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U.S. Home Prices Rise For Fourth Straight Month

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:08:00 GMT

As U.S. home prices continue their monthly gains, more confidence is building that the housing market is stabilizing. While winter home sales and prices will most likely provide a short dip in statistics, fall sales have been particularly encouraging.

October home sales rose over 10% this year, creating a surge in the stock market and further confidence in real estate. The sales beat the predicted estimate of a 1.4% increase, and was attributed in part to the first time home buyer tax credits.

There's no guarantee that the market has stabilized, just some more data to add to the discussion.

19 replies

Sweet Smell of a Sale

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:24:00 GMT

Sweet Smell of a Sale

Scents and aromas can have a dramatic impact on people's emotions, otherwise, there wouldn't be a multi-billion-dollar fragrance industry!

Don't ignore the power of fragrance when showing your home. Smoke, pet odors, and cooking smells can each dramatically impact how potential buyers feel about your house.

If your potential buyers never form an emotional connection to your home, chances are that they will remain just that ? potential buyers.

Don't allow smoking in your house for weeks leading up to showing it, find a pet-sitter for a few days, and clean, clean, clean!

Once you've removed any aromas that might be off-putting and freshened the air in your home, you can actually use scent to your advantage.

Consider doing some baking prior to showings. The scent of fresh apple pie is hard to beat when it comes to creating the atmosphere of a welcoming home!

TIP: In a pinch, a mixture of water, vanilla extract, and brown sugar in an oven on low heat can be used to create the pleasing aroma of fresh baking.

To a certain extent, buyers make purchase decisions based on their emotional response, so it's important to make it easy for them to fall in love with your home. Pleasant smells are one more way to do so.

1 reply

Avoid The Most Common Buyer Errors

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:32:00 GMT

Shopping for a new home is an emotional experience. It is, however, also a business transaction, and must be treated as such.
Three of the most devastating things that can go wrong are:
Paying too much
Losing a dream home to another buyer
Buying the wrong home
When you have a systematic plan before you shop, you'll be sure to avoid these costly errors. Here are some tips on making the most of your home purchase:
Buy YOUR home: What do you need and want in a home? Sounds simple, but clearly identifying your needs and bringing an objective view to home shopping leaves you in a much better position. How much space do you really need? Too small and you may feel like you live in constant clutter. Too big and maintenance may become too daunting. Outline all of your priorities, and work on finding not just a great home, but a great home for you.
Minimize the unexpected: For $300 - $500, a professional inspector will conduct a thorough inspection of the home. Their expertise can mean the difference between uncovering major flaws before or after you own a home. Make the final contract subject to the report's findings.
Get pre-approved: It only takes a few days to get financing pre-approval. When you are shopping for a home, this gives you more power. A seller is more likely to consider an offer from a serious buyer.
Remember additional costs:Besides the funds for the purchase of a home, you'll need funds for items such as loan fees, insurance, legal fees, surveys, inspections, etc.
Take a deep breath: Before you sign, ensure that all documentation clearly reflects your understanding and conditions of the transaction. Has anything been forgotten? Don't rush. You could lose money, financing, or even the sale if you attempt to push things through too hastily.

0 replies

Why purchase at a foreclosure auction?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:18:00 GMT

There are a number of advantages to purchasing property at foreclosure auction.

Great values: Obtaining real estate at a property foreclosure auction can be a very worthwhile investment of time and money. Regularly, a small amount of bidders may materialize on the day of a property foreclosure auction, so there may be little or no contest for a particular property. Countless people are unaware that property can be purchased this way, or are intimidated by the procedure. This means that vacant land, condos, and single family homes are sold for a reduced amount of market value, sometimes considerably less. Most investors that buy at a foreclosure auction look for properties to be 25% to 30% less than retail value. But if you have patience and the right resources often enough you can purchase properties at a 50% or more of a discount.

Ownership: Typically quick possession if you are the successful bidder, you are entitled to possession of the property as soon as you receive the Trustee's Deed.

Accessibility: Best of all, anyone can purchase a property at auction.

6 replies

Foreclosure .com "Listings" - Misleading or Not?

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:54:00 GMT

These foreclosure .com "listings" on Zillow are really bringing down the integrity of the site's data. Anyone else agree? Trulia went down this road with realty trac and it really dilluted the quality information available.

