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  • The Benefits of Homeownership

    Owning your own home is not just a sound financial decision with the average net worth of homeowners being 40 times that of renters, it also leads to a better family life with increased graduation rates and better health and a decrease in behavioral problems in children as well as a decreased reliance on government assistance and safer communities.

    Read more in this study summary from Habitat for humanity.

    Benefits-of-Homeownership-Research-SummaryDownload

  • The Buyer Love Letter: To Be or Not to Be

    February 6, 2021

    Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou my next home? Poor Romeo and Juliet never got the opportunity to buy their first home together but, chances are, if they had, and if their parents hadn’t disowned both of them, they probably would have been able to make an all-cash offer on a nice little villa overlooking the Adige River, such was the wealth they both came from. I’m guessing competition was also not as stiff back then as it is today.

    Buyers today, though, face tough competition for a house, especially here in North Idaho. Multiple offers, often in the double digits; starting bids well above asking; and all-cash offers are typical. So, what are buyers to do to separate themselves from the competition? Usually, it does come down to who can pay the most with quick and easy closing terms also being strong predictors, but sometimes it pays to offer something that numbers can’t buy and that’s where buyer love letters come in.

    They’ve been around a long time but in a hot market like the one we’ve been experiencing for a few years now; they are more popular than ever. They’ve even started being included with offers for commercial properties.

    The fact is, for most people who’ve lived in a house for more than a year or two, that house becomes a part of the family. They formed countless memories under that roof, celebrating birthdays and holidays and witnessing many “firsts”. Their house isn’t just a house, it’s a home, and they do care, even if it’s just a bit, about who is going to live there after they do. Are the new owners going to rip it down or remodel it? Are they going to care for the garden the seller planted? Are the buyers even going to live there? (During the heady days of foreign real estate investment, some buyers even bought houses as cash-shelters, sealed them up, and let them sit, no one to “love” them.)

    Some agents may disagree and plenty of lawyers, afraid of Fair Housing lawsuits, advise buyers and sellers to stay as far away from buyer love letters as possible. They advise sellers not to look at them if received and to only make a decision based on objective criteria. But lawyers are paid to consider worst case scenarios and mitigate certain risks down to as close to zero as possible. (To be sure, real estate is just a very small subset of the law so, as an agent, my job is to do the same to a large extent; it’s why there are so many pages of paperwork to fill out when buying or selling a home.)

    The fact is, though, life is full of risks that have to be balanced and the same is true with buyer love letters. I know of a number of instances where sellers didn’t accept the “highest and best” offer. Perhaps they didn’t want an investor coming in and ripping down the home that their grandfather had built with his own two hands. Perhaps they wanted to know that those prize roses they’d spent so much time tending would receive the same attention. Perhaps the buyer love letter expressed an excitement to be part of the neighborhood, to attend the summer block parties, and exchange more than a curt nod to those living next door. If those sentiments weren’t portrayed in a letter, the sellers may have chosen to go with someone else and that’s the risk to not including one.

    What’s the downside? For the buyer, none really. I suppose there might be sellers and agents so afraid of violating some Fair Housing Law that they decide not to accept any offers that come with a letter, but even if that fear might be real for some, they are likely to just not read the letter and continue on choosing based on objective criteria.

    For sellers, the risk might be slightly greater but it’s still so minimal that it shouldn’t be of great concern as long as the seller is not discriminating based on any Fair Housing criteria. But here’s how it might play out, just for the sake of argument. A seller receives a letter that talks about how much the buyer’s kids will enjoy playing in the backyard and how the vaulted ceiling in the living room is perfect for the family Christmas tree. These two things, which reveal family status and religion (although plenty of non-Christians put up Christmas trees so I’m not sure that’s even accurate) of the buyer, could be possible grounds for a Fair Housing suit, but again, what are the realistic chances of a potential buyer who lost out suing on the off-chance that they think they lost out because they fell into a certain category? Offers are private. Letters don’t get posted on some website for the world to see and listing agents aren’t allowed to show them to anyone other than their sellers.

