'Collapse' of Home Values?

I heard a news report the other day that mentioned how people are afraid because of the ‘collapse’ of home values. I thought about this for a moment, but honestly, our home values have NOT collapsed, especially here in the Nashville area.

I guess we have to begin by defining what a collapse would be. I’m not sure I want to think about that, but through 2007 most areas around Nashville were still seeing home prices increase. It’s only been in the past few months that prices have actually decreased.

I’ve noticed the recent change because before the market shifted we would value properties based on the recent sales in the neighborhood. Now, it’s more accurate to look at what’s currently for sale and price the home competitively because prices have generally decreased since those homes sold 3-6 months ago.

So, I admit that prices are less in Nashville, but we’re talking about a few percentage points- nothing like a ‘collapse’. The people that are experiencing the most pain are those who bought at the top of the market and are now faced with a need to sell. It’s similar to those who invested in the stock market when the Dow was 14000 and are now selling.

However, you don’t actually lose money in the market until you sell. If you bought at the top of the market, hang on to that investment. Don’t buy high and sell low if you can help it.

The market will come back. I’m not sure when, but historically it always does. It also always goes up much more than it comes down. If you see your home as a long-term investment, you’ll be fine.

Okay, so there’s no collapse. I’m glad we cleared that up.

-Peter

P.S. Another myth is that the supply of homes is way up. Not true for single family homes. Read more here.

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

“Easy to Show”- Music to my ears!

When I’m hunting down properties to show to buyers I love to see the words “Easy to Show” in the listing. Another good phrase is “Vacant-Show anytime”.

On the other hand, making showings difficult is a good way to keep your house from selling. How about these:

-Make Offers Contingent Upon View Interior
-Do Not Disturb Tenants
-Day Sleeper- No showings before 4 pm
-Agent Must Be Present For All Showings

I know that sometimes the circumstances can sometimes make showings terribly inconvenient, however, please know that putting any kind of restrictions on showings when your home is for sale will reduce the number of buyers that see your home. Even something simple like requiring 2 hours notice.

I also know you can’t always show your home at the drop of a hat, but again and again I’m out showing homes in a neighborhood and the buyers notice one for sale across the street and want to see it too! I hate to tell them that we’ll have to wait and do it another day.

The goal is to make it easy to show, at least as easy as possible.

On a side note, I believe this is even true for investment properties. These are often difficult to show if there are tenants involved. That's understood, but at least try to upload some interior pictures to see it it's worth the hassle to show. Even just a couple pictures of the inside help buyers get an idea of the home and decide to take a look. Without any interior pictures, people assume the worst and skip it. They assume that it looks terrible; otherwise there would be pictures, right?

So, the home-selling lesson for today is…
1. Make it “Easy to Show”
2. Have lots of fantastic pictures

Thinking about it? Give me a call.
-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Pictures of WHAT, exactly?

When you're selling your home, most people agree that great pictures are essential, even if many Realtors overlook this. (One of my pet peeves.... )

The question is, WHAT do you take pictures of?

I just saw a new listing of a fabulous historic home. I'm sure it's wonderful, however, most of the photos were close up pictures of smaller details. I saw the grand piano, the fireplace, the outdoor trim and the stairway spindles. They were incredible, but what about the rooms?

The details are important, but I think that buyers want to see wider pictures of rooms. How do they lay out? Is there room for my furniture? Often the quality of a home is fine, but the layout is the deal breaker. At the minimum, you want a mix of the two.

Here's a secret: Usually the absence of room photos makes people there is something wrong with those rooms. Of course, everyone knows that if there is no picture of the front of the house, there is a funk problem. The same applies if there is no picture of the kitchen.

I see two easy solutions to this:

1. Put a couple combo pictures that show details, but leave most of them for the virtual tour.

2. Hire a professional photographer with an incredible wide angle lens. This is my opinion, but I believe that home marketing begins with fantastic photos!

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com

Beware of House Funk

Old homes are cool. People will pay more for historic character and charm. But what about funk?

Funk- I'm not talking about the super-cool-booty-shakin' music from the '70's. I'm talking about homes that have something weird happening in spite of being a 'charming old house'.

Here's what brought this up... I was a little bored today so I thought I'd get out and preview some homes on the market in East Nashville. I saw 12 homes- 9 of which I thought were a little funky for the price. What do I mean?

Funky House Stuff
1. Weird floor plan- This is a very common kind of funk with older homes that have been remodeled to fit a more 'modern' lifestyle. Closets, bathrooms or extra bedrooms have been added, but it ruined the house. You've seen these homes. The pictures look great until you go there are see how the rooms work together.

