The Importance of Staging

I've been doing a little research in our office, to try to determine the factors that make some properties fly off the shelf, while others linger.  Price is, of course, the biggest determinant, and location follows at a close second place.  Sometimes, though, it's hard to judge why a house in a desirable location doesn't sell as quickly as another.

That's where it comes down to presentation.  Homes that have "curb appeal", and where buyers can imagine living, sell faster than homes that lack those qualities.  In many cases, that's where staging comes in.  All staging means is that you and your Realtor, with or without using a professional stager, put your house in the best condition to attract buyers.  Decluttering is the most important component of that, of course, since all houses look better--and bigger--when they contain fewer belongings.

Beyond that first step, making the house look neutral is the next most important factor.  To achieve that, stagers will often move out furniture, and replace it with their own, to make the rooms look bigger, cleaner, and less clearly belonging to someone of a given age group.  All buyers have to be able to see their own possessions fitting in well, and even to be able to imagine what work could easily be done to achieve their own particular objectives.  Maybe that involves redoing the kitchen, but it could also be moving walls, changing traffic patterns, or adding on.  Very few people can project what those changes will look like, unless the bones of the house are readily apparent.

We're about to start filming some "before and after" videos, so that you can visualize the process and the results more clearly.  We want your home to show at its best, and to get the highest offer it can, in the shortest amount of time.  We hope that you are open to the possibilities for getting to that point, and we can help.

The First Two Weeks

There seems to be a persistent practice in real estate of "testing the market" with a price higher than what the agent believes that the property will bring at closing.  Sometimes there is an agreement that the price will be lowered after some stated period, often thirty days.  Agents often feel that sellers become wedded, however, to the original listing price, and forget completely that they were told that a lower price would be more in line with market expectations.

While testing the market might seem like a reasonable course of action, especially if there is a clear understanding up front that the price will be lowered in x days if not enough action, or an offer, is generated, those of us in the industry should know better. We now have access to all kinds of information that tells us who looks at a listing, when they search, and how (with what device).  We know popular hours, phrasing that captures attention, and click-through rates by property.  We can see whether they looked at it, saved it, forwarded it, or contacted us about it.  Administrators like me get a copy of every email inquiry sent to an agent on certain search engines and platforms.

And what do we know from all of that?  We know the power of the new.  Overwhelmingly, the greatest interest in a property comes in the first two weeks after it gets listed, whether it is commercial or residential, and no matter the price or location.  Some properties clearly generate more activity than others, but always get the most attention early.  Sometimes that is because prospective buyers have signed up for notification alerts, so that a new listing will show up in their emails.  Many times it is because the buyers themselves look on a regular basis, and click on anything that they haven't seen before.  The end result is the same:  They gravitate toward the newest entries.

So it's easy to see the problem with testing the market.  Your property gets the most exposure and the greatest number of views at the original price, which is higher than the agent, and perhaps even the seller, thinks is the true selling price.  Agents often talk about how much higher the likelihood is of securing a buyer in the first two weeks after the listing comes onto the market, but, in order to secure the listing, they also often sabotage that chance, by using the most useful marketing time to expose the property at the wrong price.

We know that buyers today know a lot, and often as much as agents or sellers, about the value of properties, through comparisons of available inventory, and market knowledge gained online and elsewhere.  They aren't going to overpay, and many aren't going to potentially waste their time making offers that will be refused.  They concentrate instead on properties that are listed at compelling prices, which suggest that they will sell quickly.  That motivates buyers to make speedy offers, at prices near, at, or above the listing price, especially if they see that there is a lot of activity at open houses, or with showings.  It's better to accept the reality that buyers know value, than to think that serving up higher-priced listings will change their minds about the correct price.

If there is one takeaway from this, it should be that sellers need to ask agents this question:  What price do you believe that my property will close for in the end?  Then list as close to that number as possible.  And enjoy the attention your property will receive.

The Greater New Haven Market Picks Up

Where were the buyers right after Labor Day?  We're not sure, but they are out now!  Open houses are busy, multiple offers have increased, and mortgage lenders are busy.  We've learned not to try too hard to predict what's going to happen in our market area, but we can certainly talk about what is happening, and we can certainly say that it is happening now.

This doesn't mean that everything is rosy--sorry to say.  Prices have continued to go down in many places, and still aren't back to 2008 levels in most parts of the State.   There is probably a good correlation, in fact, between low prices and high activity.  Especially if  you move here from another part of the country, a lot of our inventory looks like--and is--a bargain.  So sellers shouldn't expect that more traffic will mean higher offers.