    All that said, here are some tips when drafting that buyer love letter:

    • First, your agent probably won’t help you draft it nor should they. You know best what you love about the house and your personality will come through better if you write it.
    • Steer clear of details about yourself that could reveal your status in a Fair Housing class (race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status, and disability; in some jurisdictions, sexual-orientation and identity are also categories). Don’t talk about your kids, your holiday gatherings, or how the oven will be perfect for baking a big pan of your particular culture’s special dessert. (Just say it’ll be perfect for baking.)
    • Do talk about the house and neighborhood! Not only will this allow you to steer clear of those Fair Housing categories; people usually like hearing about themselves more than they like hearing about other people. So, talk about how much you love the roses and how you plan on taking care of them. Talk about how your dream home always included a soaking tub or wainscoting. Talk about the fact that the house is located on a dead end, and you see dead ends as bringing life to a neighborhood. (True story: I was moved by this exact sentiment in a letter when I sold my personal home; objectively, the offer was also the best, but I was still touched by the sentiment in the letter.) Talk about the large basement room and how it will be perfect for movie nights.
    • Bonus: if the seller hasn’t “depersonalized” their home and you see something that you share in common—maybe you graduated from the same college; maybe you both love Harleys—it doesn’t hurt to include that.
    • Do talk about how you plan on living there and not just using it as a rental or fix-and-flip project. Again, people love their homes as if they were another family member and the fact that you are the intended occupant can sometimes sway the seller if a similar competing offer is from an investor.
    • While there are several Fair Housing categories, a buyer’s financial and employment status is not one of them. Typically, an offer comes with a pre-approval letter from the mortgage lender (if your offer doesn’t include one of these—or “proof of funds” if you’re making an all-cash offer—your agent isn’t doing their job), but you may also want to let the seller know you are secure in your employment. While this doesn’t need to go into your letter, a pro-active call from your mortgage lender to the listing agent to assure them that your loan is on track and all your financial statements and employment have been verified, is probably the most important thing you can do beyond making a strong offer. Having your mortgage lender be pro-active also shows the listing agent that they’ll be easy to work with during the transaction since, in most cases, any issues that come up after the inspection has been completed will be mortgage related.
    • Don’t “oversell” yourself. You still want to get the best deal you can and, if something comes up during an inspection and you want to ask for a price reduction or some other concession from the seller, you still want to have some negotiating power, so avoid using language like “I’d do anything to get this house!” or “this is the tenth house we’ve looked at and if we don’t get it I don’t know what I’ll do!”
    • It probably goes without saying, but don’t include anything negative in the letter like “I really love your house but what were you thinking painting the walls green?! That will be the first thing we change when we move in!”
    • Consider handwriting it (then scanning it, if you’re submitting it electronically). The handwritten note is increasingly a thing of a bygone era and will go a long way.
    • Keep it short; one page typed, or two-pages handwritten.
    • Proofread it. A lot of people don’t seem to care much about grammar and spelling these days, but enough do that your attention to detail here will reflect on your attention to detail during the transaction (even if your agent is the one doing most of the work).
    • Include your letter in a sealed envelope separate from the rest of the offer (or as a separate attachment, if sending it electronically) so that sellers who do want to refrain from reading it can easily do so.

    Finally, remember that, while buyer love letters may push your offer over the edge, “highest and best” is almost always the deciding factor, so make your offers objectively strong!

  • First time homebuyer savings accounts are here!

    What started off many years ago as an encouragement from government to save for retirement with IRAs eventually gave way to other legislation that encouraged saving for health care and education. Now, with legislation enacted this past year by the Idaho State Legislature, people can now save for their first homes!

    These accounts can be applied to down payments and other eligible costs associated with closing on a first home, including appraisals and other closing costs.

    This program is open to any tax-paying Idaho resident or their Idaho spouse who hasn’t previously owned a home in Idaho or any other U.S. state and allows individual tax-filers to save up to $15,000 per year (joint-filers can save up to $30,000 per year), with the amount deducted from Idaho taxable income.

    With the cost of owning a home continuing to increase at a rapid rate, any little bit helps, so if you’re just starting out in life, start saving for that first home today! An account can be opened at several banks and credit unions doing business in Idaho so check with your financial institution today about further details. Then, when you’ve saved up for that first down payment (an amount less than you may think), give me a call and let’s go find that first home!

    Information comes from the Idaho Real Estate Commission, January 2021.

  • What’s new for 2021?

    December 17, 2020

    The question is, “what isn’t new?”

    On a personal note, while not completely new for 2021, new enough is that, in October, my family loaded up the Griswold Family Truckster (in this case, a new AWD Honda Pilot that can weather the snowy conditions of our new home) and moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho! This meant restarting my real estate career in a city and state where, when we arrived, we could count the number of people we knew on one hand. A challenge, yes, but I do love a challenge! And since we’ve arrived, I’ve become active in the community and already made many new friends thanks to the friendly nature that a smaller town brings.

