SellAustinTexas

Staged kitchen in Travis Country home

This recent sale goes to prove two essential elements in real estate.  If a home stands out among the crowd through pricing and presentation, it will sell.  Not only will it sell, it will sell FAST.  This home in Travis Country sold because we priced it right – at market value – and the sellers did everything right as far as staging and preparing the home to get on the market.  Things like paint touch ups, fresh mulch in the flower beds and “de-cluttering” the home went a long way to make this home stand out from the other homes in the area.

Manicured Yard

Pricing was the second essential element to make this one stand out from the crowd.  We priced this fairly for the market – not too high and not too low – and got very close to the asking price.  Overpriced listings don’t sell.  A home can be flawless and move-in ready but if it’s priced too high, it will sit on the market.

I’m not using this post to brag about our abilities (but I do think we do more than 90% of the realtors out there) but instead using it as an example of what happens when the fundamentals of pricing and presentation are properly executed.

Reasons to Buy a Home Now

The Buyers Market

1.  High Inventory: There is currently a balance of supply and demand that leans in the buyer’s favor. High inventory leaves a buyer with many available choices, and in all price ranges.

2.  Negotiating Power: The high inventory also allows for decreased prices and more negotiating power for the buyer. Not only can a homebuyer find their dream home, but they can do so for a great rate.

Home Prices

3.  Home Prices: Prices have come down a great deal from years past, and will only continue to rise over time.

4.  Interest Rates: With interest rates also at the lowest point in years, a single housing payment is going farther than it did in the past. Interest rates will not remain this low, and are expected to rise again soon.

Tax Savings

5.  Tax Deductions: Buying a home allows for many tax deductions, such as mortgage interest, mortgage insurance and real estate taxes. This means that after taxes, your mortgage payment will be lower than a rent payment would have been.

6.  Tax Credit: The new tax credit for homebuyers has been extended through spring, with an $8000 credit for new buyers and a $6500 credit for repeat buyers.

Personal Savings

7.  Appreciation: Home prices always move upward in the long run, appreciating the value in a home.

8.  Equity: If you have an amortizing loan, each mortgage payment is building equity in your home. It is such a gradual change many people don’t notice it, but it is allowing you savings.

9.  Rising Rents: Rents are expected to continue to rise.

Incentives and Extras

10.  Material and Non Material Extras: With the buyer’s extra sway in negotiations, you are able to ask for things that may not have been previously included, such as material items (like appliances) or non material items (such as a home warranty) as part of the purchase of the home.

11.  Home Improvements: Many sellers are working hard to make their homes move in ready, with extra home improvements and updates.

12.  Maintenance Costs: With updates and repairs before the home’s purchase, a buyer can save money in maintenance along with having a newer looking home.

50 Cent's Connecticut Mansion

“When it comes to home renovations, whimsical desires aren’t always the best investment,” Forbes writes in their piece on “Hip Hop Home Improvement.”

However, there is nothing “whimsical” about an entertainment system with 3,000 programmed movies, a shoe room, a backyard ATV track and a helicopter pad. These were included in the $10 million in renovations rapper and hip hop mogul 50 Cent added to his $4.7 million Connecticut mansion. Four years after purchasing, he put the estate on the market for $18.5 million. For two years it sparked little to no interest, and was taken off the market.

Incompletion can be as much an investment killer as an inflated price tag. Rapper Wyclef Jean took out a $2 million mortgage and started on extravagant renovations on his property. While failing to pay off about $200,000 in construction costs, the project sat unfinished (and barely started) for two years, facing foreclosure at the end of 2008.

Wyclef Jean's Unfinished Home

But there are still good investments to be made. Rapper T-Pain purchased a $1.3 million house in Florida, added a club (for entertaining) into the basement, and sold it three years later for almost three times what he paid for it. (Not sure the name recognition had little to do with it.) “I’m just really creative with mine,” he says. Jay-Z and wife Beyonce opted to purchase land in a very desirable area in New York, according to local brokers, and build their investment.

While, of course, most people aren’t operating at these extravagant levels, there are still some things to be learned about making smart, not overly indulgent, home improvements when you’re considering selling your home. You also need to be prepared for possible sudden costs. If you are considering investing in your home on the market with home improvement, research and your agent can give you advice.

Contact us at www.DMTX.com with your real estate needs.