Peggy Chirico ~ Hartford & Tolland County Real Estate Blog

Should I Put My House on the Market During the Holidays?

Every year, right around Thanksgiving, I am asked the same question:  Should I put my house on the market during the holidays?  Actually, people usually say something more like:  Now isn't the best time to put my house on the market, is it?

Of course, sellers have already assumed that the holiday season is NOT a good time to try to sell their homes, and they are looking for agreement from me.  I don't agree with them, and here is why:

Less Competition

Many people don't want to be bothered with showings around the holidays so they take their homes off the market.  As a result, inventory levels drop.  So if you do decide to sell, you will have less competition.

Relocations in the New Year

People accept new jobs starting right after the first of the year, and they will need to find housing before hand.  Those who transfer into an area must get settled, and that often means that they will be out looking at houses during the holidays.  They could be looking at yours.

Serious Buyers

Casual buyers and career lookers suspend their viewing activity during the holiday season, so the buyers who are out there are more serious.  You may not get as many showings, but those who do schedule a showing are more serious.  They are looking because they have to.

Holiday Ambience

Everyone knows that people buy the house they can see themselves living in--in other words, they buy a home.  Nothing makes a house seem more like a home than tasteful holiday decorations.  Soft lighting, holiday fragrances, and beautiful decor will help them envision themselves there for the next holiday.  Sellers can take advantage of the nostalgia during the holiday season.

Flexibility in Showings

Many sellers are worried that someone will want to see their home when they have a holiday gathering planned.  Buyers and their agents know that holidays can be busy times in general,  and they tend to be more flexible about showings.  Sellers should know that it is OK to work with buyers' agents to schedule a showing that isn't disruptive. 

Avoiding the Spring Rush

Spring is, hands down, the most popular time to list a home.  Those who choose to put their homes on the market now will beat the spring rush.  Inventory levels are high in the spring, competition is fierce, and the lookers come out in droves to check out landscaping ideas.  You will avoid all that if you put your home on the market during the holidays.

Of course, now is not the time for everyone to list, but if you need to sell now, don't be fearful of putting your home on the market during the holidays.  The holidays offer some great advantages.  People do buy homes during the holidays, and yours may just be one of them.

Selling Your Home in the Winter?  Play Up These Features

Have you been thinking about putting your home on the market this winter?  Maybe you have to sell now; maybe you want to beat the spring rush.  If you live in the colder climates, you know that winter is a challenging time to sell a house.  And if you have experienced our recent freak October snowstorm that brought thousands of homeowners to their knees with massive power outages, you are painfully aware that it won't be easy to make someone fall in love with your house in the winter.

But, if you are thinking about putting your home on the market this winter, you can improve your chances of luring buyers by playing up the features everyone will appreciate--especially after the last snow storm.

Whole House Generator:  With more than 800,000 people out of electricity, a whole house generator will appeal to anyone who had to endure loss of power.  People who are relocating to Connecticut may be particularly fearful of being at the mercy of Mother Nature.  A whole-house generator will ease their fears; however, any type of generator will be appreciated.

Fireplace:  Fireplaces have long been seen as romantic, but when the power goes out, they become life-saving.  Whether it's a woodburning fireplace or a gas fireplace, a fireplace as a heat source will allow a certain degree of comfort in extreme conditions.  Gas fireplaces have an extra advantage in that they burn cleaner than wood fireplaces and may be more energy efficient.

Underground Utilities:  While this won't prevent all power outages, underground utilities will improve the chances that your home will be operational when power is restored to the area. 

Gas Stove:  Again, gas stoves have long been in demand, but they become even more desireable in areas that are prone to power outages.  They are not just for gourmet cooks; you will be able to cook whatever is in your freezer before it spoils in a power outage.  And with a stove top coffee maker, you will be sure to have your favorite beverage available.

Extra Insulation:  Houses that hold heat better have an advantage during a power outage.  Your fireplace will keep the indoor space warmer longer if the warm air is not escaping through the walls.

