It’s a few hours early, but Happy New Year!

Where did 2011 go??

Best wishes in 2012!

Earlier this year, I got a call from a frustrated seller. He had just decided to fire his listing agent and had been referred to me.

“I don’t want to make the same mistake I made when I hired my first agent,” he said. “So, would you be willing to meet with me to see my condo, tell me what you think it’s worth and let me know how you would market it?”

Overpriced + Pre-sale Purchase 7 years ago = “Uh Oh”…

I agreed to meet him the following day because of the seasonal market’s time sensitivity and my desire to get the property on the market asap, if selected to work with him. I warned him that I wouldn’t have time to do a lot of research before our meeting. I pulled the listing history and tax records, and I didn’t like the math…nor the methods.

It Was A Crescendo Of Agent Ineptitude:

Perhaps the previous agent was “nostalgic” or simply “lost track of time”, but he decided to price the unit at it’s original (pre-sale) purchaser price, which went back to early 2006. Needless to say, by the time I came into the picture, it had been on the market for a while…you know the drill.

When Ineptitude Flirts With Negligence:

As was clear in the listing history (but I had hoped was a mistake), the listing “agent” initially “marketed” (terms used here extremely loosely) his property for almost $100k more than the owner had paid for it at the height of the market!! No upgrades, nor additions after the original purchase….I still can’t even begin to fathom where that number came from .

The sad truth was obvious. The seller lived in a penthouse unit in an area of the close-in DC suburbs where many condos were in short sale or foreclosure situations. And this development was no different.

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From everyone at HomeGain, we wish you a safe and happy holiday!

Fifity-three percent of Arizona Real Estate Professionals think home prices will stay the same over the next six months; Forty-nine percent of home owners think home prices will decrease

Last month, HomeGain, the first company to provide free instant home valuations online, released the results of our fourth quarter 2011 nationwide home values survey of over 400 HomeGain current and former members and 2,000 home owners. The survey asked their opinions on home prices and what they thought of President Obama’s performance as President.

On this real estate blog we published the 4th quarter 2011 national results as well as the complete 4th quarter 2011 regional results, including commentary from real estate agents and brokers. Earlier this month we released the California 4th quarter 2011 home values survey data and the Florida 4th quarter 2011 home values survey data, the 2nd quarter 2011 Texas home prices survey data, the 4th quarter 2011 New York home prices survey data, the 4th quarter 2011 New Jersey home values survey data, and the Illinois 4th quarter 2011 home values survey data.

Today we are also releasing the Arizona home values survey.

Set forth below is the fourth quarter 2011 real estate professional and home owner Arizona home prices survey data along with the third quarter 2011 real estate professional survey data and the fourth quarter 2010 national home prices survey data: (click on each question to see complete results):

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 think Barack Obama is performing in his role as President?
11. If the Presidential election were held today, who would you vote for?

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Sixty-seven percent of New Jersey Real Estate Professionals expect home values to stay the same in the next six months

Last month, HomeGain, the first company to provide free instant home valuations online, released the results of our third quarter 2011 nationwide home values surveyof over 400 HomeGain current and former members and 2,000 home owners. The survey asked their opinions on home prices and what they thought of President Obama’s performance as President. On this real estate blog we published the 4th quarter 2011 national results as well as the complete 4th quarter 2011 regional results, including commentary from real estate agents and brokers.

Earlier this month we released the California 4th quarter 2011 home values survey data and the Florida 4th quarter 2011 home values survey data, the 4th quarter 2011 Texas home prices survey data, the 4th quarter 2011 New York home prices survey data. In the coming days we will be releasing home values survey data from Illinois, Arizona, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and other states.

Today we are publishing the New Jersey home prices survey data.

Set forth below is the fourth quarter 2011 real estate professional and home owner New Jersey home prices survey data along with the third quarter 2011 national home prices survey data and the fourth quarter 2010 real estate professional survey data: (click on each question to see complete results):

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 think Barack Obama is performing in his role as President?
11. If the Presidential election were today, who would you select for President?

Continue reading this post