HomeGain.com recently conducted its third nationwide home improvement and home staging Home Sale Maximizer™ survey (previously conducted in 2003 and 2007) to reveal the top 12 low cost*, do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvements for people getting their home ready to sell.

Nearly 1,000 REALTORS® responded to the survey. (See complete survey results)

Referring to the charts below, the top home improvement per region by return on investment (ROI) is:

• Home Staging (West and South)
• Clean and Declutter (East and Mid-West)

Lightening and Brightening is the 2nd most popular home improvement project in all regions that Realtors recommend to home sellers, except for in the Mid-West, where Landscaping takes 2nd place.

By price increase, the top home improvements are:

• West: Updating Kitchen and Home Staging (Tie for $2,500 each average home price increase)
• East: Updating Kitchen (average of $3,500 price increase) followed by Painting Interior Walls and Painting Outside of Home (Tie for $2,500 each in average price increase)
• South and Mid-West: Updating the Kitchen (average of $2,500 price increase)

The top most recommended home improvement Realtors advise their seller clients are:

• West and East: Clean and Declutter (98%)
• South: Clean and Declutter, Lighten and Brighten, Replace or Shampoo Carpets (all tie with 98% recommendations)
• Mid-West: Paint Interior Walls and Replace or Shampoo Carpets (both tie with 99% recommendations)

Complete Regional results are as follows:

Continue reading this post

All of us are fully aware of the recent changes in the appraisal industry.  Another victim of yesterday’s market, there is now a “hands off” message that lenders take very seriously.

What I have observed is that the bigger the lender, the more distance that exists between loan officers and appraisers.

For instance, it’s my understanding that Bank of America uses a third party company to set up appraisers…whereas some of the more local lenders are able to “select” a pool of local appraisers thru whom they can rotate business.

As a listing agent, I have found that my input in this new climate is crucial.  My job is not to influence, but to educate.

In a couple of instances, I have opened the door for appraisers who were clearly outside of their geographical comfort zone and the information and comps I have provided were important in verifying a clear market value.

A recent experience clearly confirmed the need for listing agents to meet with appraisers.  The names, location, and exact pricing have been changed to protect the innocent…but, otherwise, this is a 100% true story.

In September, I received an offer on a condo that was listed for $1.45 million in Georgetown (three cheers for Georgetown, right? But that’s another story of market holding strong).  After a round of negotiation, the seller accepted an offer for $1.375 million.  The lender for the buyer was a large, national company.

Although I asked the buyer’s agent to let me know when the appraisal was scheduled, the lender did not  keep either of us in the loop (perhaps he couldn’t…because he, too, was not in the loop) and, because the building had a concierge, the appraiser did his on site inspection without giving me notice. Continue reading this post

The real estate market in Atlanta appears to be following the upswing many of have heard about on the news recently and it’s high time we spread the word! For the first time in years, parts of Atlanta have seen price increases and sales volume increases. This is particularly true for resale homes and those homes in the traditionally more popular areas on the north side of the city.

As I write this, home sales in Atlanta under $200,000 for the month of July are 2,547 solds vs. 2,390 sold in July of 2008. This is a significant statistic because, we will have more sales than last year for the second month in a row and this also represents the single largest segment of homes for sale in Atlanta broken down by price point.

In June, which is traditionally the highest monthly sold numbers, 2009 sales at this price point far outpaced what we saw in 2008. This year there were 2,679 sales vs. 2344 in 2008. This is a 14% increase in volume. In the popular northern suburbs, this has turned to a seller’s market with only 3 or 4 months of inventory available to purchase in many cases.

The significance of the year over year sales increase at this price point cannot be overstated. Since this represents 60% of total sales and represents 43% of all homes listed for sale, year over year increases represents more than just a small tick in an otherwise bleak market.

This represents a turning point.

When this is combined with 6 consecutive months where inventory levels have declined and 4 consecutive months where the average home price has increased and we find ourselves wondering whether or not we have actually seen the bottom in the overall real estate market. Continue reading this post

The market in Columbus Ga MLS is typical of markets all across the country.  Sales are down.  That said, our economy is more stable than most and for this reason we have not seen the dramatic drop in home prices.

Homes priced right and well maintained are still selling quickly.  Homes with any problems or that are overpriced are being overlooked.

Here is a snapshot of 2008 vs. 2009 :

• Home prices are down about 4%
• Total Homes sold are down 21%
• Home sales in the $100K to $200K level are only down 17.5%
• Home sales in the $200K to $300K price level are down 35%
• Home sales in the $300K to $450K price level are down 22%
• Home sales in the $450K and up price level are down 27%

New home sales and foreclosures account for a large portion of the sales in the Columbus GA/Phenix City home market this year.  The normal resale homes are the ones really staying on the market.

So, it is very important for resale clients to price their homes aggressively and to have their homes in pristine condition when they go on the market!

Wayne will be hosting a session titled “Prospecting, Proposals, Pipeline: AgentEvaluator” at HomeGain Live Nation in San Francisco on August 3rd at 2pm. Twitter it #homegainnation.

Find more Regional Updates here.

Click to learn more about Columbus Georgia Real Estate and Columbus home prices.

Click to search Columbus homes for sale.

The Brooklyn New York real estate market has been really picking up over the past two months.

As an example, I want to tell you about a listing appointment I went on several weeks ago. The owner of the house passed away and left the home to her son who lives in Texas. The son called me and invited me over to give them an estimate as to how much the home is worth and to consider hiring me to represent him with the sale of the same.

Upon viewing the house I expressed to them that in my opinion the home was worth between $500,000 to $525,000. When I told him this his jaw dropped and I asked them “why do you have that look on your face?” To which he explained to me the following…

“I had a neighbor approach me as I was cleaning out the house inquiring if I was going to be selling it. I told him I was to which he responded that he would like to buy it. I asked him how much he would pay me and he states $350,000. I thought that was a great offer because in San Antonio Texas those kind of numbers buy you a mansion and my Mom’s house as you can see is small, fully attached and in dire need of major repair work. So I accepted the offer and my lawyer sent contracts to that buyer. Instead of signing the contracts, the buyer started to play games and wanted changes to the contract that my lawyer would not accept. Continue reading this post

While we’re in an expected seasonally increased sales period, market activity for existing home sales for the Denver real estate market shows signs of continued strength.  Sales volume on pending contracts and sold properties has trended up for several months now. In a recent national survey, Denver was nominated to be the top of 20 cities per the S&P/Case-Shiller® Home Price Indices and number one of the top housing markets on the rebound as announced on MSNBC Today.

Combined residential sales volume, for May, including single-family homes, townhomes, condos and lofts was 3,628 properties, up 7.02% % from April’s volume 3,390. Temper this with the fact that sales are still down 22.21% from May of 2008, per Metrolist Inc., Denver’s Multiple Listing Service.

There were 5,343 homes under contract last month. This includes 4,301 single-family homes and 1,042 condos and townhouses. This is an overall increase of 3.09% from April, but down 15.7% from year-prior last May. Single family homes contracts are up 3.56% while condo and townhomes are up 1.17%.

In May, the Denver MLS had 20,734 homes for sale, an increase of .14% from the prior month, down 21.26% from the same time last year. The average home sales price was $243,022, an increase of 4.09% from last months average price $233,482, down 5.05% from a year ago, $255,944. Continue reading this post