Pehr Black - The Local Choice

Don’t Skip These 3 Key Ingredients When Selling Your Home

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There are three key factors that separate successful home sales from failed listings: price, condition, and marketing.

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When you hire a real estate professional to sell your home you automatically assume that your house will sell. However, many homes that hit the market never make it to the closing table.

In fact, in 2016, half of the homes in our market failed to sell. Why? It all boils down to three primary reasons: price, condition, and marketing.

Pricing your home is just like pricing clothing in a local retail store. Have you ever walked into your local Kohls or Old Navy and gone straight to the sales rack? How do those articles of clothing end up there?

Well, they were offered to the marketplace and based on a number of factors, including price and style, they failed to sell. Will they ever sell? Probably—everything will sell at some price. Last season’s shoes may not be appealing at $50, but you may be willing to shell out $20 for them.

That said, you do not want your home to wind up on the sales rack. Correctly pricing your home in the first 30 days has been statistically proven to net sellers much more money. Don’t sit around and wait months—or even years—for the right buyer to come along.   

While a good price gets buyers in the door, if your house is in bad condition, they will go right back out the door again. As you prepare your home for the market, remember that buyers will take issue with your paint colors, your clutter, and your dirt. Any improvements and upgrades that you’ve made for your own enjoyment may not appeal to prospective buyers who haven’t been living their lives in your home.

“Your home should not wind up on the sales rack.”

Finally, your home needs the proper marketing in order to sell. Most people think marketing is the first thing their agent will offer but it’s usually the last thing you get—if your agent even offers it at all. According to Boral media, most agents only spend $400 a month advertising homes.

To put that in perspective, we spend over $6,000 a month advertising our listings on sites like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com. We also use print marketing and our website to connect your home with prospective buyers.

When you interview an agent, ask how much they spend on marketing and have them show you their marketing plan.

Price, condition, and marketing are three key factors in your home sale. You wouldn’t bake cookies without flour, eggs, or butter, would you? That would be impossible! So, don’t skip these three factors if you want to successfully sell your home.

If you have any questions for us, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Can You Really Trust Zillow?

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Zillow can be a helpful tool for homebuyers and sellers. However, you should take their value estimations with a grain of salt.

Buying a Northern Idaho Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Northern Idaho Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

When you’re thinking of selling your home, the first thing you probably want to know is what it might be worth on the market. Most of us want instant answers, so we head to a site like Zillow to get an automatic valuation. However, can you really trust the Zestimate you get?

The way Zillow and these other websites get their information is through public information from tax assessments, user submitted data, and current market data. However, in the state of Idaho, homeowners are not legally obligated to disclose their sale price to the tax assessor.

Because of that, the information is confidential and Zillow doesn’t have access to it. Without having access to accurate and up-to-date data, there is no way to get an accurate valuation in this market.

“Without accurate sale data, you won’t get an accurate value.”

Zillow can be really helpful in the same way WebMD is. If you are having certain symptoms and trying to figure out what’s wrong, that’s where you’ll go. However, when you know something is wrong and you are sick, you’re going to go to a doctor. In the same way, why would you trust your home value to Zillow when you can get an accurate assessment from a real estate professional?

If you have any questions about buying or selling a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are always here to help out.

What’s Happening in Today’s Real Estate Market?

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What is happening in our local real estate market right now? We’ll go over a few important things that you need to know.

Buying a Northern Idaho Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Northern Idaho Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

What is happening in our current real estate market?

First of all, demand is through the roof these days. Why? Since the market bottomed out in 2011, we’ve had about six and a half years of recovery, so the people who went through short sales or foreclosures are now able to purchase again. In addition to these “boomerang buyers,” there are also many first-time and relocation buyers in the market.

Residential inventory is down 15.3% compared to this time in 2016, and closings are up 13.4%. At the end of February, the absorption rate was at 3.7 months, a significant drop from the five months of inventory we had in February of 2016.

The median home price is up 17.9% from $200,000 to $235,000. New construction sales are also on the rise; 47 homes sold this year compared to 36 last year, which is an increase of over 30%.

“The average sales price is up and demand is sky-high.”

As for residential home sales, there were 228 in February. The average sales price is up to $260,000 and homes are spending an average of 123 days on market.

What does this mean for you? Now is a great time to get your home on the market. If you have any questions for us, please don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

How Can You Prepare Your Home for a Successful Spring Sale?

