Archive for the 'For Sellers' Category

Pricing Your Home to Sell – No, You Cannot Party Like It’s 2005.

Money Mistake #5 – Getting Stuck in the Past & Overpricing Your Home For Sale

(Money Magazine) — Remember what your home was worth in 2005? Wipe that number from your memory. When you let an old value — of a stock or a fund or your house — get in the way of a smart financial decision, what might seem like harmless nostalgia can become a costly mistake.

Investors have long suffered from this problem, refusing to sell underperforming stocks and funds in the hopes that the price will bounce back. Today home sellers are the ones having trouble letting go of the past.

June 2011 Money Magazine cover story is “Fix Your 5 Biggest Money Mistakes” and lists overpricing your home for sale as Money Mistake #5 and they are right.

Just as in the rest of life, you’ll be happier, richer, and live with more joy, if you focus on the present moment and leave the past in the past. The value of your home today is the value that a buyer today is willing to pay for it. Period. Bottom line. End of story.

How to know if you’ve overpriced your home.

If your house has been on the market for 3-4 weeks and has not sold (assuming that offers have not come in that you have refused), it is time to reduce the price…significantly. Usually, this means at least a 5% price reduction. If another month goes by & still no offers, it’s time to reduce it again. Unless your listing was totally mis-marketed (not on the MLS, not online, no public showings, no photos), the reason your home has not sold is almost always because the asking price is too high.

Tags: money magazine, pricing your home

The 5 Most Important Factors Affecting the Sale of Your Home in San Francisco

When you are ready to sell your home in San Francisco, it’s important to keep perspective. If Sellers wear “rose-colored” glasses, today’s home buyers are sporting a darker shade. If there’s a problem, they’ll notice it so if you are serious about listing (and selling your home), I recommend you consider the 5 most important factors that will affect the outcome of your San Francisco home sale.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Factors affecting the sale, home seller, listing

FAQ: Considering Selling a Home in San Francisco? What Factors Will Affect Your Home Sale?

Q: We own a home in San Francisco and are considering selling it. What are the most important factors to consider as we make our decision to sell?

A: This question is about control. Who controls what in real estate? There are many factors, both global and local, that will affect your results when it is time to sell your San Francisco home, whether it’s a Bernal Heights single family house or a Mission Dolores condominium.

Here is our Cheat Sheet to the 6 most important components that will affect your results (both sales price and time on the market) when it comes time to sell your home. I hope you find it helpful. Buzz us if you have questions!

• Location, as in where your property is located.

  • Are you on a quiet block or a loud thoroughfare? Are you convenient to public transit and local restaurants & shops? Or, must you drive everywhere? Do you have a view or a pleasant outlook? Or, do you look out onto a parking lot or into another unit? You can the drift.
  • This item is FIXED. Neither you, nor I, can control the location of your property. It is where it is.

• Financing, as in what financing will be available for the home buyer.

  • Depending on the economy, interest rates may be high, low, or in-between. Financing guidelines may be loose or strict. It may be very hard for a home buyer to qualify for a home loan or it could be easy. How much down payment will be required of the buyer? Is the property a single family home, a condo, or a TIC?
  • There are many issues to consider. While we are not mortgage specialists, we make it a point to stay current on financing conditions. We want to know what types of home loans are available and what it takes to qualify.
  • Current financing options has a direct impact on your home sale but, you guessed it, this item is also FIXED.

• Property Condition, as in what shape is your home in?

  • A real estate professional will advise you on the condition of your property. We take the time to help our home seller clients decide what is important and what would be a waste of money when it comes to fixing up your property for sale. Generally speaking, you want your home to show as well as possible because it will mean that you will sell your property for more money in less time.
    • Some combination of cosmetic repairs, wood floor refinishing, painting, garden clean-up, and staging (both clearing clutter and furniture staging) are often on the to-do list.
  • The property’s condition is controlled by THE SELLER and property owner. We’ll give you our best advice based on what works in the marketplace to drive up the sales price but, ultimately, it is your home and your decision.

