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Jun
02
Posted by James Lupori
Determining the value of a home in the Seattle area has become difficult these days. The huge inventory of homes and increasing days-on-market suggest that sellers and their real estate agents need to recalibrate prices in a big way! The buyers are speaking loud and clear by NOT parting with their hard-earned (depreciating) dollars. Gone are the days when an owner could push anything on an undiscriminating public.
I’ve spent the last two days previewing properties in Edmonds, WA in order to do research for an upcoming listing presentation. The price point I’m focusing on is between $900,000 and $1.5 million with a Puget Sound view. One would imagine that a view-home worth this kind of money would be something to write mom about. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the opposite is true: many of these homes are functionally obsolete or incredibly dated. A couple were downright ugly. For $1 million dollars I’ve seen green shag carpet, appliances dating back to the stone age, pumpkin counter-tops (I’m sorry but pumpkin counter-tops are a sin against nature), lighting from the 19th century, passionate pink toilets, 70’s style tubs (yuck) and a host of other disturbing reminders of bad taste gone wild.
The point of this tale is: The real estate market in Puget Sound has changed and all the players must adjust their thinking about property values. As a realtor, I’ve found it difficult to have realistic conversations with home owners. They know in their heart that their home isn’t worth a pot of gold; however, they are living in denial and want to ask too much for the home. This reminds me of an old joke that used to circulate in real estate offices. Here it is:
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Jun
01
Posted by James Lupori
This month I’m going to do frequent reports on Kenmore real estate statistics in order to give you an idea of how Realtors analize the market. In this post, I want to talk briefly about “expired” listings. When the contract between a seller and a brokerage comes to an end, the listing expires.
When a listing expires, lots of complicated things happen:
1) The seller’s home leaves the market’s listing service or MLS. Generally, the seller has been under contract with the agent for several months. This means the seller has made mortgage and overhead payments for quite a while. It means lots of strangers have marched through their home. What’s more, the second the listing expires, sellers are inundated with calls by “enterprising” agents who want to acquire the seller’s business. The seller should ask himself/herself: “Why didn’t my house sell?”
2) The listing agent no longer represents the seller. This means that the agent must re-interview with the seller to acquire a new listing. This may not happen. It also means that the agent has lost time and money marketing the property (ads, signs, flyers, open houses, etc.). The listing agent should ask himself/herself: “Why didn’t my listing sell?”
3) Let’s look at a “big picture” consequence of expired listings:
Yesterday, there were 304 active listings in Kenmore. Today 45 listings expired which represents 15% of the active market. All of the neighbors should ask themselves: “Why didn’t these houses sell?”
OK, even though there can be a number of reasons for an expired home, the main reason is THAT THE HOME WAS OVERPRICED! In my experience as an agent, my expired listings were almost always a function of price. The current market has been extremely unforgiving of overpriced property. So if you choose to put your home on the market, make sure your agent has a firm grasp of home values in your neighborhood.
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Jun
01
Posted by James Lupori
“Do you know a good landscaper?” As a realtor, I get lots of calls from neighbors, friends and former clients asking me about various contractors. I’m asked about landscaping and roofing more than any others. So if you were to call me today and ask about a landscaper it would be, hands down, Juan Aguayo. His crew of hardworking guys can do just about any project: gardening, fences, waterfalls, stone work, general clean-up and maintenance.
Yesterday, I was plesantly surprised to see Juan and his crew building a fence for one of my neighbors in Bridlepath. He has worked with a huge number of my clients and, without exception, they have all extremely satisfied with the work.
