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Top 10 Tips for Home Sellers | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Top 10 tips for Home Sellers

1) Know what comparable homes in your area have sold for.

Knowing what other homes in your area have sold for will help you get top dollar for your home at sale time.

Keep an eye out for homes that are similar to yours. Watch the sales prices of homes that are similar models, have the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms, finished basements, garages, decks or patios, additions, and other similar features to your home.

Home sales prices are public information, you can consult your county or state to find out this information.

2) Learn the lingo.

The process of selling a home brings with it a host of terms that you may have never heard before. Click here for the definitions to some important words you’re likely to encounter.

3) Landscaping can add as much as 10 to 15 percent to the value of your home.

Add a few trees and shrubs to your landscape and you’ll not only improve the view, attract birds and wildlife, but also make your home more energy efficient. And that’s attractive to potential buyers.

Properly positioned deciduous trees (trees that shed their leaves in the fall) can save you up to 25 percent of your typical energy bill for heating and cooling. These trees provide cooling shade in the warm summer months; and in the cold winter months block chilling winds, yet let through precious sunlight that warms your home.

Computer models from the Department of Energy have predicted that just three trees, carefully placed around the house, can save an average household between $100 and $250 in heating and cooling energy costs annually.

Well-planned landscaping can reduce your energy costs by as much as 50 percent. And you don’t have to just use trees. Fences, walls and rows of shrubs can block winter winds and shade during the summer, and vines grown on trellises can shade windows or the entire side of a house. To deflect winter winds, plant evergreen trees and shrubs on the north and west sides of your house. To deflect summer winds, plant on the south and west sides of your house.

Make sure when you select your trees, shrubs and other plants, that you choose plants that are suitable for your environment. For example, in warm climates that lack significant rainfall, choose specimens that are drought-tolerant. If you choose the wrong plants, you’ll end up spending in plant maintenance and water what you saved on the energy costs.

Not sure what trees to plant? The Arbor Day Foundation (www.arborday.org) has a “Tree Wizard” that you can consult to determine the best trees and shrubs for your region of the country.

4) A shiny coat of paint and a little straightening up go a long way

Spend a day of your time and a few dollars for a new can of paint, and not only can you give an old room a new look, but you’ll add some value to your home come sale time.

Not sure what color to paint? Flip through some magazines or watch the many home improvement programs in television. There are excellent redecorating ideas out there that can make a drastic improvement in your home for little money.

Also, try to look at your home the way a stranger might see it, and make some small improvements that could go a long way.

  • If there are kids’ toys on the floor, put them away.
  • Stains on the carpet? Hit them with some spot remover.
  • Have a cat or dog that sheds all over everything? Take a sticky lint remover to your chairs and drapes.
  • Remove light fixtures and clean them out, the brighter light will make your house look cleaner.
  • Burn scented candles to let off a pleasant aroma – but do not forget to blow them out if you leave and don’t leave them burning around small children.
  • Dust blinds, banisters and windowsills – these areas don’t always get caught by the duster.

5) Thinking of doing a remodeling project to add to your home’s value come sale time? Here are some important features homebuyers are looking for in the homes they buy today.

General features

  • Floor plans that reflect an open, casual lifestyle
  • Upstairs laundry rooms
  • Linen closets
  • Decorative moldings
  • Recessed lighting

Entertainment spaces

  • Big family rooms
  • Sunrooms and other areas that encompass the kitchen
  • Small living rooms

Kitchens

  • Natural wood cabinets
  • Hardwood floors
  • Solid-surface and granite countertops
  • Stainless steel appliances

Bathrooms

  • Large showers
  • Separate, compartmented toilets
  • Soaking tubs

Community

  • Tot lots and playgrounds
  • Parks and trails
  • Community swimming pools

*Compiled from multiple industry sources

6) Help your home sell faster by including features that will appeal to an older buyer.

These features can make your home more marketable to a wider variety of home buyers, which makes these features a better “bang” for your remodeling “buck”. Many of these features can be put in for little or no additional cost during your remodeling project.

