Ryan Ward's Blog: Selling

In a previous post, I talked about the how and why I think that good single property websites can help to market our listings. At that time, I had really just implemented them for all of my listings and wanted to get back to something that I said I would do about what some best practices might be for reusing them. Before I get that far, I do want to say that I can in fact say that it was one of the single property websites that sold a listing that we closed on this past week.

The story, as relayed to me from the buyer whom I did not represent, explicitly told his agent that he was not interested in a home like the one that he bought (contemporary), but, the agent saw the single property website that also doubled as the virtual tour and forwarded him the…

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Consider this a warning for you if you are selling your home - Get rid of your wallpaper or many buyers will get rid of your home from this list of possibilities. This is more serious than many sellers think and it affects homes at all price points the same way. Wallpaper is unchangeable in the minds of most buyers and they will leave your house because of it.

I was showing homes to a couple this past weekend who had plenty of money to have a contractor remove the wallpaper and apply custom finishes to the rooms affected by wallpaper and they simply decided it would not be worth the hassle. Just yesterday I was showing luxury real estate to another buyer with the same result. We walked into the kitchen and the first comment was about the sellers…

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One of the most important factors relating to the housing market is called the absorption rate. The absorption rate tells us how long it would take, based on statistics, for all homes to sell, if no new homes came on the market during that time. To find the absorption rate you must divide the number of homes available by the number of homes that have sold. Currently there are 5,400 homes for sale in the city of Atlanta and,  according to the Atlanta MLS, the FMLS, 486 homes sold during the month of January. Therefore, the absorption rate for homes in Atlanta is 11.1 months. This number does not include homes that are currently under contract. Traditionally, January is the slowest month of the year for home sales and this year is no exception. If we take a…

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A comparative market analysis (CMA) is the most important,and, should be the first skill that any real estate agent learns how to do well. A CMA should be used to determine fair market value for a home based on certain conditions. The conditions for determining fair market value are that you have a willing buyer, a willing seller and no undue pressure on either party. This is market value. Not what the seller or agent or buyer feels like the value is, but instead, what buyers and sellers have actually paid for similar homes. After all, whether the real estate agent is representing you in listing your home for sale or representing you in the purchase of a new home, what could be more important than the value of the home?

Surprisingly, most real estate…

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EIFS, Dryvet, or synthetic stucco, as it is often called, can create a real problem if you are trying to sell your home. From the outset, many buyers will overlook your home without giving it a second thought no matter what you have done to protect your home from the potential problems that are associated with the product. This is unfortunate for many homeowners who have taken good care of their home because might have a difficult time selling because many Alpharetta buyers will simply not even consider the home. Fortunately, there are certain steps that you can take to improve your chances of selling a home with synthetic stucco.

First, you need to obtain all records you have for any repairs made to the siding. Second, you should obtain a stucco bond…

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From time to time while negotiating a real estate contract, an agent might try to make a verbal offer on behalf of their client. This is not only bad practice, it is not enforceable. Many reasons can be given why an agent tells you that they need to make an offer verbally - none are good enough to not have it put in writing. During the course of negotiating a sale of real estate, many smaller items do arise and information exchanges can take place to help either party decide what their next course of action should be. When the time comes to make the decision about what to offer or ask for in the transaction, you must make that offer in writing or it is as if it never happened. Do not let someone tell you that it is fine to just converse verbally during the…

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We have all driven by a house that seems to just sit on the market forever. At some point we all wonder what's wrong with that house. Why have other houses around sold and this one hasn't? Is it the price, location, what seems to be the problem?

Before I get to what the real problem is with why some homes don't sell while others around seem to sell in a reasonable amount of time, I would like to talk a little bit about some mitigating factors. I know it should go without saying, but I will say it anyway - not all homes are created equal. There are new homes and old homes; some have been updated; others have fresh paint or a front door that is so hard to open that you have to put your shoulder into it just to get it open - my point is that all of these…

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Here are the Alpharetta real estate market conditions for January, 2007. The information gathered for this report is furnished by the FMLS.

 

Alpharetta Real Estate Alpharetta January Active 1760 Pending 407 Sold 130 Expired 201 Withdrawn 105 High $1,843,000 Low $152,900 Average $400,352 … Read Full Post