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To prepare your home to sell quickly and for top dollar in the competitive spring market, follow these three steps.

Buying a Northern Idaho Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Northern Idaho Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

How can you prepare your home to sell quickly and for top dollar this spring?

The first step is to find out how much it’s really worth in today’s market. It’s tempting to just go on Zillow and take the word of one of their Zestimates, but in the state of Idaho, people don’t have access to closed sales prices. Only actual Realtors and other people who have access to the MLS have access to those numbers. The best way to get an accurate value for your home is to call a real estate professional so they can pull the most recent comparables and make an accurate valuation.

The second step is to maximize your home’s curb appeal. Once your home is on the market, a lot of people will drive by it before they commit to a showing to see if they like the area first. Even though it’s winter right now, make sure all surrounding sidewalks are clear and any detritus left over from the fall is removed so the front of your property looks great.

“Following these three steps will guarantee a successful spring sale.”

The third step is to get the inside of your home ready, especially for photos. Online photos are the first glimpse most potential buyers will get of your home. To get it to show as well as it can, you need to declutter. Think of this process as packing your home away. Get rid of the non-essentials and start packing them in boxes and store them in the garage. People will see this as a serious sign that you’re ready to move. Additionally, it gives them a chance to envision themselves in the home.

If you have any questions about today’s topic or have a topic idea you’d like to see us discuss in a future video, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We look forward to talking with you!

Hidden Costs When Buying a Home

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Buying a Northern Idaho Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Northern Idaho Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

Your mortgage isn’t the only expense you will have as a homeowner. What else should you consider?

Your property taxes and home insurance should be included in your mortgage payment, but you should always double check that they are just in case. Knowing what those costs are ahead of time will help you prepare. 

Another hidden cost is your utility bills. Is your home energy efficient? Will your bills go up in the winter or summer? It’s important to know this so you can budget accordingly. You should also know about any repairs or updates that need to be made in the home, or may need to be made in the near future.

Lastly, if you have any pets, plan for them, too. Make sure your home has a fenced-in yard. If it doesn’t, find out if you can install one and how much it will cost.

These are just a few of the hidden costs associated with buying a home. If you have any questions for us or are looking to buy a home here in Coeur D’Alene, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Top 5 Home Improvements for Home Sellers

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There are five home improvements that will net sellers the most return on their investment. You can even do most of them yourself!

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Selling a Northern Idaho Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

When you prepare to sell your home, certain improvements will add more value than others. Today, we’ll go over the top five home improvements to get you the best return on your investment.

  1. Avoid completely redoing your floors. Sometimes it’s actually best to refinish the hardwood floors you already have in your home. You can also replace worn spots in the carpet rather than the entire thing.
  1. Neutralize your home as much as possible. When it comes to paint colors, extra bright or dark colors tend to turn buyers off. Choose a neutral paint color to tone down the rooms. When buyers see bright or dark colors, they simply see more work that they have to do if they buy the home.
  1. Pay attention to the lighting in the home. If you have a room that’s darker than others, bring in an extra lamp or change out the lightbulbs. Make sure the lights are on for all of the showings and keep the thermostat turned up.
  1. Replace the vanity in the bathroom. A lot of buyers will notice if the bathroom vanity is dated and they don’t want to have to do the work of replacing it. All you have to do is go to a big box hardware store and pick out a new one. They will have many inexpensive choices that you can install by yourself. Pay attention to the lighting in the bathroom as well; brass fixtures make your home appear older than it actually is.
  1. Update fixtures throughout your home. Go through your home and replace any outdated drawer pulls, hinges, or light fixtures. Brass fixtures remind buyers of the 1980s, so go to a hardware store and get some new ones. These are fairly easy to replace on your home.

If you have any questions or need any referrals to complete these updates, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

What Should You Keep an Eye on While in Escrow?

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It’s important to know a few things about being in escrow. Here are some do’s and don’ts to make the process smoother.

Buying a Northern Idaho Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Northern Idaho Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

Being in escrow is exciting, whether you are buying a new home or selling your old one in order to upgrade. However, it is important to know some keys things while going through this process. Here are a few do’s and dont’s while in escrow.

Don’t apply for any other credit. While in escrow, you really don’t want your credit to be run for any reason.

Don’t max out credit cards or consolidate debt. Any out of the ordinary patterns of credit usage might raise a red flag.

