Do You Have Doubts About Selling This Winter?

Do you think that winter is a bad time to sell? Let me set the record straight with a few reasons why the opposite is actually true.

Are you thinking of selling your home in the winter? To some, that might sound crazy, but here’s the scoop:

In the winter, we have fewer homes on the market for sale. This is because everyone in Atlanta thinks it’s a terrible time to list, so people take their houses off the market by the hundreds.

There are also fewer buyers. During the winter months we have 50% fewer homes for sale, but just up to 15% fewer buyers. Do you see the advantage of selling in the winter now? Houses that couldn’t sell in the summer are selling now because the inventory is so low.

Houses that couldn’t sell in the summer are selling now because the inventory is so low.

Because selling in the winter is great, some people wonder if they should only sell during the winter. To that, I’d say, “No!” The best time to sell your house is when you are ready. For those of you who are afraid of putting their house on the market now, though, know that this is truly one of the best times to sell a house.

If you have any questions about your specific home or your specific neighborhood, please give me a call. I’d be happy to help get you on the path to selling your home successfully this winter.

An End-Of-The-Year Recap for 2017

The year is almost over and thankfully, it’s been a good one. Here are three things I noticed about 2017 in retrospect.

2017 is almost over, so let’s do a little recap of what we saw this year here in Atlanta.

First of all, inventory is down by several thousand homes. This is a good thing. Also, this factor is driving our next point: sales.

Next to 2016, sales are much higher in 2017.

Prices are also higher. Overall, the Metro Atlanta area has seen a growth in sales of about 5% on average. 2017 has been an excellent year and we expect next year to be the same.

2017 has been an excellent year and we expect next year to be the same.

The good times for real estate are here. We hope they stick around for a long time.

If you have any questions or are thinking of buying or selling a home, give me a call or send me an email. I'd be happy to help.

3 Tips on How to Maximize Your Fall Sale

Today we’ll discuss how to maximize the amount of money you’ll make if you decide to sell your home now.

A couple weeks ago, we discussed whether or not now was a good time to list. As a follow-up to that, today we’ll discuss what do in order to maximize the amount of money you’ll get if you do list your home for sale now.

In reality, not much changes; you’ll still have to do basically the same things:

1. Keep your home sparkling clean. There is nothing more that you can do to maximize the sale of your home than just by having the interior sparkling clean.

Make sure that your home is sparkling clean.

2. Completely trim your yard. Mow all the grass and make sure the flower beds are neatly arranged. All of this will cost you very little while maximizing your gain.

3. Make necessary improvements. For some of you, because of the neighborhoods that you live in, you may need to make certain improvements, such as a new kitchen or bathroom. Very seldom do I recommend this, but in some neighborhoods, if you don’t, it will drastically reduce the price by much more than it would cost you to do it. This will need to be assessed on an individual basis.

If you have any questions about selling your home this fall or winter, please feel free to call me. Have a great day!

Should You List Your North Atlanta Home for Sale This Fall?

Should you list your home for sale this fall or winter? I have a few points that can help you make that decision.

Should you list your home for sale now?

Of course, this decision is entirely up to you. However, there are some numbers I want to share with you today:

1. There are 10% to 15% fewer buyers on the market between now and January 15th. This may indicate that you should not list your home on the market right now.

2. Agents do take more time off this time of year because of the holidays. Again, this may seem like a reason not to put your home on the market.

3. There is up to 50% less inventory available on the market. This happens year after year for townhouses, condos, and single-family homes.

Every year, there is up to 50% less inventory during the fall and winter.

So, you do the math. Although there are 10% to 15% fewer buyers, there is half the inventory at this time of year. That means you will have less competition.

If you are interested in putting your home on the market this fall or winter, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What Do You Have to Do to Sell Your Estate Sale?

When it comes to selling an estate sale, there are three tasks you must complete.

In Georgia, in order to have an executor or administrator sell an estate sale, it either has to go through court or the will must be probated. There are three things you must do to sell an estate sale. 

First, you must find out if you have an estate sale to sell. Did the deceased have a will or have you gone through court to determine who administers the estate?

Second, you have to prepare the home for sale. Sometimes there’s a lot of stuff in the house and you need someone to sell it for you. We’ve done this a lot on our team and we have lots of references for you to choose from if this is the case. After that, the home has to be prepared, meaning it has to be repainted, recarpeted, etc. 

Hiring an investor will pay you less, but the process will be over with sooner.

Lastly, you must decide if you want to sell the home as a normal sale or hire an investor who will pay you less but also get the process over with in much less time. 

If you have any questions about probate estate sales, please don’t hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We’d love to help you.

Is the North Atlanta Market Slowing Down?

Is the market slowing down? Today, we’re taking a look at the numbers to see where our market is and where it’s headed.

Is the market slowing down?

This is a question I’ve heard every year around this time since I got into real estate 32 years ago. 

Sometimes, the concern is valid. However, it’s sometimes also not. The only real way to determine whether or not the market is really slowing down is to look at current numbers.

Statistics are the true test of where the market’s headed. 

Last month in our north Atlanta area, we had 22,707 homes for sale. Of those, we sold 8,951 homes. 

With that being the case, we’ve been left with an inventory of 2.5 months. This means that prices are rising.

Statistics are the true test of where the market’s headed.

However, these trends and numbers aren’t true of every area in our market. Real estate must be thought about in terms of location.

If you want to hear information that is more applicable or specific to your area, feel free to contact me. 

If you have any other questions or would like more information, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How to Know if Downsizing Is the Right Move for You

If you’re considering downsizing, there are three questions you need to ask yourself to make sure you’re making the right decision.

There are a few questions you need to ask yourself if you’re ready to downsize into a smaller home to see if it’s the best decision for you in today’s market.

