inlet Cove is serene
Pending home sales increased again in March, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1…
Some of the best housing deals are on high-end homes, many over $1 million. Some of them need TLC or they aren’t in the most-coveted locations. But there are plenty of desirable properties and lots of sellers who are getting impatient. Buyers with cash have the best opportunities. Buyers who need a mortgage should move…
The National Association of Realtors recently did a study about the characteristics of home buyers. Some of the findings might surprise you. Thirteen percent of buyers purchased a home with one or more parents and grandparents together with adult children. There were several reasons given for purchasing a multi-generational home. Cost savings; Children over the…
