Saturday, February 12, 2011
In a market where inventory is at all time highs and sales at record lows, it's imperative to be on point when selling. You can sell fast and painlessly or slow and painfully.
Sales are at record lows, and sellers who need to sell are like sponges when it comes to soaking up information and advice. Here are some tips to help you secure an offer quickly. In a market where price and condition are the two most important factors in the sales equation, the first and most important thing you can do is make cosmetic improvements where needed. Spending $2,000 on new carpet could bring you another $4,000; professionally painting walls and ceilings will give a soft and fresh look to the interior; and refinishing hardwood flooring and staining/ceiling decks can escalate an offer. Small mistakes can cost you thousands of dollars. Ensuring proper cosmetic updates get done is imperative. Also, be sure to avoid disclosing …
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Short sales, foreclosures and motivated sellers dominate the current market.
For the most part, the real estate markets of Kirkwood and Webster Groves have held their value. But when you're part of a market that's been as bad as the one we're seeing now, normal statistics are thrown out the window. In the zip codes of 63119 and 63122, tax records show 175 distressed properties. This means that a property is either bank owned or in pre-foreclosure status. This number changes based on a homeowner's status with a bank. If a homeowner has missed payments but is able to modify his or her loan, then their status could change. The distressed market encompasses about one-third of the business selling on a national level. Comparatively, our areas represent a small amount of distressed sales, which is seen more in other …
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Realtor Joan Tabash-Curbow helps us navigate a challenging local housing market.
We've never seen a real estate market like this before, ever. With unemployment hovering around 9.6 percent and consumer confidence at an all-time low, the local housing market is seeing a different type of buyer and seller. Can you say distressed? In this article I'm going to focus on the trends for the past six months for Kirkwood and Webster Groves from May through October. This trends analysis will help you understand depreciation, price per square foot, absorption rate, average days to sell, average price point selling and the amount of inventory currently on the market. The biggest challenge we're seeing in all markets is the amount of distressed properties driving down local neighborhood values. You can't avoid depreciation when …