As my father often said, "There is no tomorrow in real estate".  So I can't tell you that those buyers will still be out there next spring, or even next month.  Do what you have to do to get your property sold, and move on to the next stage of your life while you can.  It's good news that we have activity at this time of year, and it's better news if sellers take advantage of that to close transactions.

Finally, It's Fall

This morning was a stark contrast with yesterday, when it was 64 degrees at 6 AM.  Today, it was 37 degrees, and I went running with gloves and a jacket, for the first time this fall.  Starting yesterday afternoon, we saw fall blowing in--although we had one little taste of the season in the last week of August, so we shouldn't give up hope of some more warm weather just yet.

Cooler weather, though, makes people come inside.  The imminent end to Daylight Savings Time exacerbates that tendency.  What do they do indoors?  They look at real estate online, among other things, and the longer evenings indoors gives them more time to do it.  Once they look, they may start attending open houses, or scheduling showings.  It's only a few weeks until the shortest day of the year, when we can begin to anticipate spring again.

During October and November, though, buyers who look are more likely to buy, and to close quickly.  Sellers should therefore keep their homes decluttered, rake their leaves, and be reasonable on prices, so that they can be the ones to attract the fall buyers.  While some houses do sell in the dead of winter, these precious weeks of fall offer more chances to sell, and sellers should facilitate that wherever possible.

Let the crisp air invigorate you, and your real estate plans and dreams.  It's the perfect time to act!

Preparing Your Home to Show

Since we are in the busiest time of year, it's important to talk about getting your home ready for sale.  If you haven't started yet,  you are really behind the eight ball.  You need to have your home available when the most buyers are looking, and that can conflict with having everything done.  I remember selling a home where the floors needed to be polished, and the people doing it came a week later than they said, and then took longer.  I missed the window of one week, where all the cherry trees in front of the house were blooming, and I think in the end we got less and it took longer.  The moral of the story?  I should have started sooner.

I made another mistake, but maybe it wasn't one.  I didn't let someone in who couldn't wait until the home was ready.  In retrospect, an eager buyer may be too good to send away, even if your home isn't at its best.  That's for you to decide.  Basic decluttering can get done pretty quickly, if you are motivated, but moving furniture, painting, and repairs can take much longer.  Again? I should have started sooner, and so should you.  If you haven't, get a yard service and declutter, paint if you have time, and fix what's broken.

We are often asked whether to undertake major repairs, or change kitchens and bathrooms.  Generally, the answer is no.  You won't have the same taste as the buyers, and you may waste your money.  Only fix what's broken, just like the old adage.  Save your money, and lower the price instead.  Remember that the average seller is 57, and the average buyer is 42, so tastes won't be the same.  White walls are out, gray is in.  Granite is out, soapstone is in.  I could go on, but you get the idea.  Do what you can with what you have.  And don't overprice!

What the Data Tells Us about Real Estate Sales

We've been experiencing higher than normal volume on our website lately.  I know that's a message that you are used to hearing when you call in for customer service almost anywhere, but here it means something different.  It means that we can tell, from the analytics provided to us by our web provider and our Search Engine Management provider, that the usual uptick in site visits and searches began right after the holidays this year.  Usually we would see that rise begin in February or so, and that would translate into more traffic at open houses and more showings by the end of March. 


This year, all indications are that the spring market has already started.  And this despite all the snow!  While you might think (as I did) that bad weather and dark, cold nights would have people rushing to their computers to search for property, we can tell that the visits are coming during the day, and during the week, more than on the bitterly cold and messy weekends we've been having.  That would suggest that the traffic is normal, but early, as opposed to caused by boredom.


Our agents are reporting that showings are surprisingly robust for this time of year, and that open houses were strong, even on the traditionally slow Super Bowl Sunday (I've never understood why it takes all day, if you're not hosting a party, to get ready to watch a football game, but that's another blog topic...).  Inventory is down, and buyers are clearly eager to see new listings.  Many of the listings that have been on the market for a long time have been judged by buyers to be overpriced, or compromised in some way, so new offerings are highly prized.  Sellers take note!

Home for the Holidays

As the year winds down toward the holidays, I want to remind people that there's one last push left for the real estate market.  Although fewer people look for property during this season, those who do are generally very motivated.  And, while sellers often don't want to have their homes subject to showings near the holidays, the truth is that some homes never look better than when they are decorated for the season.  There is a weather factor, of course, and much less daylight, but the aroma of baked goods and a display of festive decorations will often do a lot to make a house seem like you want it to be your new home.