Energy-Efficient Windows:  New windows will be more energy efficient than older windows because of new technology.  However, insulating correctly around the windows is just as critical in keeping heat from escaping.

Public Water:  As anyone with a well will tell you, when the power goes out so does your water supply.  Without water, you are not able to boil water, fill the dog's bowl, or flush the toilets.  When the power goes out, people with public water will still have this vital resource.

Gas Water Heater:  If you have public water and a gas water heater, you can still wash dishes, take a shower, etc.  Big plusses during a power outage.

Snow Blower:  If you are thinking of making the move to warmer climates, you might want to entice buyers by including your super-duper snow blower as a package deal with the house.  Snow will fall; minimize the effects by providing an easy way to remove it.

If you are thinking about putting your house on the market this winter, focus on these features to improve your chances of selling.  If you don't have any of the features listed, you might want to consider installing some of these to make your home more attractive to potential buyers.

Remember, people still have this storm on their minds and they will want to have their fears allayed.  Do whatever you can to lessen their fears, and you will have your home sold before the next snow storm.

Advice for Sellers:  The One Question You Must Ask Your REALTOR®

If you are thinking about putting your home on the market (or maybe you already have your home on the market), there is one question you must ask your REALTOR® or any agents that you are interviewing for the job:

What do you think my home will sell for?

Notice I didn't say,"What should I list my house for?" but "How much will it sell for?"  You will get (hopefully) an honest opinion of the most likely price for your house.  It may not be what you want to hear, but you will be saving yourself a lot of grief and aggravation in the process if you approach it from a realistic viewpoint.    A REALTOR® who knows your market will have a good idea of what you will get for your house, and that's where you should list your house. 

Why? The greatest disservice an agent can do is to lead you with false hope in order to get the listing.  When you price your home over market value, you will not sell it,  you run the risk of having no one look at it, and the listing will expire unsold unless you price it correctly.

"Well," you say, "let's start high and leave room for negotiation."  You won't get to negotiation because you won't have a contract, and you won't have a contract because people won't even look at your house.  It's better to start with a realistic price to get buyers in the door.

"But," you say, "someone can always make an offer and we will consider where to go from there." WRONG! By overpricing your house, buyers are already thinking you are inflexible.  Some may take the bait, but most will move on to something they can afford from the get-go.  In addition, when your home is overpriced, it will stay on the MLS a long time; the longer the time, the more stigma it will amass.  The first thing people will say after seeing that it has been languishing on the market for six months is "What's wrong with the house?"

"We can't afford to sell it for less than this amount," you say, "so we will have to hope that there is someone out there who will pay what we want for this house."  This is so unlikely, but even if one person HAD to have your house and was willing to overpay for it, the house won't appraise and then you will have the appraisal nail in the coffin.  The buyers (who HAD to have it) are now going to renegotiate the contract.

"Well," you say, "if it doesn't sell, we will just take it off the market and try again next year."  If you aren't serious about selling your house this year at the right price, then wait until you are serious about selling your house.  Many of our market areas have high inventories now, and the situation will improve if the non-serious sellers take their homes off the market.

Only you can decide if you are ready to sell, but if you are, price your house to sell.  Find a REALTOR® who knows your area, will give you an honest answer about the market value of your home, and will do everything possible to help you get to the next step in your life.  You will be on your way, sooner rather than later or never.

You Have Stainless Steel Appliances ~ Big Deal!

Over the weekend, I showed three houses to potential buyers and the third one was the one that prompted this blog.  The MLS listing sheet proclaimed that there were new stainless steel appliances and the pictures of them were prominently displayed. After the showing of this house, all we could say was "Big Deal!"

In some cases, stainless steel appliances are the icing on the already delicious cake.  Buyers do like stainless steel appliances, and when they see new shiny appliances they know that there will be one less thing they have to spend money on.   If the home is in top-notch shape, stainless steel is an added bonus that can tip the scales to encouraging a sale. 