    The good news for me; the real estate market in North Idaho is as hot as the one we left in Seattle. The good news for the family; we somehow managed to find the one home on the market that had been sitting long enough (in this case, more than a week), that the seller was willing to take the rare below-asking-price offer, getting us the rare “good deal” in a market where most buyers are having to make offers well above asking. I could go into the reasons why this home sat for so long (two months) while others were “flying off the shelf faster than toilet paper in March” and why, if the seller had done a few small things, it probably would have, but I’ll save that for another article about why a realtor is worth the investment.

    On a real estate market note, again, while not completely new for 2021, the trend that started this past summer is likely to continue. While none of us has a “crystal ball”, nearly all economists, even the typical skeptics, are anticipating continued growth in the market nationwide. What’s fueling this? Three main things:

    • Consumer optimism brought on by the COVID vaccine and overall better than expected economic recovery.
    • “Historically low” interest rates. (The “historically low” interests rates continue to become more and more “historic” with each passing quarter; seriously, the 4% of a few years ago was amazing, the 2.375% interest rate we have (with a 15-year mortgage) is just ridiculous!).
    • Our old friend “supply and demand.” Buyers, many of whom are now able to work from home, can live anywhere in the country in many cases. They are leaving urban areas, with their high costs of living, stressful commutes, and, in some cases, increasing crime rates, for the suburbs or even rural or semi-rural areas like our new home, North Idaho, with promises of a lower cost of living, including a lower tax burden in many cases; shorter or no commutes; and housing markets, which, while they’re still “hot, hot, hot!”, offer more bang for the buck with more space both inside and out.

    This is definitely a “seller’s market”, which does pose a challenge for buyers and those rare “good deals” are just that, rare, but if you’re at all contemplating a move, there really isn’t a better time.

    As I mentioned, economists don’t see an end to this market anytime soon because, unlike the “bubble” of 2008, which was fueled by sub-prime mortgages and a construction boom gone wild, now banks have tightened up their lending requirements significantly and inventory is “historically low” (in many areas, we haven’t seen inventory this low in 50 years). What’s more, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell recently made an announcement that he doesn’t anticipate raising rates for at least a couple of years. All of this means that, even if you do get into a bidding war and end up paying a little more than the house is probably worth, you’ll see a return on that investment fairly quickly. Plus, you’ll be living where you want to live.

    Eventually, of course, the bill for all this stimulus spending and national debt will come due and we will see inflation. And as is the case in markets over time, this one will return to “normal” before turning into a “buyers” market and probably even a short-term decrease in prices. But for now, this is the time to buy because, “historically” (yes, I know I’m using that word a lot), there really isn’t any better hedge against inflation and vehicle for wealth building than real estate. Like they say, “they aren’t building any more of it.” (Well, to be fair, they are, as anyone who takes a drive around the town of Post Falls just west of me can see, but they certainly aren’t building it fast enough in areas like North Idaho and many other suburbs and exurbs around the country.)

    So, if you think it might be time for a change of scenery, maybe even a change of residence to a state with a lower cost of living and a slower pace of life, give me a call and I’d be happy to tell you more about what’s new in 2021. It might just be your new home!

  • There is not here. Then is not now.

    January 30, 2020

    When I opened up my web browser this morning to check the latest real estate news, the headline blaring back at me stated, “PENDING HOME SALES SKID 4.9% in DECEMBER.” If I didn’t know the market and I didn’t go beyond the headline, I’d probably think this was bad news. My thoughts might turn to “Oh, no, people aren’t buying homes! We must be heading toward that “bubble” so many people are talking about!” (As a matter of fact, I’ve had a few people recently ask me about “the bubble.”) And while the headline is technically correct, it’s always important to know the reason behind things.

    First, there is not here. 4.9% is the national number and with a nation as diverse as ours, there is certainly going to be a wide range. Next, then is not now. Just looking at the difference between December and November home sales doesn’t tell me much. In fact, if you just take a look at King County, pending home sales (transactions that are under contract but haven’t yet closed) between November and December dropped by a whopping 24%! Closed sales, on the other hand, dropped by less than 1%. We can also surmise that, in general, home sales do slow somewhat in December since people are more focused on Christmas parties and travel than buying a house, which means it usually makes more sense to look at year over year trends, which, in King County, stand at 3.02% for closed sales and 7.23% for pendings. (Just to reiterate how different numbers can tell wildly different stories, listings year over year are down 38.75%!)  

