The Real Deal Blog

Mike's Real Estate Minute - Use Professional Photography

Tip #3 of my top 5 tips to get your home sold in this market is: Use Professional Photography.

We have all seen it, right?  When looking at homes online, it doesn’t take long to find many listings that have awful or even no photographs for a home.

Bad examples I see all the time are photos of the bathroom, but the toilet seat is up, or a photo of the front of the home, but 1/3 of the shot is blocked by a trash can.

I mean, what is the real estate agent thinking?

I can’t tell you how many times I have discovered beautiful homes on the market, but I can’t even get my buyers to go have a look at them because the photos make it look so bad.

If your home doesn’t look its absolute best online, then you have a problem.  And it is a big problem.

The National Association of Realtors says 90% of buyers will evaluate your home online before ever setting foot in it.

I would argue that the stat is closer to 98 or 99 percent of buyers are looking at homes online before seeing them in person.

With modern technology and smart phones, your home is definitely being scrutinized by buyers before they decide to see it for themselves.

Buyers don’t want to waste their valuable time looking at homes that don’t interest them, so dark and out of focus shots of your home’s worst features are NOT going to help you sell that home.

Make sure you list your home with an agent who is willing to shell out for a top notch photographer.  Having quality photos of your home is just too important.

Until next week, I’m Mike Turner, owner of Front Street Brokers, and this has been your real estate minute.

 

Mike Turner
Front Street Brokers
208-740-5000

Mike Turner on Fox 12 News

Mike Turner of Front Street Brokers was featured in a news segment about the Boise real estate market!

Read the article

 

If you have real estate questions for Mike, please call him at 208-740-5000.

 

Front Street Brokers
208-740-5000

Jared's Top 5 Deals of the Week!

Top 5 Deals of the Week

Here is this weeks list of my Top 5 deals in the Boise area real estate market.

Top 5 Deals of the Week:

Under 100k

100k-200k

200k-300k

300k-700k (Please note – not all of these are foreclosures but all are good deals!)

Also – Check this out!  CLICK HERE  Mike's take on the real estate market on Channel 12 last night. 

Front Street Brokers specializes in helping buyers find the best of the best foreclosure deals in the Treasure Valley. I strongly suggest if you are having trouble finding what you are looking for, give us a call and let us see if we can help you find what you are looking for. No cost or obligation to give us a test drive!

Regards,

Jared Cozby - 208-740-5000

Mike's Real Estate Minute - Time To List

I’ve been out showing lots of homes to buyers lately and there’s one thing that is really noticeable about the Treasure Valley market.  There actually is not much to choose from right now.

I encourage you to have a look around your neighborhood.  Sure, there are homes on the market, but there are about 30% less homes on the market than last year.

In fact, all of a sudden there are fewer homes on the market today then there have been in the last 5 years.

How can that be with this sluggish economy?

Well, new foreclosure starts are at a 3 year low, new construction is at a 5 year low, demand has grown steadily over the last 3 years, and home prices are down 30-50% across the Treasure Valley, making it extremely affordable and attractive to both local and out-of-state buyers.

Therefore, right now might be an excellent time to put your home on the market, especially if you have tried to sell in the last couple of years with no success.

However, if you list your home today, it will not be easy, as 7 out of 10 buyers in the Valley are buying pre-foreclosures or bank owned homes.

So a tip to getting your home sold in a market full of foreclosures is… to not look like a foreclosure.

Foreclosures are often dirty, dark, cold and in poor shape.  Your home should be clean, bright, inviting, and ready to move in.   Partner yourself with an agent who really knows how to market a home and you’ll be well positioned to sell your home, even in this economy.

I’m Mike Turner, with Front Street Brokers and this has been  your Real Estate Minute.

 

Mike Turner
Front Street Brokers
208-740-5000

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Please call Mike Turner at 208-740-5000 to schedule a showing.

 

Mike Turner
Front Street Brokers
208-740-5000

Mike's Real Estate Minute - Pricing Your Home Right

This week I am discussing Tip #2 of my 5 Top Selling Tips to get your home sold in 2011, and TIP #2 is all about Pricing Your Home Right.

Sellers often don’t realize the dangers of over pricing their home in this type of market.  When a seller overprices their home, they not only extend the time on the market but they greatly reduce the chances of getting the best price for their home.

The reason is that buyers will focus on the Days on Market.  If your home has been listed for 4+ months buyers often don’t pay any attention or even know if you have dropped your price 3 or 4 times during that period.They will just look at the time on the market and think the home is over priced OR that there is something wrong with it because it hasn’t sold yet.

Also, home listings typically get their highest amount of online views for the property right when it is first listed.   The marketing of the home will have less and less influence the longer the home is up for sale, even if sellers do several price drops during that period.

So my advice to sellers that choose to list their home in this market, is that they do not push the envelope on the price, but rather price it competitively from the beginning.