Don’t do anything that might reduce your credit score. Reducing your credit score while in escrow can cause problems with the sale.

Do join a credit watch program. This is smart whether you are buying or selling.

Do keep credit transactions normal. Being in escrow doesn’t mean you should switch your normal credit usage.

Do communicate with your lender once a week and make sure you let them know if anything odd with your credit comes up.

For more tips and information on how to make your time in escrow go smoothly, give me a call or shoot me an email.

The 4 Worst Home Renovations You Can Make When Selling

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There are four renovations you should avoid making on your home if you plan on selling it.

Buying a Northern Idaho Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Northern Idaho Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

Home renovations are a common way for sellers to add value to their property once they’ve decided to sell it. Not all renovations give back the same dollar amount that you put into it, though, and some have a knack of turning off potential buyers. If you’re selling your home and are planning on doing some renovations, here are four that you should avoid:

  1. Wallpaper. It may look pretty to you, but all a buyer is going to see is the extra work they would have to do tearing it down and replacing it with something else.
  1. Too much carpet. Depending on the price range, most buyers are typically more attracted to laminate or hardwood floors. Instead of adding more carpeting, it might be a good idea to set aside an allowance for a future flooring expense.
  1. Bold, bright paint colors. As with wallpaper, just because something looks pretty to you doesn’t mean it will to everyone else. Most buyers prefer to move into a neutral-colored home that they can fix up easily and make their own.
  1. Pools and hot tubs. Here in Coeur d’Alene, these things are only really usable for two months out of the year. Buyers don’t want the added expense of a pool that they’ll only be able to use sparingly.

If you have any questions about this or any other real estate-related topic, please feel free to call, text, or email us today. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Importance of Cleaning Your Windows

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If you want your house to present well to buyers, I recommend cleaning your windows. Whether you hire someone or clean them yourself, this is an important step for sellers.

Buying a Northern Idaho Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Northern Idaho Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

Cleaning your windows is a really important step in the home selling process. This step won’t cost you much money and you can do it yourself. You need to clean your windows if you want your house to present well.

I recommend cleaning your windows at least twice a year. Most people clean their windows in the fall and spring. That said, if your windows are dirty in the winter or summer, you still need to clean them. Still, the spring and summer are the best times to clean your windows.

If you hire a window cleaning service, they will clean the outside of the windows first and then come in to clean the inside. They will also clean the borders and you can usually get them to take care of the screens for an extra fee.

Cleaning the lightbulbs in high ceilings or cleaning ceiling fans is not part of a normal window cleaning service. That said, as long as they are there with their ladders, I would recommend paying them to take care of those things, too.

If nothing else, I definitely recommend that you have them clean your window screens. Bugs and spiders like to hang out in screens, so they can be particularly dirty.

If you are interested in hiring a window cleaning service, I recommend Israel from Premier Window Cleaning. You can give him a call at 208-226-5197 or check out PWCIdaho.com for more information. Israel is an honest guy who will do a good job without overcharging you.

I think cleaning the windows is an absolute must before you put your home on the market. In fact, you should get them cleaned before the professional photographer comes out to take pictures of your home.

If you have any other questions about preparing your home for the market or about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

The Best Updates To Sell Your Northern Idaho Home

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Buying a Northern Idaho Home? Search all Homes for Sale
Selling a Northern Idaho Home? Check out our FREE Home Value Report

When you sell your home, there are certain updates you can make in order to get top dollar.

1. Spruce up the deck. Make sure all the nails are hammered in.

2. Paint! If there are any chips on the door, sand them down and paint the door. Make sure the trim on the outside of the house looks good and paint the inside of your home in neutral colors. Painting won’t cost you much, especially if you do it yourself.

3. Clean up the landscaping. You want your yard to look nice, so throw in a few dollars for new flowers or shrubs. Scrape the moss off the roof and clean the windows. While you’re at it, clean the inside of your home, too.

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Painting will make your home look brand new.

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4. Replace the hardware. Get new doorknobs, hinges, and handles. Get rid of that old brass look and bring in something modern.

5. Get new window coverings. While the window coverings you made might suit your needs, they might not appeal to sellers. In fact, a lot of the complaints we receive from buyers are about old-fashioned window coverings that date the house. Take down old window coverings and put up some modern ones.

If you have any questions about preparing your home to sell for top dollar or about the real estate market in general, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

            

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