Archive for May, 2007

Selling your home in a buyers market Part 2 - Curb Appeal

Published at May 31, 2007 in General Real Estate. 0 Comments

Yesterday we discussed how to price your home in a buyers market. Today we will focus on giving your home great curb appeal in order to attract buyers.

The first thing that buyers see when looking at homes is the outside. You can never get another chance at a first impression. Make sure your home has curb appeal. Your house may be beautiful on the inside but if the outside is not kept up buyers may decide that they do not like your house before even stepping a foot inside. If you are planning on placing your house on the market then make sure that the outside of your house is in tip top shape. Take a walk across the street and take a look at your house from a buyer prospective. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Does the house need paint?
  • Is the lawn well manicured and does it look healthy?
  • Do the shrubs and other landscaping need to be trimmed?
  • Could you use a small flower bed to make the outside friendlier?
  • How about the roof on your house? Here in Orlando, Florida many roofs get stained with mildew over time. If so then have your roof cleaned (do not pressure wash the roof. This will take years off of the life of the shingles)
  • Are the kids toys lying all over the place?
  • Do the driveway and sidewalks need to be pressure washed?

Make sure that the walkways are clean and free of debris and the front porch is in tip top shape. Check your doorbell and locks to ensure that they all work properly. You do not want the realtor to have trouble opening the door and banging on the door because one of these items is not working properly. Buyers may think that the home is in need of a lot of repair before they walk in. Is the door handle tarnished? Then polish it or replace it.

Taking some time to give your house some extra curb appeal can be invaluable when trying to sell your home in today’s real estate market. Having the outside of your home look its best will not only help with people already interested in your home it will attract more potential buyers. Tomorrow we will take a look at the inside of your home.

For more information regarding the above web blog, please contact Jeffrey Funk at 407-438-4028 or visit Orlando Real Estate at http://www.execrealtor.com

Selling your home in a buyers market

Published at May 30, 2007 in General Real Estate. 0 Comments

With home inventories at high levels we are currently experiencing a buyers market. Buyers have many more homes to choose from than in recent years and will use this to their advantage. Over the next few days we will discuss tips on how to prepare and present your home in a buyers market. You may have more competition in a buyers market but that does not mean that you cannot sell your home. Follow these tips to give yourself the competitive advantage you need to sell your house in today’s real estate market.

Price your home realistically

Gone are the days where you can set the highest price possible on your home and find buyers. With so many houses on the market, today’s buyers are looking find the houses that are priced correctly. Pricing your home today takes research and this is where you and your Realtor should sit down and come up with a price that you are comfortable with and will attract buyers. Take time to review the homes that are for sale in your neighborhood but more importantly the research homes that have sold in the last few months. Knowing what your competition is in the market is great but knowing what homes have sold for in a competitive market is even better. Remember, just because your competition is asking a higher price for their house doesn’t mean that they have done the research and have the knowledge that will get there house sold.

After doing your research price your home approximately 4% above what you think your house should sell for. Set your price competitively from the start and try not to get caught up in the thought of I can always lower my price later. Research shows that you will get the most buzz from your home when it is first placed on the market (see figure 1-A). This strategy can also work against you when you do decide to lower your price many buyers may perceive this as the seller being desperate. Competitively pricing your home from the start and you will not only will you attract more buyers but you will most likely avoid lowball offers and save time in negotiations.

For more information regarding the above web blog, please contact Jeffrey Funk at 407-438-4028 or visit Orlando Real Estate at http://www.execrealtor.com

 

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Has the Orlando Real Estate Market Crashed?

Published at May 28, 2007 in General Real Estate and Orlando Real Estate. 0 Comments

The local real estate market here in Orlando has been under a lot of scrutiny lately along with the majority of the US housing market. The headlines read “Orlando-area home sales drop 35% in April”. While we cannot dispute this fact that the numbers are down but is the press giving this market a bad wrap?

In 1999 I was just getting into real estate sales. While taking my real estate classes I remember my instructor ranting about how great the Orlando real estate market was at the time. I do not recall negative press for the real estate market during that time. I went on to get my real estate license and never heard a whimper from anyone during my first few years about a bad market. Well as we all know from 2002 - 2006 the housing market in Orlando and around the country took off. People all over were buying houses at an incredible pace. Many baby boomers were coming of age where they bought vacation homes and home prices continued to climb.

In April 1999 the Orlando area had 1496 home sales and in 2005 we had a record number 2557 home sales for the same period. How could we possibly keep up that pace? There were times that I would place a home for sale in the Multiple Listing Service and I would expect that property to sell within a week and sometimes within hours of listing it. Many times the property would sell site unseen. This is not a realistic expectation in a normal market.

Here we are in May 2007 and the April statistics were just released. In April 2007 we had 1469 homes sell and there are all kinds of negative press floating around on a 35% drop from the same period last year. Wait a minute I thought 1400 sales in one month was a good number? At least that seemed to be the consensus back in 1999. Has the bubble really burst or is it just settling back to where it should be? Is it realistic that you should put your house on the market and have a line of buyers starting a bidding war on your property the same day you listed it?