    What’s more, while statistics for January are not out yet, anecdotal evidence has shown that we started the year off with a bang, with several agents reporting a return to multiple offer situations, many of them above asking in some cases, on listings that had sat on the market for months. Yes, people are ready to buy in 2020 and with interest rates under 4% and no sign that they’ll increase this year, people will continue to be ready to buy.

    So what does this all mean? If you’re a seller, there’s not need to wait for the start of the traditional selling season in March/April. If you want to sell, let’s do it!

    If you’re a buyer, well, the news is not as good, especially in our region. Amazon and other businesses continue to add jobs at breakneck speeds, especially on the Eastside as fears of a head tax in Seattle loom large. (Amazon has leased 3.6 million SF of office space in Bellevue and is on track to hit more than 5 million SF by 2024 for the estimated 25,000 new workers they will hire.) Furthermore, builders are unable to come close to demand with only 4000-4500 building permits projected this year compared to an estimated 8000 new families moving in to the region. All of this is naturally having an effect on how long people are staying in their homes, up more than 100%, from an average of five years to almost 11. All that said, people still have to move which means new houses are constantly coming on the market. It may mean you have to look farther south than you’d hope, but with rents rising as well, it also makes sense for people to buy.

    My managing broker actually said something profound last week that sums it all up. Unless you’re an investor, buying or selling a house should be a lifestyle decision, not a market decision. If you’re happy where you’re at, stay in your home. If you want to move, move. The market is always shifting, and as long as you see yourself staying in your new home for three years or more, it almost always makes sense to buy.

    If you’d like to sit down over a cup of coffee and dive in to your own personal situation to see if it makes sense to buy or sell at this time, give me a call. I’d love to help!

  • Inspections

    You’re about to make what is quite possibly the biggest purchase of your life and there’s a lot you don’t know about it. What’s in the attic and crawlspace? Pests? Mold? Fifty issues of National Geographic from the 1970s that have been there since the last owner moved in? (True story on that last one and a fun find that my client gifted to me.) Is the foundation solid? Do the included appliances work? In most cases, the house you’re buying will have several minor issues that you might want to address after you move in, but none that would cause you to walk away from the transaction or even ask for repairs to be done or a reduction in price. Inspections are still very important though because you never know what they might turn up. They typically cost between $500 and $1000 depending on the size and age of the house and how many things you want inspected (just the house? sewer line? radon test?). Here are some things worth when hiring an inspector.

    • What credentials do you hold and how long have you been an inspector? In Idaho, inspectors aren’t licensed by the state, but they should still be able to point to some sort of certification like the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)
    • What is the cost for the inspection? Are sewer line inspections extra? (They typically are.) How about radon tests?
    • Is there an extra charge for larger homes or homes over a certain age? Homes out of their typical service area?
    • How quickly can your inspector typically make it out to a home once your offer has been accepted and how long will it take them to return their report? If they can’t make it in the allotted time frame, is there another inspector they can recommend who can?
    • Will they do a complimentary re-inspection of any issues that have been fixed by the sellers?
    • In regard to the radon inspection, make sure they are measuring it for 72 hours and that the meter is placed in a habitable room on the lowest habitable room in the house (i.e. a basement office or bedroom, not a utility or laundry room or closet.

    Additionally, before the home inspection occurs, make sure the sellers have address the following potential issues. When it comes time for the appraisal inspection, these may be called out, especially if it’s an FHA loan, and the lender will require them to be fixed and re-inspected with the re-inspection with an added cost of $200 to $400 in some cases.

    • Standing water against the foundation or excessive moisture in the basement.
    • Hazardous materials on site. This is not necessarily asbestos or lead paint, which is common in a lot of homes built prior to 1978, but if there are signs of exposed asbestos (i.e. not painted over), exposed electrical wires, and other potentially life-threatening situations, these will be called out.
    • Evidence of possible pest infestation.
    • Leaking or worn-out roofs. Roofs should have at least five-years of life left in them. If they seem close, hiring a specialty roof inspector or roofer to give you a “five-year certification” is a good way to placate any appraisers/lenders who are in doubt. Of course, realize that even if you get this certification, you’ll need to budget for a new roof in the near future.
    • Faulty mechanical systems, i.e. plumbing, heating, or electrical aren’t working.
    • Evidence of possible structural failure, i.e. unsupported floor joists, cracked or bulging walls or foundations. (Some cracks may not be evidence of structural failure. All houses settle over time and minor cracks can appear. If in doubt, it’s prudent to hire a structural engineer to give a second opinion.
    • Missing handrails both inside and out.
    • Working smoke alarms inside every bedroom (or in a hallway if bedrooms are close together) and on every floor. This is a common one and an easy fix.
    • Carbon monoxide detectors. Required on every floor. Another common issue with an easy fix.
    • Earthquake straps on water heaters. Probably the most overlooked issue with an easy fix.

