CTDirt

3 Major Seller Mistakes

What are the three most common mistakes made by home sellers in Connecticut? Whether you use an agent or not, read on and don't lose out on thousands of dollars.

1) Price It Right

You've heard it a million times and it is still true. If you overprice your home it will stay on the market too long, become stale, and you will ultimately sell it for below market value. I had a potential client last fall interview me to sell their Windsor house and give my opinion on where to price it. Although I told them the truth they didn't want to believe it and ultimately selected an agent who would list it overpriced (yes, some agents are getting desperate). That property is still on the market and the sellers continue to pay taxes and insurance. I had valued the home to around $160,000 and they listed it near $190,000. However, it has been on so long, the agent has probably used up his marketing budget and the market has softened. The sellers will be lucky if they even get $150,000. Now they are out $10,000 in equity as well as wasted taxes and insurance.

2) Make It Look Pretty

When most people sell their car they clean and detail it from top to bottom, remove all the trash, and organize the glove compartment. They carefully vacuum and clean the interior. They wash, wax, and polish the exterior. They often take care of little repairs because they know it will sell for more money. Your home should be exactly the same! Get on your hands and knees and scrub the grout between the tile. Clean and organize your closets. Mow the lawn. Power wash the house. If your carpet smells like dog, rip it out and replace it. If the sink leaks, get it fixed. If the switch in the basement doesn't work, get it fixed. Bottom line - you will net much more money if your home looks and works perfectly.

3) Tell Everyone Your Home Is For Sale

Whether you are selling it on your own or you have hired someone to sell it, make sure your home it marketed to the entire world. One little ad in the Reminder or Hartford Courant is nearly worthless. Most buyers are now on the internet and you need to be there in a significant way (and only being promoted on an individual broker's website is not enough). Very simply, the more people that know your home is for sale and the more people that see your home, the better chance you have of getting your price. Maximum marketing is essential to getting the maximum price. Don't skimp here and make sure your agent has a strong marketing plan.

No More Showcase Cinemas In East Windsor - Now What?

I clearly remember when they built the Showcase Cinemas in East Windsor I wondered at the time if it could really make it since there were already movie theatres in Enfield. However, I figured they had done their research before building that enormous complex. Now, whether due to low local market support or the age of DVDs and high gas prices, the 12 screen complex is shut.

But what do we do with such a large single use building? It's not like a large box store like Home Depot that could just be converted into a Target or something similar. Unless another movie theatre company purchases it (very unlikely) it will continue to just sit there and rot. Although they will still be required to pay property taxes regardless of their status (unless they have some special deal with the town), it will be an eye-sore.

When buying a house, many people like to move into prospering communities. A large empty out of business movie theatre is not a great advertisement especially when so visible from I-91. Hopefully this is a lesson for all of us when certain properties are proposed to be developed in unique ways with little or no potential for conversion into other uses.

Simple Photo Fixes - Dining Rooms

Many dining rooms in newer homes are small, set in a corner of the house, only have one window, and are difficult to photograph. If you are putting your house on the market you should require your Realtor to either take professional marketing photographs or hire a professional to do them. For example, this home is selling in Windsor for $325,000 and this picture to the right of the dining room is being used in their marketing.

However, with just two small adjustments in Photoshop taking less than 30 seconds, this picture on the left is what it could have looked like. It still doesn't look perfect, but it does help show off the room better.

 

 

Ideally, the photographer should have shot from a different angle used some fill flash to match the light coming in from the window to eliminate the feeling of a small dark cave.

Here is a picture of a property I sold on Ethan Drive in Windsor. Although I don't claim to be a professional photographer, I have spent some time trying to properly expose and compose pictures of homes to show them off as well as possible. I'm sure these rooms are of similar size. I pushed myself into the far corner and made sure the large hutch did not intrude into the space.

Remember - your buyers are doing most of their hunting on the internet. Demand your home looks as nice as possible.

Is Now The Right Time To Upgrade?

If you have been thinking of moving to a more expensive home in another town this could be a great opportunity for you. Windsor prices have remained constant for the past 6 months while other surrounding towns have experienced significant drops. For example, if you were considering homes in Granby 6 months ago for $400,000 you could now purchase that same level of home for only $350,000 (priced in Granby have dropped 12.3% in the last 6 months). Likewise, $400,000 homes in Simsbury are now selling for $370,000 (prices down 7.4%) and in Avon for $385,000 (prices down 3.7%). And now since their are many more homes on the market you have a much wider selection.

Consider this:

1) By upgrading now you can save up to $50,000 or even more
2) There is a wider selection of homes on the market
3) Interest rates are still very low if you need financing

Just like the stock market, you never know when it has hit bottom until its on its way back up. The housing market is the same. No one knows if the local market will decrease much more (forget the national numbers you hear on the nightly news). If you are thinking of upgrading to a more expensive town, you may want to seize this opportunity.

Northwest Park Nature Camp

HURRY!! One of the greatest assets of living in Windsor is the fantastic programs they offer at Northwest Park (located in the Poquonock area). Besides their Coffee House Concert Series, their nature camp (sorry, kids only) in the summer is educational and fun and extremely popular. With little fanfare, they open the enrollment in early February. However, things fill up QUICK! My family jumped on this since we have had other family members enjoy the programs so much.

Some of the programs include: Digging For Dinosaurs, Incredible Insects, Happening H2O, and Mammal Mania. If you want to enroll your kids, you need to hurry. Visit their them at Northwest Park for more information.

Windsor Housing Value Report March 2008

As a real estate agent I am constantly asked, "what do you think about the market?". My answer is always, "it depends". Many hear the national numbers and erroneously apply those numbers to their own homes. Every market is different and even town to town can vary greatly (as I will illustrate below).

Appreciation

What is the history of Windsor housing prices? Let's look at the last 5 years.

From 2003 to 2006 we experienced a 32.5% increase in average sales price. From 2006 to 2007 we only experienced  a decrease of 1.9% on average. 

Current Inventory

Windsor has 132 single family homes for sale. There are 59 homes currently under deposit indicating a very healthy 2 month inventory.

Conclusion

Windsor prices are holding up very well in comparison to other markets and towns.

For example, Avon experienced an increase of only 25.9% between 2003 and 2006 (Windsor prices went up 32.5%) and then Avon prices slipped 5.8% (nearly 3 times as much as Windsor). Also, Avon currently has a 6 month inventory of homes (again, 3 times as much as Windsor). This high inventory in Avon indicates their prices will be dropping even more dramatically.

I am all for being honest when it comes to the real estate market. If things were worse I wouldn't try and pretend everything was fine. The good news is real estate prices in Windsor are currently stable without any clear indication that prices will drop (such as a high inventory of unsold homes). There are many other factors that can affect prices if the economy continues to slow, but Windsor should not be impacted as severely as other towns.