2. Funky attic conversion- Also very common. Seldom does a converted attic space feel right. Problems include: Steep stairs, bathrooms with angled ceilings too low to stand beneath, lack of adequate heating/cooling systems, etc. When converting an attic there is sometimes a fine line between cute/sensible and funky.

3. Mix 'n match floors- Buyers always seem to notice when there are several types of flooring that doesn't match. For example, homes with hardwoods in the old part and then laminate floors in the new part mixed with two kinds of carpet, etc.

4. Unlevel floors or leaning stuff- This is the king of house funk. If the floors are unlevel often much of the house is unlevel. You notice it with door trim, baseboard, windows that stick or furniture that rolls to one side of the room. It can be a real problem and is often the kiss of death for a property that's for sale.

5. Duplex conversions- Homes that still feel like they're divided into two have 'the funk.' Signs of this include: two kitchens, exterior entrances where the should be just a window, and one side of the house that is in much worse condition. Homes can be converted from life as a duplex, but it must be done carefully and thoroughly.

If you're looking for a house you may want to stick with Sly and the Family Stone (see below) and leave the other funk out of the deal. :)

-Peter

www.NashvilleCityHomes.com
REALTOR. City Home Specialist.

The Problem With "Instant Equity"

Ever seen a home listing that advertised "instant equity"? I just saw a condo where they've dropped the price and claim that you could have instant equity because a similar unit sold for $30k more.

Let's think about that for a second. I know that sometimes sellers are motivated for one reason or another, but are they really going to lose $30,000 on the deal??

In this market, it's more likely that the prices have weakened and sellers are having to be more negotiable to unload an unwanted property.

In my condo example, it may actually be a good deal, but you aren't likely to turn around and sell it right away for $30k profit. Instead, you'll have to wait on the market to heat up. So, I guess, the equity isn't so 'instant'.

Along the same vein are homes advertised for something like "$50,000 under appraised value", but yet they've been on the market for 60+ days. If it was really that good of a deal, it would have sold already!

Okay, I'll calm down now.
Have a great day!

-Peter
www.NashvilleCityHomes.com
REALTOR. City Home Specialist.

Sell Your Home With Pictures

When you're looking at home listings and come across one without a picture what do you generally do? Skip it. How about if there's only one picture from the street an it's not very good? Skip it too. So here's my burning question: WHY ARE THE SO MANY LISTINGS OUT THERE WITH TERRIBLE PICTURES OR NO PICTURES AT ALL!!!

Okay. I'll try to be calm. This is something that has baffled me for long before I became a Realtor. Digital cameras are fairly cheap, and you don't have to be a photographer to get a good picture. There are huge reasons to show buyers as many great things about a house as you can- and you can always find something!

1. A listing with no pictures will generally be overlooked by buyers AND Realtors. If I do think one of my buyers may be interested, I'll start by seeing if I can find a picture of the home with WebPro. (Go to this website and Click the WebPro icon) This page is hosted by the TN Property Assessor and has pictures of about any property I've looked up. Of course, it won't normally be a good picture, but I can at least see what the home looks like.

2. A listing with low quality pictures makes the home look low quality. (or at least the Realtor- ha!) This would include pictures with bad lighting or pictures that were uploaded upside down or off 90 degrees. I remember a picture of a home that had a large luxury van parked on the street in front of it. All you could see was some of the roof peeking out above the van. Unbelievable!

As a Realtor, I don't want to waste my buyer's time by taking them to a home that is not anything near what they wanted. That means if the pictures are bad or missing I'll have to go preview the home before I pass it along to my buyers. All of this extra work means that the home will likely take longer to sell and will have less people interested in it.

3. A listing with few pictures tells the buyer that there aren't many good things to look at. I had a recent client point out that if there aren't pictures of the kitchen or bathrooms they assume the worst. Me too! I'll admit, the kitchen may not be a selling point in some cases. However, it's usually possible find something else to include. The multiple listing service (or MLS) allows 10 pictures and I can always find 10 things about a house to show off- even if it's the park or convenient restaurant down the street.

4. Internet users want to see more. I go beyond the 10 pictures with a virtual tour for every listing. Going this extra step will allow buyers to get a much better feel for what the home is like. I've found this especially good for out of town buyers who are thinking of moving into Nashville. Sometimes homes are even purchased sight unseen by people seeing the home through a virtual tour.

Great pictures are the basics to marketing a home. It's square one. If you're interested in getting your home sold through great pictures and a virtual tour (and much more, by the way) please contact me or request a Free Home Value Report.

-Peter

www.nashvillecityhomes.com
REALTOR. City Home Specialist.