Proof that Gas Prices are affecting buyers in Charlottesville area

Getting feedback from Buyer’s Agents is one of the most persistent challenges a listing agent faces, yet good feedback is absolutely crucial to understanding buyers’ mindsets to help best advise sellers. Note this feedback received yesterday on one of my listings:

Shows much better than all the competition. My clients liked it the best of any they saw (here - about 15 minutes/10 miles to the City). They bought in (town) however. He will be at the JAG school and easy commute and gas prices made them choose in close.

The trouble is, when showing forty plus houses a week, it’s that more challenging to elicit feedback from Buyers Agents …

As a recap, If You Don’t Think Gas Price Are Affecting Buyers … You’re not paying attention.

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July 11, 2008 | Filed Under Albemarle, Charlottesville, Politics, Regional, Sellers, Transportation | 3 Comments 

Are homebuyers and sellers the only ones who need transportation?

It would appear that Gov. Kaine thinks so. (thanks to Richmond Sunlight for pointing out this article)

Kaine is proposing a statewide 25-cent increase in the grantors tax, which is now 10 cents per $100 of assessed value, that owners pay on the sale of a house.

First, the grantor’s tax is paid based on the sales price of the house, not the assessed value.

Nuts and bolts - currently the median price in the Charlottesville area is about $275,000. Thus, the grantor’s tax paid by the seller on that particular transaction would be about $275 - and that’s a lot of money! If the tax is increased to 25 cents $687.50. Note also that this tax is paid only when a property sells (which is happening less and less frequently).

Make no mistake - Virginia’s (and the localities’) transportation systems need help; they need maintenance and they need new infrastructure - roads, bike paths, rail lines - but taxing only one segment of the population that uses the system is wrong. It is difficult to get hard, accurate data on what percentage of people in this area own their homes, but let’s assume it’s anywhere from sixty to seventy percent. Thirty to forty percent of people in the area won’t pay this tax, yet they will still use our roads, buses, etc. This is not a question of fair, but one of whether this is a reasonable proposal.

One reason that the grantor’s tax is proposed is because it is a bit of a hidden tax - it’s just another one of those fees that gets thrown together on the HUD-1 at closing. In the hot market, no one questioned the tax; now every nickel counts.

Why not a broad-based tax that everyone would pay (gas tax), other than lack of political and intestinal will and fortitude?

To target one segment of the population for a tax that needs to be focused on the entire population, regardless of the state of the housing market, is not right.

The best prediction from the Washington Post article goes to lobbyist Charlie Davis -

“At the end of the day, maybe putting a ‘lockbox’ on transportation funds, maybe a local taxing authority, but that is it. Give Kaine credit for pushing for something. The Republicans can be tagged as obstructionists but . . . Kaine came back with almost the identical plan that was shot down last year, so which is more foolhardy? But the session will provide ample opportunity for a lot of social interaction to discuss the presidential campaign and enjoy some wonderful cuisine at the Capitol snack bar.”

And he’s probably right.

Related posts -

Whom should we tax?

A few Transportation bills

Too funny not to post - Copy of the Republican Transportation Plan

Update 06/24/2008: C-Ville has a good article about the state of the transportation debate, including this:

In the event that Kaine’s latest bill goes through unscathed (which is about as likely as UVA winning this year’s NCAA football championship), we the people of Virginia would have the pleasure of paying: 1 percent more when we buy a car; $10 more for annually registering our cars; and, when we sell our homes, a 250 percent higher “grantor’s tax,” which would go from 10 to 35 cents per $100 of assessed value. Most of the $1 billion generated annually would go to highway maintenance, but the revenue from the grantor’s tax increase—about $150 million annually—would go toward mass transit.

June 23, 2008 | Filed Under Buyers, Politics, Sellers, Transportation | 4 Comments 

Negotiate anything

Even real estate contracts.

If more Realtors and buyers and sellers could or would recognize these simple facts, we would all be better off.

Good negotiations are not personal. When buyers and sellers focus on what the other person is getting, negotiations deteriorate.