• Market Exposure, as in getting the right offer to the right people at the right time.

  • Real estate marketing is about targeted exposure. What’s most important about marketing a home for sale is promoting your home’s listing to serious, qualified home buyers and the local San Francisco real estate agents who work with them. Although we do want some degree of broad exposure because we don’t know who will be that right buyer, we want to pin-point our efforts to create buzz amongst the folks who are most likely to buy and qualified to make the purchase at a price that will be acceptable to you as the seller. Marketing a home for sale in San Francisco is an art and will be specific depending on location, say Noe Valley real estate or Pacific Heights.
  • Aha, finally, something controlled by yours truly! Yes, in real estate, proper marketing and exposure is controlled by THE AGENT.

• List Price

  • Choosing a correct list price from the start of marketing a home is crucial and will have a direct impact on your net proceeds or walk-away money. Correct pricing requires your real estate consultant to have savvy market knowledge. We will consider relevant properties (your home’s competition) and how many real buyers exist for a type of home like yours. We also want to consider the other items on this list: location, financing, condition, and exposure. How much home preparation and staging you agree plays an important role in choosing a list price.
  • Alas, as much as I wish I could say that the agent controls the list price, it is actually controlled by THE SELLER. We’ll do our best to help you choose a smart list price, but it is your house and your decision.
  • CAUTION: Please do not choose your agent based on the list price they promise you. This is called “buying the listing” and is a totally ineffective way to sell your home. Typically, the agent who promises you the moon is, as fellow Texan Laurie Moore-Moore would say, “All hat and no cattle.” This leads me to the final factor affecting your San Francisco real estate sale….

• Final Sales Price

  • Real estate is a capitalist market and is governed by the Law of Supply and Demand. Ergo, the final sales price is controlled by the Market. The Market speaks through THE BUYER and it is THE BUYER who controls the sales price of your home. Of course, there is a lot that a trained real estate professional and a cooperative home seller can do to positively affect the sales price (and your net proceeds which is more important) but we don’t control it.

Tags: control, Factors affecting the sale, Home Selling, selling a home

San Francisco Real Estate – Is it smart to trade up to a nicer or bigger or ideally-located home in a buyer’s market?

San Francisco Real Estate Conundrum: Is it smart to trade up to a nicer or bigger or ideally-located home in a buyer’s market?

Under many circumstances, it is smart to trade up in a buyer’s market. How can this statement be true? Let’s look at an example.

Example:  Let’s follow two San Francisco properties from peak to trough of a SF real estate market cycle.

• Home #1 – The starter home: Inner Mission 1 Bedroom Loft Condo
• Home #2 – The desired trade-up home: Noe Valley 2+ Bedroom Single Family Home

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Tags: Buyer's Market, trading up

I want to sell my current San Francisco home and buy another one either here in SF or in another area. How does this work? Is there a way to time it so I am not “in-between” homes? How do I know how much I can afford in my next home?

Question: I want to sell my current San Francisco home and buy another one either here in SF or in another area. How does this work? What is a good time line for buying and selling? Is there a way to time it so I am not “in-between” homes? How do I know how much I can afford in my next home?

Answer: Whether you want to sell your home right away or just sometime in the next year, there are some simple things which, when done ahead of time, will increase your chances of getting the highest return on your investment.

Here are the 5 main steps involved in selling a home and buying a new one.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: buy and sell a home, time line of buying and selling

The Realtor Personality Test: Which Type of Loco Is this San Francisco Real Estate Agent?

Real estate is, as they say, a people business. And, well, people are different.

Over the years working as a San Francisco Realtor, I’ve learned that to have an enjoyable real estate experience whether you’re selling a home in Bernal Heights or buying your first home in the Mission, it is absolutely crucial to work with a Realtor you can relate to…

One study of human personality is called the DISC Assessment. Here are the basics brought to us by Wikipedia.