General features:

  • Path lighting to front or rear doors
  • At least one entrance with no steps
  • A shelf by the front door
  • Handrails on any steps or porches
  • One-story layouts, should you be designing a new home
  • Improved lighting with recessed fixtures in common areas and hallways
  • Lever handles on doors and windows
  • Lower light switches and thermostats; raised outlets
  • Wider doorways

Kitchen/laundry room features:

  • Lever-handle faucets with pull-out spray
  • Rolling island that can be placed back under the counter
  • Revolving corner shelves and pull-out shelves
  • Lower, side-opening oven
  • Side-by side refrigerator with slide-out shelves and a water/ice dispenser
  • Cooking range with controls on front
  • Larger cabinet and drawer pulls
  • Front-loading washer and dryer

Bathroom features:

  • Two to three attractive looking grab bars in shower
  • Lever handles on faucets
  • Slide-bar-type hand-held shower, for sitting or standing
  • Inset shampoo nooks
  • Curbless showers – nothing to step over
  • Tub and Shower controls moved closer to entry point

*Source: National Association of Home Builders

 

Top 10 Tips for Home Sellers – AHAA – Association for Homeowners Across America.

Instagram Videos: This Week in Social Media | Pound Ridge Realtor

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What’s New This Week?

Video Now on Instagram: Instagram users now have another way to share stories: video. “When you go to take a photo on Instagram, you’ll now see a movie camera icon. Tap it to enter video mode, where you can take up to 15 seconds of video through the Instagram camera.”

Facebook Allows You to Attach Photos to Comments in Timeline:  You can now attach a photo directly when commenting on a post in the Facebook Timeline.

facebook comment photo

You can now attach photos to comments on updates in Facebook profile timelines.

Discussion From Our Networking Clubs: Thousands of social media marketers and small business owners are asking questions and helping others in our free Networking Clubs. Here are a few interesting discussions worth highlighting:

Facebook Updates Page Insights: Facebook is rolling out updates to the Page Insights tool and inviting a select group of Page admins to participate in this preview. “These global changes include improvements to the way Facebook organizes and reports the People Talking About This (PTAT) and Virality metrics.”

facebook page insights update

These new updates to Facebook Page Insights aim to give you “more insights about the people who interact with your Page content.”

Facebook Gives Developers New Open Graph Tags: The new Open Graph tags will “help people follow their favorite media publishers and journalists.”

facebook tags for pubishers

Media publishers can now “include Open Graph tags in their article’s HTML to generate better previews of their content when shared on Facebook.”

Facebook Enables Comment Sorting by Recent Activity on Business Pages: Mari Smith notes, “If you have the Replies feature enabled on your fan Page, you can now sort comments by Recent Activity.”

TweetDeck Makes it Easier to Arrange Columns: The popular Twitter management tool has made a few improvements to make it easier to use.

 

Instagram Videos: This Week in Social Media | Social Media Examiner.

Surging home sales stir new housing bubble fears | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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There are differences between this run-up in prices and the housing bubble that preceded the financial crisis, said Gary Thomas, theNational Association of Realtors‘ president.

“The boom period was marked by easy credit and overbuilding, but today we have tight mortgage credit and widespread shortages of homes for sale,” Thomas said. The improved housing market and mortgage rates still near record lows, despite a recent rise in rates, is pulling buyers back in the market faster than it’s prompting sellers to put homes on the market. Buyer traffic 29% above a year ago, but the supply of homes for sale is actually down 10%, writes CNNMoney.

 

Surging home sales stir new housing bubble fears | HousingWire.

Texas homebuyer demographic shifts from singles to marrieds | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Texas homebuyers are buying more new homes and they’re finding them faster, according to the Texas Association of Realtors. This indicates a steadily growing, competitive housing market in The Lone Star State. 

Shad Bogany, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, said, “This report affirms the Texas real estate industry as a driving force in our state’s economy. More new homes are being built and homes are selling faster, which bodes well for our thriving Texas housing market and our economy’s future.”

In 2012, 26% of all homes purchased in Texas were new. Additionally, Texas homebuyers only spent eight weeks looking for a home prior to making their purchase. Compared to Texas, only 16% of homes nationwide were new homes and homebuyers spent an extra month searching for the right property.