The same principle applies to the financing and closing side of a transaction.  Even though people generally miss more working days, and parties and vacations can slow down the wheels of commerce, there is usually a strong motivation to clean off desks at the end of the year, and fewer files that have to be processed.  The tax issues involved can often lend a sense of urgency also, since many times there is a big incentive to close in one year or the next, and many jobs that begin at the first of the new year.

So, before you stop reading the Open House section of the paper, and trolling the internet for interesting homes, take a long look at your goals, and think about whether you can accomplish in less time and with less competition (and maybe even for a lower price) what otherwise will be left until spring.  Maybe a new home is the best present of all!

Listing and Buying in the Shadow of Yale

In most national real estate publications, you will read that people buy in the spring and move in the summer. This is largely tied to the school calendar, and buyers want their children to get settled before the new school year starts.  If you back that up, the best time to list a property would therefore be late March or April.  That also coincides, in the Northeast, with better weather for open houses and showings in April and May.

There are some deviations from that, even in our area.  For example, Branford has a big supply of condos, and only 1 in 30 units sends a child to the public schools.  Thanks in large part to the big proportion of condos, there is a relatively smaller pool of single-family homes, and so a lower percentage of spring sales and summer closings. Since condos are often investment properties, and since investments are influenced heavily by tax considerations, we see a jump in condo closings in the last quarter of the year, in part for tax reasons, and partially just because there isn't a school-based reason to prefer summer.

Yale is, of course, the region's biggest employer.  Therefore, the Yale calendar is very important in the decision of when to buy and sell, especially in New Haven and closely contiguous towns.  While offers are made to new employees year-round, and while promotions and local hires can occur at any time, we see a big uptick after the first of the year, especially with the Medical School and Hospital, where July 1st is a traditional starting date.  This moves the optimal time to list up into late January or February, even though there can be weather issues in those months.

If you are a local buyer, therefore, you should consider buying before you have to compete with Yale buyers on short time frames.  In case you haven't done the math on that, you need to be buying now!

First-time Buyers

There are lots of first-time buyers in the market now, and they are driving the action.  It's clear that it's harder to get a mortgage now than it was when those of us who are older bought our first homes, and the qualification standards are stiffer, even though rates are lower.

Because they are buying for the first time, they are often more hesitant to buy in situations where they might not feel comfortable.  Therefore, they often request more in the way of repairs, tests, and allowances for improvements.  In addition, having buyers ask for contributions to closing costs is a trend that we have seen in increasing numbers.  Sellers should not be insulted, since first-time buyers have no history, so no way of knowing that such a proposition might seem aggressive.

Since beginning buyers often look at more options, open houses have been very popular.  There may also be more repeat showings, with relatives and friends coming to weigh in on the potential purchase.  The closing can take longer as well, since documentation requests may be unfamiliar and take more time to fulfill.

Whatever the downsides, there is a great upside:  They are very motivated to buy and own their own homes, and they are out there!

Open Houses Rule

This weekend, despite being at one end or the other of just about every school system's vacation week, was a big one for open houses.  Some had as many as 25 people at them.  The market seems driven by first-time home buyers (proving that they are the one group that probably doesn't need an incentive to want to buy), who want to take advantage of low rates and low prices.  Of course, it is usually their parents who have to let them know how low rates are, since anyone under 35 wouldn't remember high ones.  (Conversely, my husband and I bought our first home in 1982 with an 18.75 % special low rate, that seemed OK to us, given that other mortgages were at 21%---it's all relative!).

Houses are starting to come onto the market at springtime pace, and buyers are out there to take advantage of the rates, the choices, and the weather.  Let's hope it keeps up at this rate!

Evening Open Houses?

I have an idea on which I'm interested in input from the public. We have traditionally done almost all open houses on Sunday afternoons. That isn't true everywhere in the country, since I have noticed that, in Arizona, Saturday seems to be just as common as Sunday. There is an historical logic to the current pattern, since people were usually less busy on Sunday afternoons. The idea of going to open houses seemed to fit in with the practice of taking Sunday drives.

Today's world is different. Children's sports, in particular, take no holidays. Sunday afternoons may be as jam-packed as any other day. In addition, weather is a huge factor. All real estate agents know that there is a bell curve for attendance--if the weather is too bad, no one comes, and, if the weather is too good, no one comes. For busy people, a great day may just be too precious to pass up.

