LIL' BUDDY'S BLOG - WANT YOUR HOUSE TO SELL? PRICE IT RIGHT, AND STAGE IT!
THOUGHTS ON THE CHICAGO REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!
Ola!
Please pardon my broken Spanish! It's awfully hard for a Little White Dog to speak any language at all, let alone a new one. But, I just got back from my Carnival Cruise to Cozumel, I'm sporting my new blue sombrero, and I'm in the mood!
Boy, was it close getting back into the good old USA from my recent cruise with my human family, Dean & Sue Moss! I had to hide in the Life Jacket Case, so they wouldn't throw me overboard as a stowaway. To make matters worse, I couldn't find my passport when I reached U.S. Customs in Miami. Lucky for me, my humans explained I was a Service Dog (as you know, I help service each of the Dean's Team listings), and found out I had Diplomatic Immunity. In other words, they let me back in to the USA based on my own good name - Buddy Holly Moss! Whew!
After we got back, the Dean's Team members and me all got together for a conference, over a couple of Coronas, and discussed things in the Chicago Real Estate and Homes Market. As you know from reading the papers and checking out data on the web, the market is strong for home buyers now in Chicago, but challenging for sellers. Inventory of homes for sale, in the Chicago Northside and Suburban Areas Dean's Team services, is an average of 30% higher than it was this time last year, and average market time remains high.
If you're a home seller, what do you do - especially if you need to sell?
Two things, actually: (1) Pricing Right, and (2) Staging!
According to the Chicago Association of Realtors Market Update, dated May 23, 2007, average sales prices for single-family homes in Chicago are actually DOWN over 9.5% from this time in 2006. Condo prices are slightly down, on average, as well. It is CRITICAL, therefore, to price your homes and condos for sale where comparably sold properties suggest - even, in some cases, a bit lower. Indeed, many of the listings for sale in Dean's Team inventory have high market times, despite seemingly accurate list prices. We would rather see home sellers lower their asking prices a bit, and stay firm on negotiations, than risk pricing too high and generating little or no buyer interest or activity.
The second critical step to selling quickly - STAGING! What is that? Put simply, it means taking simple, usually very inexpensive steps, to assure your home or condo will come across to potential buyers immediately as the best they could find on the market today. Staging includes removing clutter, making your home brighter, and incredibly detailed CLEAN! Our Team Leader Dean is an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP), so he and other Dean's Team Members can help guide you as you stage your home. For further details, check out a Home Staging Summary from Barb Schwarz - the lady that invented the concept of Home Staging, and has built the concept into a national quest! Her company's recent research, via her website at StagedHomes.com, indicate considerable increases in final sold price, and corresponding reductions in market time, for homes properly staged.
Considering a move soon? Write me back for further tips on presenting your home to sell! Also, feel free to share your own thoughts and ideas as well. I'll get the message to one of our Dean's Team Members to call you, and perhaps they will bring me along as we help with your home. Those of you with four paws - remember, don't let your humans know how much surfing you're doing on the web!
YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,
Buddy Holly Moss