I remember the conversation during the hot market about how the “seller shouldn’t make that much!” quite well - and each time it was irrelevant, but important to the buyer to have - if only to work through it.

Focus on what matters. Standing on principle and positions is a failing stance.

May 28, 2008 | Filed Under Buyers, General Real Estate, Sellers | 1 Comment 

Best listing remarks of the day

Seen in the Charlottesville MLS this morning for a new listing in a great location close to Barracks Road and Barracks Road shopping center -

!!! NOTE!!!NOTE!!!NOTE!!! This house had a fire. During the reconstruction house was foreclosed on. THE DRYWALL STAGE HAS BEEN COMPLETED. THERE ARE NO KITCHEN CABINETS, NO BATH ROOM FIXURES. APPLIANCES ON PREMISES ARE NOT WARRANTED (May not work) HEATPUMP OR FURNACE IS DISMANTLED. MUST visit to inspect. STRICTLY BEING SOLD “AS IS”. BECAUSE OF STAGE ELECTRIC SERVICE CANNOT BE TURNED ON. BALANCE OF COMPLETION IS IN YOUR HANDS. GREAT LOCATION!!!!

May 21, 2008 | Filed Under Charlottesville, Sellers | 2 Comments 

Words all home sellers and listing agents should read

Tracking the Bloodhound Unchained conference in Phoenix via Twitter … and in particular, Russell Shaw, listing agent extraordinaire (which is likely underestimating him) … for a quick bona fides on Russell Shaw, read this:

If you think traditional Realtors have had it rough imagine what it is like for the discount real estate companies. In my area, with my stats way down (a little over 75 million production in the past 12 months) my group outsells all of the Help U Sell offices here combined. They have 14 offices (that someone is paying rent on) showing in our MLS and my group does more business than all 14 of them combined - and this is a national company. The small discount companies aren’t even doing that well.

some of the tweets about his presentation, in 140 characters or less:

Courtesy of @AndyKaufman:

Russell Shaw - I haven’t run a print ad in 16 years. Online listing distribution as far & wide as possible.

Also by Andy:

Comps meant nothing on the way up and once again they mean nothing on the way down. No showings = too high, no matter what.

Bolding is mine.

From @MarkEckenrode:

shaw: stay aware of markets needs and adjust your marketing message accordingly

From @JeffRoyce:

Russell Shaw: Put pictures of houses in your marketing even if it’s a dump. Because if you’re selling a dump, you sell a dump.

I wish I could have made the conference, but I am grateful for the knowledge, and in many ways I want to emulate Russell’s success.

More Russell Shaw here:

May 18, 2008 | Filed Under Marketing, Sellers | Leave a Comment 

Notes from a mortgage broker in Charlottesville

Thanks to a conversation in a closing yesterday morning:

1 - Many of his lenders are eliminating second mortgages in favor of PMI (which is tax deductible).
2 - The 22903 zip code may be marked by Fannie Mae as a “declining market” - our closing yesterday indicated as much.

Lesson:

Times are changing; choose knowledgeable representation you trust.

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March 20, 2008 | Filed Under Charlottesville, Sellers | 3 Comments 

Seeking a defense of Single-Agent Dual Agency

Will anybody defend the practice of the same Realtor representing both a buyer and seller on the same transaction? Find out at VARBuzz.

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March 12, 2008 | Filed Under Buyers, Sellers | Leave a Comment 

How not to sell your house

2 - Don’t call the Realtor with qualified buyers back for nine hours.
3 - Don’t allow the house to be shown until after 5pm.

The above are two reasons that unrepresented sellers frequently have a harder time selling their properties. The reason is simple - the sellers work during the day. What did we, the Realtor and the buyers do? Moved on to the other seven competing listings … with at least seven more to go. The property is going to have to be mighty special and unique to make us alter our schedules.

In a buyers’ market (which we’re in, if you didn’t know) - I advise my sellers to do (almost) whatever it takes to get buyers through their house. You just never know when the “right” buyer is going to walk through the door.

At some point, one must ask - how much is my time worth?

1 - Overprice it.

February 27, 2008 | Filed Under Sellers | 12 Comments 

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