I personally feel that the real estate market hasn’t crashed it is just adjusting back to the norm. The market may be adjusting a lot faster than what we would have liked, but here we are. We may have an increased inventory and have shifted from a sellers market to a buyers market but we obviously still have buyers out there. If we didn’t have buyers we wouldn’t have any home sales. Sellers need to have realistic expectations on what there home will sell for in today’s market and it will most likely sell. Much of the inventory I see today is overpriced homes.

When I read all of the negative press abut the current real estate market I wonder if we have become greedy over the last few years. Sure the market is not as robust as it has been in the past couple of years, the market could be better but it could always be better. I do not think it would be fair to say that the bottom has dropped out of the real estate market. Home sales have declined approximately 5% in the last year but they are still up about 71% in the last four years. Not too shabby.

For more information regarding the above web blog, please contact Jeffrey Funk at 407-438-4028 or visit Orlando Real Estate at http://www.execrealtor.com

How big do you THINK your home is?

Published at May 26, 2007 in General Real Estate. 0 Comments

In recent years there have been many cases where people are buying homes and later realizing that the square footage does not measure up to what they had been told. How can this be so? Most real estate professionals are going off of the tax records which should be accurate but many are finding discrepancies.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that there are no universally adopted standards in measuring the square footage of a home. Architects measure square footage from the interior of the wall and others measure from the exterior, some include stairways and others do not. In many cases the difference in square footage can be approximately 5%.  In a 2500 square foot house 5% is another 125 Square feet in many homes that’s another bedroom.  What would do if you bought a 4 bedroom and the builder only put 3 in?  How would you feel if years after you purchased your $400,000 home you come to find out that it is actually 5% smaller than you thought?  You may feel that you overpaid by about $20,000.00 talk about buyers remorse.

I have also heard of properties where the tax records show a lower square footage than the actual. This may be great when it comes to pay your taxes since taxes are calculated using square footage but, when it comes to selling your home do you really want to give away a couple hundred square feet? Heck, do you want to give away 50?  I have heard and read time after time about properties that do not measure up correctly and it is time to put an end to this.

The American National Standard Institute has developed standards ANSI Z765-2003 used for calculating square footage of a home. It is time to adopt these policies so that there can be a universal understanding of exactly what the square footage of a home is. Buyers and Sellers should not be left guessing what the actual square footage of a home really is.  In the meantime, when purchasing a home I would always ask the builder how they determined the square footage on the home and if you are purchasing a resale always have your appraiser give you his square footage total. This way you will be comparing apples to apples rather than apples to peaches when purchasing your home.

For more information regarding the above web blog, please contact Jeffrey Funk at 407-438-4028 or visit Orlando Real Estate at http://www.execrealtor.com

Orlando Condo Hotel

Published at May 26, 2007 in Orlando Investment Properties and Orlando Real Estate. 0 Comments

One of the newest and hottest concepts in the Orlando real estate market is the condo hotel. A condo hotel concept incorporates traditional condominium ownership with all the luxuries of a world class hotel resort.  Condo hotel or “CONDOTELS” appeal to many people interested in a vacation home due to their luxury accommodations, first class amenities and great locations. Combine all of these factors with the ease of ownership, and it is easy to understand why people are now opting to purchase a condo hotel over a traditional vacation home.

The Orlando condo hotel market has recently taken the area by storm. There are many new developments underway that will offer buyers some of the most exclusive vacation home ownership in the area. These four and five star properties offer luxurious amenities such as state of the art health clubs, lavish clubhouses, gourmet restaurants, room service, concierge, and full service spas. The Blue Rose, which is scheduled to open in early 2009, will even feature a 1000 seat Broadway theater.

One of the biggest appeals to buyers of the condo hotels is the fact that many of the hotels are managed by some of the biggest brand names in the hotel business. No longer do owners have to rely on themselves to generate revenue.  Condo hotel owners have the luxury of the hotels brand name recognition, national and international advertising to generate bookings for the owners property.  Most condo hotel management programs split the rental revenue 50 – 50 with the owners. Combine the rental revenue with the condo hotels worry free maintenance program, and you will have the peace of mind knowing that your property is being cared for and managed by the best names in the industry.  Rest assured when you decide visit your property; everything will be cared for, and in tip top shape.

There are 50 million reasons to buy a vacation property in Orlando, Florida. This is due to the approximate 50 million tourists that come to soak in the sun and take in all of the attractions Orlando has to offer.  The Orlando area offers 300 sun filled days per year, unparallel theme parks, top notch shopping and scores of championship golf courses.  There is never a dull day when vacationing in Orlando. Tourists continue to flock to the area to soak in all of the wonderful things Orlando has to offer.

With so much to do in Orlando, you can understand why investors are continue to come to Orlando and why the area continues to building new properties. After purchasing an Orlando vacation property and spending a couple of vacations in it, you will soon realize there are actually 50 million plus one reasons to purchase a condo hotel. What is the “plus one”? “You”.

For more information regarding the above web blog, please contact Jeffrey Funk at 407-438-4028 or visit Orlando Real Estate at http://www.execrealtor.com