It’s Friday evening and there’s a dusting of snow on the ground in Bethesda. The Washington, DC area is supposed to get up to 20 inches over the next 24 to 36 hours, which would be a record snowfall.  I’ve already canceled the 4 showings in Virginia for tomorrow.  Most were new houses and — even if we could safely get there –  no one was willing to promise that driveways and walkways would be shoveled or plowed.

I’m hoping that the roads will be clear enough so that I can get out for the two scheduled showings that I have on Sunday.  The tenacity of many buyers here — despite the elements — reminds me how and why the holiday season can be a fruitful time for home sales.

Motivated Anyone?….

Home buyers who are asking to see homes in the last couple weeks of December with 2 feet of snow on the ground, aren’t going out for “fun” — unless they’re skiing from house to house in Vail or Beaver Creek

In DC and much of the country?  Very few are going to be taking the roads for information gathering.  No, the majority of holiday buyers (at least in my experience) have done their research, and are “pushing on” because they need to buy a home.

And for those who don’t have to brave the elements this time of year (Sarasota, Florida, Austin, Texas…), there are still other commitments of the season.  And those who need/want to sacrifice some of this time are equally committed to the process.

Where Did The Sellers Go? Continue reading this post

Last Thursday, HomeGain, the first company to provide free instant home valuations online, released the national and regional results of our fourth quarter home prices survey of nearly 1000 HomeGain current and former members. The survey asked their opinions on home values and what they thought of President Obama’s performance as President so far. On the HomeGain real estate blog we published the full survey results, including Realtor commentary and charts.  Also last week, we published the results of the fourth quarter Texas home prices, Florida home prices,  New York home prices, New Jersey home prices,  California home prices , Illinois home prices and Georgia  home prices survey results.

Earlier this week we released the Pennsylvania home prices and Colorado home prices survey results. Today we released the Massachusetts home prices survey results.

Today we are also releasing the results of the Arizona home prices survey.

Arizona is one of the states that has experieced the greatest depreciation in home prices in recent years. The values of Phoenix homes for sale have fallen fifty percent since 2006. Conditions in Arizona appear to be improving. In the 2009 second quarter survey 61% of Arizona agents and brokers thought home prices in their state would decrease vs. just 16% in the curent survey.

Six months ago according to our 2nd quarter Arizona home prices survey, 24% of Arizona Realtors expected home prices to rise in the next six months vs. just 11% of Realtors who expected an increase in home values in the first quarter survey. Twenty-eight percent of Arizona Realtors surveyed in the third and fourth quarter surveys expected home prices to rise in the next six months. Forty-seven percent of Arizona agents and brokers expected prices to remain the same in the third quarter and 56% now believe home prices will stay the same over the next six months. (see question 6)

An increasing percentage of Arizona home buyers believe that homes are fairly priced with 51%  believing that homes are fairly priced vs. 39%  who so believed in the third quarter and 23% in the second quarter. Thirteen percent of  Arizona home buyers believe that homes are 10-20% overpriced, vs. 32% who so believed in the second quarter. (see question 3)

While Arizona home buyers think home prices are becoming more reasonable, Arizona home sellers continue to  believe their homes should be priced higher than their Realtors’ recommended listing price. Forty-six Arizona home sellers believe that their homes should be priced 10-20% higher than their Realtors’ recommended listing price down slightly from 50% who so believed in the third quarter and 35%  in the second quarter. (see question 2)

Arizona agents and brokers continue to give the President poor marks with 71% disapproving his performance as President. Sixty-four percent disapproved of  Obama’s performance as President in the third quarter with 58%  “strongly disapproving”. In the national survey 58% of Realtors disapproved of Obama’s performance. In the second quarter, 58% of Arizona Realtors somewhat approved or strongly approved of Obama’s performance as President vs. 57% of their national counterparts. (see question 10)

Set forth below is the first, second,  third and fourth quarter Arizona home values data with the national data in parenthesis:

1. Have home prices increased, decreased or stayed the same in the last year?
2. On average, what do homeowners believe that their home is worth?
3. How do buyers feel that homes for sale are priced?
4. What is the average difference in price between what sellers believe their home to be worth and the amount at which the home gets listed?
5. What is the average difference in price between what a home is listed at and what a home sells for?
6. In the next six months, will the values of homes in your market increase, decrease or stay the same?
7. What percentage of homes for sale are foreclosures in your area?
8. What is the average home price in your area?
9. What percentage of your clients are first-time buyers?
10. How do you as a Realtor think Barack Obama is performing in his role as President?

Continue reading this post

Here’s my recipe for a Holiday Open House.  The goal is to celebrate the season in a warm, inviting home.  The holidays give a perfect opportunity to showcase a home.

Invitations

Invite the neighbors, as well as those folks who are looking for a new home.  You can reach prospective buyers by inviting agents you know who regularly represent buyers.  The invitations should mimic a Holiday card.  The Open House signs on the street should also be festive.  Unlike other Open Houses, have the homeowners in attendance.

Home Decor

Decorate the home with traditional holiday trimmings.  A Christmas tree adorned with beautiful ornaments and flickering lights makes an inviting focal point.  Place wreaths in the windows and on the doors.  Remove furniture to make the space larger.

A crackling fire (if there is a fireplace) gives off a romantic glow and creates a peaceful ambiance.  I’ve use color crystal color sticks and pine cones, which turn the flames green, red and blue– a wow factor.

Curb Appeal

Use flood lights to create dramatic effects.  Point them to the front door and other outdoor walls.  Uplight any trees nearby.  Or you can just have an electric candlelight in each window.  Stick with classic white lights– you don’t want the Coney Island effect with colored lights. Don’t go crazy with the blow up Grinch and Santa Sleigh. Continue reading this post

Last week we met with Realtor® survey respondents and members of the press to discuss the results of the Q4 Home Prices Survey of Realtors on HomeGain Radio.

Thanks to the 20+ Realtors and members of the press for their participation!

If you didn’t have a chance to attend, listen to the 30-minute real estate press call here:

News coverage of the December Home Prices Survey includes: Boston Globe, Real Estate Economy Watch, UPI, Dallas Dirt, RISMedia, Epoch Times, Inman News, Sellsius Blog, DS Magazine, Housing One Magazine, OC Metro Magazine, Staten Island Real Estate News and many more. Read all news stories

Interested in receiving the PPT presentation and video? Find it on HomeGain Webex under “Recorded Sessions”.

Listen to more press calls

On the call from HomeGain.com: Jessica Gopalakrishnan, Peter McCullough, Matt Malmgrem and Louis Cammarosano