    If you hire me as your agent, I will take care of all of this and already have existing relationships with home inspectors in the area who I trust.

  • Are we headed for a bubble? Why homeownership is still a good idea.

    January 31, 2018

    Speaking of the bad news that frequently leads our newsfeeds, it seems that quite a few folks are prognosticating another housing bubble in our area. And it’s easy to understand why. We’ve been having rapid growth for several years now in both the housing and financial markets yet, the dark days of 2008 are still fresh in our memories. Too many people were caught “underwater” on their homes 10 years ago. Sadly, some still haven’t recovered from the hit they may have taken from a short sale or a foreclosure. None of us want that to happen again.

    Why is the market crazy?

    While no one, not even Punxsutawney Phil, that grand prognosticator of prognosticators, can know for certain what lies ahead, there are many reasons not to fear an impending “winter storm” in the local housing market.

    • Increased Population – The people just keep moving here! Whether its Amazon, our beautiful scenery, or a love of too much rain, the Seattle area was the fastest growing big city in America last year, adding more than 1,000 people per week. And, despite the fact that Amazon is looking to open a second headquarters somewhere else, they’re still hiring here along with several other companies in our area. And these are good paying jobs. This fact, along with a lack of inventory (December had a record low 1.12 months of inventory; a balanced market being 4-6 months) means housing prices continue to skyrocket (11% year over year; nearly twice the national average).
    • Low Inventory – Part of the reason for the low inventory does cause one to pause. People aren’t selling their homes because then they’ll be thrust into the wrong side of a seller’s market themselves. But this is not a major concern. Despite the record low inventory in December, closed sales remained virtually unchanged.
    • Lack of New Construction – The other part of this low inventory puzzle is new homes. When the market tanked in 2008, not only did many people lose their homes, many companies went out of business, including builders. If you’ve talked to a builder, architect, or anyone else in the building trades recently, you’ll know that business is beyond booming.

    The Good News

    Tighter Mortgage Restrictions

    While there are many other factors which lead me to believe that the real estate market will continue to boom for at least the next 2-3 years, I’ll touch on one more: mortgages. Back in 2008, anyone who could fog a mirror could get a mortgage. Thankfully, one of the silver linings of the mortgage crisis was that lending criteria were significantly tightened. While restrictions have been eased some since new laws were passed, the days of the Wild West Mortgage are behind us (at least for now; people have short memories so check with me in 30 years and my answer will probably be different).

    Homeownership Leads to Increased Net Worth

    So, what does this mean for those of you looking to buy a house but a little concerned you might end up taking a bath a year or two from now? Well, like. I said, no one can predict the future. If, God forbid, we were to have a catastrophic event like 9/11 or war with North Korea, all bets are off. But none of us know what tomorrow holds so I say seize the day! In the end, every decision we make is about risk management. You’re taking a risk when you drive to work every day but it’s worth the reward. Housing is the same way. If you’re currently paying somebody else’s mortgage you are paying quite a bit for “risk mitigation” (and, since rents continue to rise as well, is that such a good plan?). Once you write that monthly rent check, you’ll never see that money again. But owning a home? You’re building equity every month even when prices are stagnant. It’s a forced piggy bank. According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances released last September and covering the years 2013-2016, the median net worth of homeowners increased by 15 percent while that of renters fell by 5 percent. In actual dollars this equates to $231,400 for homeowners and $5,200 for renters. That’s 44.5 times greater!

    Should You Buy?

    In short, if you have plans to move out of the area in the next two years and don’t feel like becoming a landlord (a topic for another day), it may be best to continue renting. After all, the cost of selling a home is around 10% so, even in this hot market, you’re not going to gain that back for at least a year. But if you’re planning on sticking around for longer than that, let inflation work for you instead of against you. Not only will you be gaining equity, study after study shows that homeownership has a positive effect on mental and physical health and creates a stronger bond in our communities which leads to better friendships, less crime, and a better society at large. It’s why my mission is to help change the world by creating an ownership society one home at a time!