So why not vary the routine? If you are like I am, you may prefer to squeeze in all you can into the work week, leaving bigger blocks of weekend time for other things, especially outdoor activities. In this season of extra light, we could hold open houses late in the day, and interested parties could stop on their way home from work or picking up kids. Even for commercial properties, this idea has appeal. Many owners and managers are too busy to take time out to look at space during the work day. We could serve wine and cheese, and let people take their time after the end of the work day to explore real estate options. Even agents would benefit, as it would leave weekend time to work with buyers.

We have tried this a few times, at least in residential, but it hasn't caught on. I'm curious as to why it has not. What do you think?

Adding Value to Luxury Listings

Today's New York Times had an amusing but informative article today about things people have done to raise the prices on their properties. Perhaps the most extreme example was a seller who regrouted the bathroom tile and added $100,000 to the estimated value of the listing, on the theory that cracked and dirty grouting would tend to make buyers think that they would need to do a major bathroom renovation. Another broker told of a client who changed the kitchen cabinets and repainted, thereby getting an offer $100,000 higher than the broker had anticipated.

Most of the examples involved big dollars, but obvious pointers: Get rid of the clutter. Clean the rugs. If you are a landlord, put in new appliances. Replace towels and bath mats with fluffy new ones. Improve the lighting. We all know these things, but it's sometimes hard to think objectively about a place we've lived, especially when the expense incurred will benefit the new owner and not ourselves. It's worth doing things that improve either curb appeal or the initial impact during a showing. Last week's Times real estate section even talked about a new trend of using pets (well behaved and freshly groomed) to make open houses more homey. Who knows? Fido might even replace the tried-and-true cookie baking, to fill the home with a delicious aroma.

The best story, however, was the last example in the article. One broker tells her clients to go out and buy 25 pairs of expensive designer shoes, which will pay for themselves in a higher sales price, as "people want to step into your life". Isn't that like the closet envy scene in the first Sex and the City movie? Well, if it works, what woman wouldn't want two dozen new pairs of great shoes?

Weather and Real Estate

I'm looking out my window at what promises to be the first full day of rain all summer. We need it! And it's hard to object, when there's been so much sun for so long. It's a great day for people to do what they haven't gotten done through the sticky season. Procrastination is very easy in hot, humid weather.

Well, that applies to buyers and sellers of real estate as well. We've known for a long time that there is a bell curve to open houses, for example. If the weather is too nasty, people don't come. If the weather is too good, people don't come. We also know that wintery weather causes almost everyone to cancel showing appointments. The height of summer is usually very slow, with few phone calls, although vacations have a lot to do with that also.

So what's the message here? Just as when you travel, you should expect weather delays when you buy or sell real estate. But on a day like today? Grab it and get business done!

Open Houses

As the weather improves, we are seeing more and more open houses, and more and more buyers are showing up. I guess it's not surprising that many of them are first-time homebuyers, and I guess it's not surprising that many of them are unrepresented--that is, they come to the open house without an agent or an agency agreement.

Since many of these buyers are younger, it should stand to reason that they read about the open houses on the Internet, where we can put open house notices. Interestingly, we do get a fair number of visitors from newspaper ads, which seems old-fashioned for Gen X and Gen Y buyers. Some are just driving around and come in when they see the sign.

Many of us now do a goodly portion of our shopping on the web, but there are certain things that are hard to buy that way (although I do have a friend who bought a tuxedo for his son's wedding on the web, his wife made him buy another one in person!). Houses, despite better and better virtual tours, fall into that category. You have to look in person at the place you're going to buy.

The new generation of homebuyers doesn't want to plan ahead for house shopping, any more than they want to plan Saturday night early in the week. Therefore, open houses are the most efficient way of looking at properties without having to make an appointment, and hence the high number of buyers visiting open houses these days.

What does this mean for sellers? Ironically, the oldest means of advertising--signs and open houses--are once again at the forefront of our collection of sales tools. Overlook them at your peril, and keep an open mind. And, of course, clean and de-clutter your house!

Spring!

Now that the weather has finally improved, we're noticing a lot of activity with calls and open house visits. We are seeing people holding back on making decisions, however, with the idea that they will have more to choose from soon. We think that there's plenty to choose from already!

While many more houses will come onto the market in the next month or two, they will come on at the higher prices that owners think they can command in springtime. They also will move quickly if they are still considered bargains.