Look at the listing for this house:
http://www.zillow.com/hom ... 378_zpid/
They hide the address, give a price, and then hope you'll pay for the subscription fee. This home is already listed by an agent and is on the MLS. There's already a buyer under contract. If the regular MLS listing was used, a consumer could have gotten this information for free.

That's one of the good "listings". Look at this one:
http://www.zillow.com/hom ... 160_zpid/
No price, no address, no bedrooms, no baths. "It represents a great time to strike a deal with a homeowner who is no longer meeting his or her monthly mortgage obligations." Sure, if we had an address, and any guarantee that the homeowner actually wanted to sell.

Some of these "listings" even make up a "price" by using the value of the loan on the home--again, not helpful.

We can't even see a picture of the home until we pull out the credit card. Does this make you trust foreclosure .com enough to pay for a subscription?

5 replies

Why is there 6 listing on zillow for my house, 11-11-09

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:01:00 GMT

I tryed to sell my house earlier this year. It did not sell. I removed off the market completely, yet there are still 6 different listing still showing up.   None are showing for sale, but why are there six?

The only one that is accurate in description and per County Records is my listing at 3 bed 1.5 bath 1,130 s.f.

This is the address:   6115 S Pilgrim St.  Seattle, WA 98118

Please fix this problem as I may wish to sell in March 2010 and don't want any weirdness in the listing and zestimates.   There should be only one.

Thank you for your prompt response.

3 replies

How do I delete my account?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:29:00 GMT

I would like to delete my account

2 replies

I would like all my quetions and answers removed. I also need to remove my home listing.

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:39:00 GMT

3 replies

How can I correct the proper description of my property at zillow

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:41:00 GMT

1 reply

Why doesn't the Zestimate show that this house sold in 2008? The last sale date shown is 1996. Help!

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:05:00 GMT

Can someone please tell me how to update information about the sale date of my property? It's not updated on Zillow and so it negatively affects the zestimate. Thank you.

2 replies

how do I replace the "recently sold" price of $525K with the Zestimate amount of $506K at the top?

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:48:00 GMT

2 replies

Why does zillow not update to the correct information on my house, 11-18-09

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:12:00 GMT

My house address has six buildings showing up on the zillow web site. There's really only one. One of the six has a zestimate attached to it and is based off of outdated information. It was renovated in 2006 and the County tax records have been updated to show this. Despite this the zillow web site does not update!

I tried calling the 1-800-253-4189 number for customer service to have this corrected. It's always busy. I posted a question about it. Yet, no one from zillow is reacting.

What does it take to correct this? Address: 6115 S. Pilgrim St. Seattle, WA 98118

Thanks

2 replies

Why are there so many listed with realtor houses in the for sale by owner section of zillow?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:29:00 GMT

3 replies

Are we doomed to rent or is there hope for us?

Wed, 06 May 2009 02:16:00 GMT

We are a family of 4 living in Seattle on about $50,000 a year. We have a credit score under 620 and we do not have family to give us money for a down payment. Are we hopeless renters or will we ever be able to buy a home? What is our first step on the road to being home owners?

39 replies

Do I qualify for ANY first-time buyer incentives?

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:58:00 GMT

I understand that I do not qualify for the tax credit because my income is >$95k/yr, but are there any other incentives/programs/reliefs/etc. for first-time buyers that I can explore? I live in and am planning to buy in Broward county (Fort Lauderdale) Florida. My credit score is ~770. Thanks for any help and advice!!

Matthew

7 replies

Let Seattle Realty Group help you buy your next home and get up to $2,000.00 in Furniture for FREE!!

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:15:00 GMT

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12 replies

Looking at a fixer upper in Central Seattle. As a first time buyer, what do I watch out for?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:16:00 GMT

From what I already know, a fixer upper offer is always contingent upon inspection (listing price-price to fix it to a livable point). But what else do I need to think about? There's property that I am interested at, priced at $365K. Realistically, I'd like to get it for no more than $300K, but what is the best way to negotiate? Any tips/advice/resources very much appreciated.

17 replies

My lender will not modify. I am current but need a lower payment

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:57:00 GMT

5 replies

How do I close my zillow account?

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:57:00 GMT

3 replies

How to read lender fees on my loan request

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:30:00 GMT

what is the difference between a loan discount fee and a loan origination fee?

9 replies