However, in the third house I showed over the weekend, there were so many eyesores to the property that stainless steel appliances couldn't possibly make up for.  For example, there was moulding that wasn't completed, the floorplan was choppy, the bathrooms were outdated, the wallpaper was falling down, etc.  You get my drift.

No amount of shine from those shiny new stainless steel appliances will blind buyers to the things that weren't fixed.  Before spending money on new appliances, sellers need to tackle the real problems that buyers will see and not try to blind them with new appliances. 

Advice for Sellers ~ Take Pictures of Your Yard Now!

If you are thinking of putting your home on the market next year (yes, some people think that far in advance), you MUST take pictures of your yard now! 

I have recently talked to several potential clients who are thinking that they will be putting their homes on the market next spring.  They are spending the time (wisely) to do everything they can to get their homes in tiptop shape so they can get the most money for their home in the least amount of time. 

One of the things I always tell them is "Take Pictures of Your Yard Now!"  Next March when you finally list your home, your yard will be waking up from its winter sleep.  Nothing will be in bloom yet and buyers won't know how beautiful your yard can be.  Give them an idea of what it looks like at its most beautiful by leaving pictures for potential buyers.

The weather has been stellar here lately, and your yard is probably at its peak.  The sky is bright blue, the grass is green, your flowers are in bloom, the entertaining areas are all decked out, and if you have a pool it's looking very refreshing right about now.

Don't wait until next spring to take pictures of your yard.  Show potential buyers your home and yard in its best light by taking pictures now! 

I'm not going to give my house away!

If I had a dollar for every time a potential seller told me that, I'd have my own island in the Caribbean by now!   But after hearing it so often, I began to wonder what was behind it.  After all, for every seller who wasn't going to give his house away, there was a seller who paid attention to market data, priced his home accordingly, and accepted a reasonable offer.  So what's the difference?

Sure, some sellers are just unreasonable and unmotivated. They say things like:

• I don't have to sell now!
• I just want to test the waters.
• Let's price it high and see what happens.
• You couldn't build this house for twice the amount I'm selling it for!

But with others you get a sense that there is an emotional attachment that is preventing them from selling. So no matter what the market says or what you tell them, they are going to overprice their homes--and hope that they get no buyers or that they get a price so high that they can move on.

Why?  I don't have the answers but I have thought about it a lot.  Here are a few reasons that I think this happens:

Reason #1:  They have too much of an emotional attachment to their house.

An emotional attachment may occur in several forms.  It may be a family home where children were born and raised; it might be that the owner built the house or put too much sweat equity into every renovation.  The owners may have such an attachment to the house that they can't ever picture someone else living in "their home."  They may need to downsize but leaving their home causes so much anxiety that even if they look at smaller houses, they will never find one that will be better than the one they are currently living in.

Potential Solutions:  My experience has shown that, until the owners see the downside of their current situation, they will have a hard time moving on.  They need to see that another lifestyle, another state, another type of living situation is better.  Whether it is warmer weather drawing them or the fact that someone else will take care of the yard or that they will be able to travel more or they will be closer to family, there must be something that is attracting them more than where they are right now.  Once they realize that, they will be more likely to let their house go.  

Reason #2: There is pain associated with the sale.

This is similar to Reason #1except that it is driven by not being able to accept something that has already occurred. Sometimes people associate a house with a  past life that they no longer have and the house is the only way (in their minds) for them to hang on to it.  For example, if a divorce occurred and one person is not willing to accept it, he may see the house as a symbol of a marriage he still wants.  Or he hopes that she will return because she also feels an emotional attachment to the house.  As long as he thinks that they may get back together again (even though the divorce is finalized), he will have no motivation to price it to sell. 

Potential Solutions:  Until a person is willing or able to move to the next stage in his life, it will be very difficult to convince him to price the house to sell.  He will be an unmotivated seller and it may be better to just stay in touch until the situation changes.

Reason #3:  They owe too much on the house to realize any gain if they sell at a lower price. 