I guess the conclusion you would draw from this data, as a buyer, depends upon whether you believe in the "one person for each person" theory of marriage, or whether you think that a number of people could have been your ideal match, based on the circumstances. If you fall into the latter category, you would tend to support that concept in househunting as well, and feel that there might be several good choices you could make at any given time. As someone who has been married for a long time, I would also add that it's easier to change what you don't like about the house you buy than what you don't like about the spouse you pick!

In our office, whatever the view about the above questions, there's a general impatience with all the waiting around. We're ready to write those offers!

Snowing Again

It's snowing tonight in Guilford, and it seems to have been snowing quite a lot lately. When our kids were little, they used to get excited by snow, and hope for a day off from school. The phone would ring, and I would tell them that it was the sound of people cancelling their real estate appointments. No school, no showings. Although that was a decade ago, things haven't changed. When the weather is bad enough, no one looks at real estate.

We're lucky that we aren't in a business where a day like today means that those sales can never be made up at another time. If a plane takes off with empty seats, or a theater has no patrons, that's money down the drain. At least most people looking for property will look again on a nicer day. Generally, it's not an impulse purchase, or a date-specific one.

There are also the issues of showings and open houses. Unless everything is perfectly plowed, it can be tricky to have buyers coming in on icy sidewalks. It's often hard to park with snow piled on the sides of streets. And few places look their best with wintry boots and shoes tracking the outside slush onto rugs and floors.

I wonder if the Internet has changed all this for us. When you're home due to cancellations, as I am this evening, do you go online and shop for your dream home? Or a vacation place? Or the new location your business needs? We hope so!

Open Houses

Even though we are not in the traditional season for open houses, we've been surprised at how many people have been coming to the ones that have been held lately. We think it's a result of the tax credit, and the interest is stronger at the lower end of the price scale, but we're happy for the activity wherever it falls.

The moral of this story is that this may not be the typical holiday season, and that, if you are a seller, you may want to try harder to sell your home over the holidays. Don't make the assumption that the market will be dead until spring. Our November results were 80% ahead of our November results last year--we are clearly in the early stages of a recovery. While prices will lag for a long time after unit sales rise, there are clearly buyers out there.

It's the Buying Time of Year Again

Our agents have heard me say this every year, but it's time to say it for this blog: The best time to buy a house is between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Sellers are ready to sell, as they start to pay heating bills, think about plowing, and head into the holidays. Buyers are mostly settled into new homes or forgetting about buying until spring. It's hard to show houses in the winter. There's snow and ice, not to mention cold. Parking and driveways can make open houses and showings tricky. Although many homes show well when they are decorated for the holidays, most families are busy at that time of year and don't want to have to keep their homes clutter-free and ready to show. Most buildings look better in light, and there isn't much of it in the dead of winter. All of that adds up to the realization that, if you haven't sold your home within the next three weeks, you probably aren't going to sell it until the spring.

Despite that chilling thought, there are sellers who want to move at this time of year. For one thing, some have tax reasons for wishing to close before year end. Some have jobs or commitments in other places. Some are tired of the selling process, and some have another home waiting for them. Some just want to spend the winter in a warmer place. All of those people are competing for the buyers still looking when winter comes. Therefore, if you are an eager seller, you are most likely to compromise on the price at this time of year.

Buyers can capitalize on these factors to negotiate for a better price as the weather gets cold, especially if the home is empty and sellers are worried about freezing pipes and empty oil tanks, or even just heating and plowing bills. This is the time of year when a month of expenses can easily become six months of expenses, and sellers will take that into account.

If you are a buyer, particularly a buyer with cash, here's your chance! Don't waste it--buy now.

Hello from Sunny Arizona

We arrived last night in Scottsdale, where it's almost 70 degrees and very sunny. I wanted grapefruit for breakfast, so I went out and picked a couple. I went running for a long time (with a few stops at new retail areas) without worrying about snow and ice. There are lots of real estate signs here--it's pretty much ground zero, along with Nevada and Florida, for the distressed real estate market. Inside my father's gated community, there are signs for the first time, and today there were multiple open houses. The median sales price in Arizona was $232,000 at the end of 2007, and $150,000 at the end of 2008. That makes Connecticut look pretty good!

We had our company holiday party at our house the night before we left--100 people for dinner. It was festive and fun, and spirits were high-enough so that those not in real estate were surprised. I'm not really, because people who come to parties tend to be a self-selected group of those who are going to have a good time under all circumstances, plus real estate agents in general tend to be resilient and optimistic. As Winston Churchill said, "I am an optimist. It does not seem to be of too much use to be anything else." Amen.