1. What is your end result? Do you just want a smaller space? Do you want to downsize your mortgage? Or do you want to move into an entirely different area?

What is your end result?

2. Where and when would you like to downsize? If the answers to these questions are positive and you’re sure you want to downsize, that will bring you to your last question.

3. What do you do now? If, for example, you’re going from 6,000 square feet to 2,500 square feet, start thinking about what you want to keep or get rid of. You should also consider hiring an estate salesperson to help you sell some of the stuff you don’t want to just give away. After that, it’s time for you to prepare the house so it shows at its best. 

If you need help with the downsizing process, give us a call. We also have many vendors we use for such purposes who would be glad to help. 

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to speaking with you!

How Can You Sell Your Home If You Have Pets?

If you have a pet and need to get your home sold, there are a few things you can do to make sure that pet doesn’t negatively affect your home sale.

How can you sell your home if you have pets? 

50% of all homeowners have pets of some kind, and some require more planning when showing a home than others. If you have a bird you keep in a cage, for example, this conversation doesn’t really apply to you. If you have a dog, however, here are some different ideas you can use to make sure they don’t impede your home sale.

A lot of dogs do very well in crates for a determined period of time.

The first thing you can do is put your dog in a crate. A lot of dogs do very well in crates for a determined period of time while you know that your agent is coming. You can also leave them in the house in a designated room like the kitchen or laundry room. 

If they’re going to bark a lot, take the dog with you while the home is being shown. Another option is to take your dog to a doggie daycare facility. For as little as $10 a day, you can leave them there all day and your agent can show the house without worrying if the buyer they’re courting isn’t dog-friendly. 

If you have any more questions about selling your home with a pet, don’t hesitate to give me a call. I’d be happy to help.

This All-Brick Ranch on 18 Acres Won't Be Available for Long

Come check out this gorgeous country home that sits on nearly 20 acres that could give you fruits, nuts, and berries growing right in your own backyard.

This all-brick ranch is located on more than 18 acres and boasts more fruits, nuts, and berries than you'll know what to do with, including pecans, blueberries, apples, pears, and figs to name a few. A beautiful porch spans the length of the side of the house and it includes a huge outbuilding with an attached greenhouse. It's a perfect space to convert to a winery, workshop, third garage, or just extra storage.

It won't last long!

Take a look at the video above for a sneak peek at this home. If you'd like to see it for yourself or you have any questions, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email soon. It won't last long!

Are You up for the Action That Comes With the Spring Market?

The spring market is an amazing time to list your house for sale, but it's also a more tumultuous time in real estate.

The spring real estate market is underway, but what does that mean exactly?

For one, there's a lot more activity in the spring. There are more people looking to buy homes and more people looking to sell their homes. 

If you list this spring, you might even receive multiple offers for your home.

There's also more drama. We might list a house for sale and have eight showings on the property within a week. That means having two or three showings a day, and that can get exhausting. 

However, with that comes the opportunity for multiple offers on your home if you're selling. If the house hits the market at the right time under the right conditions, you might be able to expect multiple offers. That would probably mean two or three offers, not 10 or 20. 

Selling your house in the spring can be more challenging overall for buyers, sellers, and real estate agents because it demands much more energy. 

If you're thinking about selling your house this spring while conditions are ripe, give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to help you.

Why You Shouldn't Worry About the Fed Raising Rates

The Federal Reserve recently raised rates. What does this mean to you in terms of real estate?

The Federal Reserve recently raised interest rates, but what does that mean to you?

For starters, the recent rate hikes haven't had any impact whatsoever on mortgage interest rates. A few months back, mortgage rates went up slightly, but they're still at historic lows.

Mortgage interest rates are still historically low.

The fact that homebuilder confidence is at a 12-year high is proof. We know this is true because new homes are being built all over the place. We also see homes come on the market and sell relatively quickly.

Your home might be worth a lot more than it was four or five years ago. If you're curious about what it's worth or you're thinking about buying a home, give us a call soon. We look forward to helping you!

The Best Ways to Prepare for a Winter Sale

Yards help sell homes in the wintertime. Here’s how.

In the winter, we do actually sell a lot of homes. The homes we sell the quickest are properly prepared so that when they hit the market and start being shown, offers start coming in. What tips do we have for preparing a home to sell for its very best in winter?

In the winter, the yard is going to need some work.

Of course, the inside needs to show beautifully, but in the winter, we need to keep the yard looking at its very best price as well. It’s true that yards don’t look their best in the winter, but that shouldn’t stop us from doing a few things to make sure they stand out to homebuyers. They include:

1. Keeping the bushes nice and trimmed.
2. Putting pine straw in bare spots.
3. Making sure we have winter flowers out
4. Keeping the lawn nicely edged.

Yards help homes sell in the wintertime. Assuming the inside is prepared properly, this can lead to a quick and profitable sale. If you have any questions for us about your specific property, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

There’s No Perfect Time or Bad Time to Sell a Home

Should you list your home now or wait until spring? I’ll go over both of those options today. 

It’s February, which means it has gotten colder and you may not know what you should do when it comes to selling your home. Should you list it? Should you wait? I’ll answer these questions for you today. 

First, should you list it? There really isn’t a perfect time or bad time of the year to sell your house. However, there are a few benefits to listing in February. 

There is less inventory. This means there is going to be more competition for your home. In fact, yesterday we sold a home that had three offers on it. That is less likely to happen in the spring as there will be many more homes for buyers to choose from.  

Secondly, should you wait? If it makes more sense for you personally to wait, spring is still a great time to sell. If you need to wait, wait! If you can list before spring, you have a little bit better chance of getting more money though, so keep that in mind. 

If you need to wait, wait!

Whether you decide to list now or wait, if you have any real estate questions please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I would be more than happy to help.