To sell or not to sell?
This is the question of the day ... As the market shifts, Sellers may have to make accommodations to which they are not accustomed. They may have to prepare their homes in ways they have not had to for some time ... such as sweeping…
Free Credit report
From my newsletter - THE FAIR and Accurate Credit Transactions Act is finally in effect for those in Virginia. Starting on 1 September, you can now check your credit for free. This is one of the best things you can do to ensure that 1)…
Charlottesville area Market update/bubble?
Prevailing wisdom says that one of the major indicators of a bursting real estate bubble is an increase in the number of homes on the market. Using the local MLS, I pulled together the number of homes that were Active, Contingent or Pending in 2004…
Just a thought.
I live in Crozet and drive into Charlottesville most morning. Listening to NPR this morning, they were discussing how heating fuel prices may rise 70% this winter. Gas prices are quite high already. Why do 90% of all the vehicles on the road in the…
Am I missing something?
I just received a call from a title company in Northern Virginia. They are representing the Northern VA purchasers of a condo I am marketing. She asked whether I charged my Sellers any "admin fees" or "processing fees" in addition to my company's commission. I…
16 steps to selling your home.
From a NoVa. blog I follow - good advice. One of my best and worst traits is that I am very blunt when giving advice to my clients. There are often very simple things that can be done to easily increase a home's market value.…
Creative thinking needed!
From an executive in the Alabama Association of Realtors - (more…)
We’re Number 52!
We are the 52nd highest-ranked Metropolitan Statistical Area in the nation, with regard to percent change in house prices (they've gone up). The PDF is at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's site. The statistics are pretty amazing. Over a 5 year period, housing…
Why not all agents are rich
Slate's take. With all these new agents swarming onto the scene, the price they charge may remain constant, but the number of houses each sells will not. The zero-profit condition predicts that, in locales where housing prices rise, the number of agents will also rise,…
Demographics
Demographics and the real estate market On the demographic front, Rosenberg notes that the demographics aren't favorable to housing, and certainly less favorable than was in the case in the 1970s. He notes that the growth rate in household formation among 35- to 44-year-olds have…