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Make your home warm and inviting to boost your home’s value and speed up the sale process. Read
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Copyright 2011 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Here’s how to clean up your credit so you get the least-expensive home loan possible. Read
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Copyright 2011 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Yes, there are still qualified buyers out there, but the supply of Chester County homes for sale is far greater than the demand for them, and today’s buyers can afford to be very selective. Your house may have excellent curb appeal and be beautifully staged, but if you really want to sell in this market, you must be realistic, flexible, and creative when it comes to pricing, availability, flexibility, and motivating the buyer to purchase your property.
PRICING: A few years ago, you probably could have sold your home for what you think it is worth today--or even more--but that is most likely no longer the case. Of course, the thought of taking a loss is a bitter pill for you to swallow, but if that’s what the recent sales in your neighborhood indicate, you may have no choice. It is important that you and your Realtor, after reviewing comparables, be objective and set a realistic price that will draw buyers. Keep in mind that the buyer is looking for the best possible deal and will avoid even looking at an overpriced house.
AVAILABILTY/FLEXIBILITY:
INCENTIVES: Today’s sellers are turning more and more to finding ways to create interest in their property and motivate hesitant buyers. Since builders of new homes offer such incentives, it is becoming commonplace for other sellers to do the same. Examples of incentives include:
Note: if you do offer incentives of any kind, make sure that they are included in your real estate listing.
The 2011 real estate market forecast depends on who you talk to. There are conflicting signs but most experts predict a slow growth in sales nationwide. Real estate guru Barbara Corcoran has this to say about buying a home in 2011:
“Of course people are nervous about buying with so many mixed signals, but my advice would be: Do not wait. If there's one thing I learned about this real estate is that it's very slow to unwind and usually takes years to do it. But once it decides to turn around, those prices move up very quickly, and you'll just be joining every Tom, Dick and Harry bidding on the same house. If you have an inclination to move, you'll get no better time than now, with cheap money, cheap prices and an embarrassment of riches to choose from. Why wouldn't you buy now if you were so inclined? The only thing you need is a little courage.”
Let’s compare December 2010 to 2009 to real estate statistics to see what improvement has taken place in our local market.
Downingtown Area School District saw a 24% decrease in the average sales price in December 2010, compared to December 2009 to $333,258. Pending listings have decreased by 28%, while sold listings have decreased by 10%. There was a 14% decrease in active listings, while market times increased by 75 days.
|
Downingtown |
Active |
Pending |
Sold |
Average |
Average |
|
Dec 2010 |
31 |
18 |
37 |
$333,258 |
143 |
|
Dec 2009 |
36 |
25 |
41 |
$436,972 |
68 |
In the West Chester Area School District, there was an increased in Sold listings of 13% when compared to December 2009. And pending sales decreased by 4% in December 2010 when compared to December 2009. Average sales price decreased by 15% to $345,613 and active listings decreased by 10% from December 2009. Market times have decreased by 5 days.
|
West Chester |
Active |
Pending |
Sold |
Average |
Average |
|
Dec 2010 |
60 |
47 |
69 |
$345,613 |
92 |
|
Dec 2009 |
67 |
49 |
60 |
$404,775 |
97 |
Active listing have decreased by 38% in the Coatesville Area School District in December 2010 when compared to December 2009. The average sales price decreased by 4% to $198,739 and sold listings decreased by 8%. The number of pending home sales decreased by 9% when compared to December 2009, while homes were on the market on average 87 days more than in December 2009.
|
Coatesville |
Active |
Pending |
Sold |
Average |
Average |
|
Dec 2010 |
45 |
32 |
36 |
$198,739 |
138 |
|
Dec 2009 |
72 |
35 |
39 |
$207,528 |
51 |
A word of caution...markets within a school district can be very different from neighborhood to neighborhood. For the latest Chester County PA real estate market conditions in your neighborhood, please call me at 610-564-SCOT or visit ChesterCountyHomeSource.com.
Displaying blog entries 1-4 of 4