We have been indoctrinated to believe that real estate is an investment, and when we don't see the gains we expected, it just doesn't sit well.  These people are holding out for a high price just so they can sell the house, pay closing costs, and either break out even or pay out only a small amount.

I'm not talking here about people who have to do a short sale; those people have already come to grips with reality and are working toward a solution.  The people who fall into this category have not accepted that they won't make any money on their investment and are hoping against hope that someone will want to buy their house at an above-market price.

Potential Solutions: They can either wait it out and hope that the market recovers, or they can sell and buy in the same market.  They could find another property that has better potential for appreciation or a property that offers lower taxes, lower mortgage payments, or more amenities for their money.  If it truly is a short sale, they need resources and advice on how to successfully sell it for less than they owe on it.  But if they are just wanting to make money on their investment, they have to realize that no one is going to overpay for a house.

Of course, there are many reasons that a person will want to overprice their house; some people are simply not realistic, don't really need to sell their house, or are just testing the waters.  But others are not emotionally ready to sell and may be using overpricing as a way to sabotage a potential sale.  Are their any easy solutions? Probably not, but sometimes it helps if we can understand the reasons behind their unrealistic price. 

How to Sell Your Home in Ten Days

This home had been listed for one week when we received two offers on it, one of which the sellers accepted.  I have also had listings that have sat on the market for much longer before they have sold.  What's the difference?

We have been in a tough real estate market: lots of inventory, high absorption rates, choosy buyers, job security woes.  But the upside is that there are great houses on the market, lots to choose from, and really great interest rates.

So was there anything different about this house that made it sell so fast? Yes!  The owners did everything they could to present their home in the best possible light.  Here are some suggestions if you want to sell your home fast:

1.  Do the upgrades now.   

The owners knew that they would eventually be moving so the began early to make all the improvements they felt they needed to do to sell their home.  All the mechanicals were replaced, central air was installed, the windows and roof were replaced, and the interior was changed to appeal to today's buyers.  They installed new hardwood floors, used designer paint colors, decluttered and depersonalized, and bought a few new pieces of furniture for that model-home look. 

You don't have to spend a lot of money to improve your home; there are several low-cost improvements that anyone can undertake.

2.  Be ready for every showing.

The owners established a routine of keeping the home clean and in show-ready condition.  Every showing was an A+ because they used a few quick tricks to keep their home in show-ready shape.  Granted, they do not have young children and that made it much easier, but they do have a dog that does a lot of shedding.  Everyone has challenges, and homeowners have to figure out how to manage those.  If you have small children, storage will be key so that you can quickly tidy up before showings.

3.  Make showings as easy as possible.

The homeowners made sure that they were reachable at all times.  They always had their cell phones on and let me know if they were going to be away at any time.  They cheerfully packed up the dog as quickly as possible if there was a last minute showing, and, as was mentioned above, they prepared the home every morning in case there might be a showing that day.  The agents who showed the house always mentioned how appreciative they were that showings were not a hassle.

4.  Price your home competitively.

This home had been on the market before at a much higher price, and it did not sell.  There were quite a few showings, all with positive feedback, but there were no offers because it was priced too high for the market.  This time around, however, the homeowners took a very realistic look at the market statistics and at their goals.  Their objective was to sell before a certain time and they agreed on a price that would accomplish that.  Many homeowners feel that they don't have to sell, and so they "take a stab at it" with a price that is too high.  Most of the time, they won't sell at that price and will set the right price when they decide that they do have to sell.  Taking a "see what happens" approach to selling a house will not produce the desired results.

If you are thinking of putting your home on the market and would like a quick sale, consider doing some of the things these homeowners did.  You too may be able to sell your home in 10 days.

It's easy to give advice, but it's not so easy to take it!

As Realtors, we often give out advice so that people can sell their homes more quickly and for more money.  We advise people to de-clutter, clean, and make repairs before putting their homes on the market.  We advise them to remove personal items, paint in buyer-friendly colors, and rearrange or store their furniture to appeal to buyers.  When they finally do receive offers on their house, we advise them to put their emotions (once again) on the back burner and think in terms of their goals.   