  • Why I Am a Real Estate Agent: George Bailey & Being the Change

    January 19, 2018

    I’ve been in sales most of my adult life. I’d argue we all are to one extent or another. After all, if you’ve ever asked someone out on a date or even just befriended someone, you likely put your best foot forward, hoping that person would say yes. But selling should never be about us. Sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer has said, “people don’t like to be sold, but they do love to buy.” So then, a good “salesman” should be confident that the product or service he is “selling” is something that will enhance the life of the person buying it. 

    I’ve always believed this on some level and, whether by luck or by choice, I’ve never had to sell anything I didn’t wholeheartedly believe in. But just because I’ve believed in the things I’ve sold before now, be they newspaper or radio advertising, wine accessories, or political candidates, doesn’t mean they were the perfect fit. That’s why, when someone suggested I think about being a real estate agent some years ago, I gave it some thought. It took several months pondering it over, but eventually I took that step, left my job selling radio advertising, and now, instead of selling air, I sell dirt! There are many reasons I’m more passionate about this vocation than any other I’ve had before.

    The number one reason is summed up in one of my personal mantras, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” (No, I didn’t come up with that phrase. No, it wasn’t Gandhi either, although he did say something similar.)  I’ve long believed that we are participants in our own lives. That may sound odd—after all, what else would we be—but we all know people and we’ve probably all been that person at one stage in our lives, who have had life steer their course instead of us steering life. It’s not an all or nothing adage either. None of us is perfect or all powerful, so to a large extent, every day we can improve toward the goal of steering our own lives, but we also all need help. 

    A bit ironically, we actually need someone else to help us steer our lives every day. We all need mentors or guides. That’s what I see myself as, your guide. I’m here to help you with, quite likely, the biggest purchase and/or sale of your life. I also see it as so much more though. My mission statement is “being the change in our world by creating an ownership society one home at a time.” It’s my mission because I believe home ownership is key to steering our own course. It’s certainly not for everyone at every point in their life, but when you own your own home, while there are still some ongoing expenses, you own just a little bit more of your destiny, not being beholden to rent increases or other actions which you have no control over, like the sale of the place you’re renting.

    In the time I’ve been an agent, I’ve sold a number of homes and each transaction has been rewarding in its own way, but perhaps the most rewarding was a home I sold to some first time buyers who desperately needed a house, but affording one wasn’t the easiest thing. It took a while to find something, but eventually we did and to see the happiness that brought their little family was a huge blessing.

    My favorite movie is It’s a Wonderful Life. There are so many fantastic lessons to be learned by watching it, but since becoming a real estate agent, it’s taken on a whole new level. George Bailey, after all, runs a real estate firm of sorts and does it because of his passion to help others above all else. I take that same passion with me with each and every person I help in my business.

    If you’re seeking help in “steering your own course” in the area of home ownership or know someone who is, please, give me a call and let’s find that course together.

  • When should you sell your home?

    January 5, 2018

    The short answer, especially in this hot market, is anytime you want. Over the last year in the greater Seattle market, regardless of month, homes have generally sold in under a month. In fact, it was the rule, more than the exception for a wisely priced home in King County to sell in a week regardless of when it was put on the market. Even during the dreary winter months, when most people would rather be snuggled up by a fire than out looking for their next place to live, homes sold in record time.

    But even though this has been the case and will likely continue to be for some time, there are generally times that are better to sell a house. Again, if you were a buyer, would you rather be driving around during the balmy days of summer or the cold and wet of January?

    According to a study by ATTOM Data Solutions, which was recently completed and covered 14.7 million nationwide home sales during the years 2011 to 2017, May was the best month, to sell. Locally, the best month was June, with sellers enjoying a 4.1% premium over the average.

    This just makes sense. During the sunnier months, there are more people out searching for homes. More people means more offers and more offers means a greater price.

    So, if you’ve been thinking of selling your home, now is the perfect time to start preparing. Even in this hot market, your home needs to be made ready for sale. This means doing an accurate valuation of what it is worth, making any minor repairs that will be beneficial, cleaning up the yard, and cleaning and staging the home to give potential buyers that extra WOW-factor that will make them instantly fall in love and pull out their checkbooks.

    If you’d like a free analysis of what your home could potentially sell for and what should be done to it to achieve that price, please don’t hesitate to give me a call.