They will get the biggest impact from the initial marketing done on their home and often get an offer fairly quickly that is well above offers they would get after the home has been on the market for 4 or more months.

“The best marketing in the world will not sell an overpriced home, but the best marketing will help you get you the maximum the market will bare.”

 

I’m Mike Turner owner of Front Street Brokers, and this has been your Real Estate Minute.

 

Mike Turner
Front Street Brokers
208-740-5000

Jared's Top 5 Deals of the Week!

Top 5 Deals of the Week

Here is this weeks list of my Top 5 deals in the Boise area real estate market.

Top 5 Deals of the Week:

Under 100k

100k-200k

200k-300k

300k-700k

Home inventory is at an extremely low level AND we are seeing very strong signs that we may have seen bottom.  This is the year that people are going to be saying in 2 years, “I wish I would have bought in 2011!”  (You can hold me to that quote in two years if you remember!)

Front Street Brokers specializes in helping buyers find the best of the best foreclosure deals in the Tresure Valley. I strongly suggest if you are having trouble finding what you are looking for, give us a call and let us see if we can help you find what you are looking for. No cost or obligation to give us a test drive!

Regards,

Jared Cozby
Front Street Brokers
208-740-5000

Mike's Real Estate Minute - Selling Odds

Today's topic is Selling Odds, which is basically the number of months of inventory on the market. 

So, in other words, it is a snap shot of the current demand of home buyers, compared to how many homes are on the market today.

The industry standard of a healthy real estate market is selling odds of 6 months.  Anything above 6 months is considered a buyer’s market; anything below is considered a seller’s market. 

In the Treasure Valley the record high for Selling Odds was in January 2009 which clocked in over 17 months of inventory according to Data from the Intermountain MLS.  

However, the lack of new construction and the growing local demand for the valley’s extremely affordable homes has pushed inventory levels way down in recent months. 

As of April 2011, the valley’s selling odds have fallen all the way down to 4 ½ months.    Which again, by industry standards, is considered a seller’s market!

But, don’t get too excited home owners, from what I can see; the true seller’s market is for the foreclosure properties.  Which often sell within days not weeks. 

However, the big take away is that even though the Treasure Valley is still being pummeled by Foreclosures, our supply of homes on the market is low, and our demand is high, which tells me that the worst is likely behind us.

I’m Mike Turner, and this has been your real estate minute.

 

Mike Turner
Front Street Brokers
208-740-5000

Mike's Real Estate Minute - Overbidding on REO's

 The Buzz Word from real estate buyers around the Treasure Valley is “Frustration”.

Buyers are really frustrated.   They are finding amazing deals, making offers, and then find out a couple of days later they were out bid.

This cycle continues for many buyers 3,4,5 or more times before they decide to make an offer well above the list price.

Ask any buyer who is shopping for homes in this Valley and they talk about bidding wars, and multiple offer scenarios.

It is frustrating for buyers to have make decisions as if they were in a seller’s market.  Where they have to rush out to see a home AND have to quickly decide if they will make an offer over asking price.  

Well the reason it feels like it is a seller’s market, is because it is a seller’s market for these well priced foreclosure deals. 

Most ALL of the home buyers are focused on the best foreclosure deals in each price range.  

To make it worse, many foreclosure listings are priced far below the market value, which incites a riot of offers on the property, and ultimately pushes the sell price of the home back up to where it should have been listed in first place.

My recommendation to all the home buyers out there right now is that when you find that perfect home for you and your family, don’t mess around, take swift and bold action, make an offer based on what you think it is worth, and not what it is listed at to have the best chance of success in this market.

Until next week, I am Mike Turner, with Front Street Brokers, and this has been your Real Estate Minute.

Mike's Real Estate Minute

Do you remember about 4-5 years ago when properties were selling so fast that we often saw bidding wars between buyers?

 Well guess what?  Those days are back.  Over 80% percent of my clients that have recently purchased a home were involved in some sort of bidding war. 

 We are, of course focused on the very best deals available on the market, but one thing is crystal clear, there is huge demand brewing in this valley, and the numbers speak for themselves.

 For example, home sales in March were up 37% from Feb, and April homes sales appear to be as good as or even better than March’s numbers.

Last year we had the Tax Credit stimulating the housing market into a frenzy, this year we have affordability and a sense that the market is stabilizing. 

 I am actually thrilled there is NOT a Tax Credit for home buyers this year, because the biggest downside on the tax credit idea was the negative fall-out when the tax credit expired last year, which SLOWED the housing market to a point where we saw significant losses in home prices. 

 

In contrast, the local housing market this year is NOT being fueled by any government intervention, but rather good old fashioned supply and demand.  

 In fact, the local market is so strong right now that I am convinced that something has got to give.  Either home prices are going to go up soon OR something big will have to hit the market to change its current direction.   

Regardless, I will keep you posted on what happens.

I am Mike Turner, and this has been Your Real Estate Minute.

 

Mike Turner
Front Street Brokers
208-740-5000