It seems that the makeup of Texas homebuyers has shifted as well, with 69% of homebuyers being married couples, compared to 65% nationally. This marks the highest share since 2001.

Conversely, the share of homebuyers classified as “single” hit the lowest level since 2001, with singles representing only 16% of Texas homebuyers and 15% nationwide. 

Bogany explained, “The recession led to tighter credit and lending standards across the U.S., which is why you’re seeing less individual home buyers. For many, it required a dual income to afford a home in 2012.” 

 

Texas homebuyer demographic shifts from singles to marrieds | HousingWire.

OCC: Housing market shows strong growth | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Treasury yields have posted historical lows for the past several years, implying strongish economic growth and the potential for higher inflation, the Office of the Currency of the Comptroller said.

In the OCC Semiannual Risk Perspective from the National Risk Committee, the yield curve has stayed positively sloped and relatively steep, which shows higher household and corporate income and revenue growth.

However, for banks, the possible negative effects of higher rates include a decline in the value of investment securities, including many mortgage-related securities, the OCC said.

Meanwhile, net income for 2012 increased 12% year over year to more than $94 billion, with banks of all sizes experiencing improvements in operating performance.

Part of the growth was attributed to the largest banks reporting a 21% reduction in provisions for loan losses.

In addition, mortgage refinance activity helped boost system revenue, but that source of strength may ease in 2013.

Overall, the OCC said, “The housing market showed signs of improvement in 2012 due to increased investor demand and the limited supply of new and existing homes for sale.”

 

OCC: Housing market shows strong growth | HousingWire.

Detroit teams up with group to prevent foreclosures | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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In an effort to help thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure, theMichigan State Housing Development Authority on Friday announced a partnership with the faith-based community to spread the word about relief funds available, The Detroit News writes.

One of the first efforts in the partnership is a Tax Foreclosure Housing Fair in Detroit on Saturday for homeowners in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. It’s part of the Step Forward Michigan program which offers up to $30,000 for homeowners to pay delinquent taxes, mortgage assistance or condo association dues

 

Detroit teams up with group to prevent foreclosures | HousingWire.

Zillow: Luxury Homes Lead Inventory Declines | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Zillow reported today that the greatest year-over-year decreases in inventory have been among more expensive homes, with the availability of top-tier and middle-tier properties each falling 15.7 percent year-over-year. The number of bottom-tier properties for sale on Zillow nationwide fell only 2.5 percent in early June compared to June 2012.

The analysis counters the conventional belief that supplies of lower tier homes have declined more than higher priced homes due to the effects of negative equity, which is more prevalent among mid and lower income homeowners, and declining numbers of distress sales, which are generally lower priced homes.

Other sources show that it is taking two or three times longer to sell higher priced homes than the average priced home. The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing reported Tuesday that the average days on market for homes priced over $500,000 was 161 in the first week of June. The National Association of Realtors reported the median time on market for all homes was 46 days in April, down sharply from 62 days in March, and is 45 percent faster than the 83 days on market in April 2012. The median age of inventory for all homes on Realtor.com was 79 days in May.

 

Zillow: Luxury Homes Lead Inventory Declines | RealEstateEconomyWatch.com.

Energy efficiency improvements could be factored into mortgage underwriting | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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A bill aimed at encouraging home energy efficiency improvements by establishing underwriting guidelines for mortgage lenders that factor in cost savings for homeowners has been introduced — again — in the Senate.

S. 1106, the Sensible Accounting to Value Energy Act of 2013, is sponsored by Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. The bill — which has the support of many real estate industry groups — has been referred to the Senate Banking Committee, where a previous version of the bill introduced in 2011 died.

According to the Appraisal Institute, the bill “would instruct federal loan agencies to assess a borrower’s expected energy costs when financing a house. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development would issue updated underwriting and appraisal guidelines for any loan issued, insured, purchased or securitized by the Federal Housing Administration or any other federal mortgage loan insurance agency.”

The bill’s primary features — an affordability test and a loan-to-value adjustment — would both be optional.