DISC is an acronym for:

• Dominance – relating to control, power and assertiveness
• Influence – relating to social situations and communication
• Steadiness (submission in Marston’s time) – relating to patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness
• Conscientiousness (or caution, compliance in Marston’s time) – relating to structure and organization

Using a matrix and personality questions, you can determine which category you’re most like in both public and inner sides of your personality.

Here’s how each can be described.

• Dominance: People who score high in the intensity of the “D” styles factor are very active in dealing with problems and challenges, while low “D” scores are people who want to do more research before committing to a decision. High “D” people are described as demanding, forceful, egocentric, strong willed, driving, determined, ambitious, aggressive, and pioneering. Low D scores describe those who are conservative, low keyed, cooperative, calculating, undemanding, cautious, mild, agreeable, modest and peaceful.
• Influence: People with high “I” scores influence others through talking and activity and tend to be emotional. They are described as convincing, magnetic, political, enthusiastic, persuasive, warm, demonstrative, trusting, and optimistic. Those with low “I” scores influence more by data and facts, and not with feelings. They are described as reflective, factual, calculating, skeptical, logical, suspicious, matter of fact, pessimistic, and critical.
• Steadiness: People with high “S” styles scores want a steady pace, security, and do not like sudden change. High “S” individuals are calm, relaxed, patient, possessive, predictable, deliberate, stable, consistent, and tend to be unemotional and poker faced. Low “S” intensity scores are those who like change and variety. People with low “S” scores are described as restless, demonstrative, impatient, eager, or even impulsive.
• Conscientious: People with high “C” styles adhere to rules, regulations, and structure. They like to do quality work and do it right the first time. High “C” people are careful, cautious, exacting, neat, systematic, diplomatic, accurate, and tactful. Those with low “C” scores challenge the rules and want independence and are described as self-willed, stubborn, opinionated, unsystematic, arbitrary, and careless with details.

And now, drum roll please, for the good stuff!

Real estate agents, myself included, are all a bit nutty. (Okay, maybe not all but most. Believe me. Just go around a few Tuesday Broker Tours or Open Houses if you don’t believe me!)

Listen, working as a Realtor whether in San Francisco or Boise is a tough business.  It’s hard work and often little understood by even your closest friends and family. “What does she do all day? Drive around with her Pomeranians and look at houses? Looks easy to me. If I do that, can I have a big, fancy car too?”

This video nails it on describing the various types of loco you’ll find in residential real estate.

And who am I? Well, that’s one secret I’ll never tell! XOXO Property Girl

(But seriously, if you really want to find out, you’re gonna have to get in my big, fancy car and buy or sell a house in San Francisco!

Tags: disc, realtor personality type, youtube

Urgency, not Desperation! The shorter the open house, the better.

Home selling tip:

Create URGENCY, not DESPERATION.

Over the past few years as the San Francisco real estate market has slowed, I noticed that some of my competitors began to host longer and longer open houses.

First, there were Saturday open houses in addition to Sunday. Next, the times went from 2-4pm to 1-4pm and then, to 1-5pm. I’ve even seen a 12-6pm announcement!

With all due respect to my fellow real estate professionals, I have to object to this trend.

Sure, at first glance, it may seem like a good idea to have more access to a property that’s for sale. A buyer or anyone who is in the neighborhood can go by all day, anytime they want.

What’s my problem, you ask?

Buyer urgency, or lack thereof, is my problem.

In today’s slower real estate market, as listing agents and home sellers, we have to create a sense of urgency for the home buyers. Folks are slow to act these days. They think houses will be around next week, next month, and probably at a lower price.

The longer the open house, the less likely you are to have a crowd of people touring the home together.

Crowded open houses lead to more urgency b/c it gives the perception that the house is in high demand.

Buyers need to feel that there are compelling reasons to act. Competition and the comfort of knowing that others want what you want helps to create logical reasons to act…and act right away lest someone else get their new home!

The industry standard is Sunday 2-4pm. Let’s keep it that way! For that matter, I’d rather host even shorter open houses! Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: buyer urgency, Home Selling, jimmy choo, open houses