But what if you were on the receiving end of all that advice?  I had a dose of being on the receiving end of my own advice this past week when I seriously considered moving.  I had spent another week in warmer climates and started looking at properties.  When I found one I could absolutely see myself living in, I went to the next step of asking myself what I would need to do to make it happen.  Of course, this probably isn't going to take place any time soon, but I did go through the exercise, which is the closest I have ever come to actually picturing myself moving out of the house I have been in for 35 YEARS!!!

All of a sudden, I could feel the angst that some of my clients have felt.  Although there is the attraction of taking the next step, there is the stomach-churning reality of cleaning, decluttering, repairing, painting, and discarding years of junk that has been so easily stored in the attic!

Where do I start? I made up a list and will just have to tackle each task one step at a time.  I can't imagine every getting to the end of the list, but in the meantime, I have a whole new appreciation for what sellers have to go through!

Don't leave room for negotiation!

Many sellers feel that they have to leave room for negotiation in pricing their homes, and so want to price their homes higher than they should be listed.  Joe Manausa of Tallahassee FL has written an excellent post and video which makes so much sense that any seller will understand the rationale for not leaving room for negotiation.  This is required reading/viewing for homesellers and listing agents.

Should I put my home on the market now or should I wait until spring?

I am often asked this question by sellers who think it would be better to wait until spring to sell their homes.

Of course, here in Connecticut, they have valid concerns about putting their home on the market in the winter.  The main concern that people have is that their home won't show as well in the winter as it will in the spring.  This is true, unless you are using the snow to hide your home's imperfections.

They are also concerned that there aren't as many buyers in the winter as there are in the spring.  This is true as well.  However the buyers who are looking now tend to be more serious about buying a house.  Why else would people go out in the cold freezing weather if they didn't have to?  They need to find a house.  January is also a major time for job relocation, so they will be out trying to find their new home.

And finally, homeowners are concerned that the spring market is simply better--more inventory, more buyers, more homes sold.  This is also true.  The spring market is a very active time here in Connecticut, but that can also have a downside.  Because more people wait until spring, there is a lot of competition.  Because buyers have a lot of inventory to choose from, their decisions are harder, and they may look at many more houses before they feel comfortable making a decision.  And not all buyers really want to buy.  Some just want to look, test the waters, get new ideas for their homes, etc.  Open houses in the spring are usually well-attended for these very reasons.

So should you put your home on the market now or should you wait until spring? Only you can decide whether you should put your home on the market now or wait until spring.  But if you do decide that you want to list your home, you can have an advantage by listing it in the winter.  There are fewer buyers, but they are more serious buyers.  There is also less competition, so if your home is priced well, it may be the most attractive option out there for the serious buyers.

If you decide to put your home on the market now, make sure that you do everything possible to compensate for the negative impact of the weather.  With icicles dripping from the roof and snow covering the roof, landscaping, driveway, and sidewalks, it is harder for people to really see all that your home has to offer.  But there are things you can do to show your home off to its best advantage.

Ways to Show Off Your Home in the Winter

• Make sure that the driveway and sidewalks are well-shoveled; turn on all outdoor lighting early if you have a late afternoon showing.
• Provide an extra mat for people to wipe their boots, and make sure the entry way is welcoming.
• Keep your home well-lit, clean, warm, and free of clutter so it will seem like a respite from the cold.
• Show off the fireplace if you have one.  If you don't want to light a fire, you can use battery-operated candles to cast a nice glow.  If you have a gas fireplace, turn it on.
• Find a room freshener that smells like apple pie. 
• Add a new throw, a coffee cup, and some books to a reading nook so people can picture themselves curling up to read.
• Post pictures of your beautiful gardens and landscaping as they appear in the spring.  Also have information on all the exterior aspects that they can't see, such as when your new driveway was installed, when you replaced your roof and your central air conditioning system, etc.
• Considering offering a home warranty so the new buyers will have more confidence with those elements that they can't see or test.