Borrowers with energy-efficient homes are significantly less likely to default, according to a study by the University of South Carolina Center for Community Capital.

Homeowners who have invested in energy-saving upgrades may have trouble getting fair value for their homes if those improvements are not recognized by buyers, appraisers and lenders. More than 200 multiple listing services provide “green fields”  that allow real estate agents to list a home’s green features.

– See more at: http://www.inman.com/2013/06/12/energy-efficiency-improvements-could-be-factored-into-mortgage-underwriting/#sthash.74lNMu8p.dpuf

 

Energy efficiency improvements could be factored into mortgage underwriting | Inman News.

New Home Prices Say What’s Different This Time | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Although no two business cycles are alike, most share some common characteristics. The interest-rate-sensitive sectors of the economy — housing and manufacturing — tend to lead on the way up and the way down, for obvious reasons. Inflation ebbs during the recession and in the early stages of the recovery. Credit creation drives the upswing.

The recovery from the 2007-2009 financial crisis has been different all around, just as Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff predicted in their 2009 book, “This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly.” It has been a “protracted affair,” featuring extended declines in asset markets, large contractions in output and employment, and an explosion of government debt: three characteristics common to the aftermath of financial crises.

Yet even in the context of the typical post-financial-crisis recovery described by Reinhart and Rogoff, this one has some peculiarities of its own.

Let’s start with housing, whose rise and fall and associated debt were the proximate cause of the crisis. Residential real estate pretty much sat out the first 2 1/2 years of the recovery before getting traction in 2012, with a lot of outside help. The Federal Reserve drove down rock-bottom mortgage rates even more with its purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, a program that continues to this day.

Prices Beckon

The traditional leader was a laggard this time, and improvement has been slow in coming — at least when it comes to construction and sales. Prices of new homes are a different story.

The median sales price of a new single-family home set a record of $271,600 in April, eclipsing the 2007 peak of $262,600. Some of that reflects an increase in median square footage: 2,390 square feet last year compared with 2,235 square feet in 2007, according to annual data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

“They’re clearly not building for first-time buyers,” said Michael Carliner, an economic consultant specializing in housing.

Another part owes to a greater number of sales of higher-priced homes in more desirable areas of the country. The rest is clearly a response to demand for limited supply: Inventories are near record lows while single-family starts are about two-thirds lower than their 2006 peak. Prices of existing homes, on the other hand, are still being constrained by foreclosure and short sales, in which the house sells for less than the amount owed the lender.

 

New Home Prices Say What’s Different This Time – Bloomberg.

P. Allen Smith: How to Grow Edamame | Pound Ridge Real Estate

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Edamame is a vegetable soybean in the same family as the soybeans farmers grow but there are a few differences. Vegetable soybeans are harvested while they are still green while field soybeans are left on the plant to dry. Vegetable soybeans are larger than field soybeans with a creamier texture and mild, nutty flavor.

If you think edamame is a tasty snack, you should try growing the beans in your garden. Edamame’s flavor is that much better when prepared fresh from the garden and it’s very easy to grow.

Prep

Choose a site with full sun and well-drained soil amended with organic matter such as humus or compost.

Some sources recommend treating the beans with inoculant powder (Rhizobium japonicum inoculant) to help them absorb the nitrogen they need. I find that planting soil with plenty of compost will produce a good crop without inoculating the beans. You can read more about inoculating beans here.

Planting Edamame

Sow edamame soybeans after the last frost date in your area and when the soil has warmed up to 60 degrees F.

Sow seeds 1 inch deep and 3 inches apart. Keep the soil consistently moist, but not soggy, until the beans germinate.

Growing Edamame

Caring for Edamame Plants

Caring for edamame is pretty simple. Just keep the area weeded and give the plants 1 inch of water each week.

Harvesting Edamame

Expect all the beans on a plant to mature at once. They are ready when the pods are plump and bright green. With the right weather and growing conditions you can expect about a quarter pound of beans per plant.

Edamame Seeds

Edamame Seed Sources

Gardeners in areas with a short growing season should select early maturing varieties.

P. Allen Smith Garden Home.