It's the Most Wonderful Selling Time of the Year

Now is the best time of the year to sell a house, despite what many homeowners think. There are many advantages to selling now rather than waiting for the spring.

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Why should you list your house for sale during the holidays? Now is actually the best time of the year to sell your property because interest rates are low and inventory is down once again. More specifically, there are four reasons that I wanted to share:

1. People looking to buy during the holidays tend to be more serious about buying. I recently held an open house. It was not only jam-packed, but everyone there was already pre-qualified to make an offer on the spot. The spring market is more filled with people who are just curious about the market.
2. Serious buyers have fewer homes to choose from during the holidays. Less competition means more money for you. 
3. Houses show better when decorated for the holidays. Christmas trees and lights gleaming off of your hardwood floors make a strong emotional connection with buyers. They can see themselves living there and celebrating the holidays with their family.
4. Some buyers have to move because of job relocation. Companies are hiring and want to get their new employees in before January, so these employees need to buy a house in December.

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Holiday house hunters are more serious buyers.

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Now that you know why this is such a great time to sell, let's get your house on the market, get multiple offers, get it sold, and pop some champagne! If you have any questions for me or you're ready to take advantage of the great selling conditions we're seeing, give me a call or send me an email today. I look forward to hearing from you!

How to Handle a Low Appraisal

Low inventory in the Boston market has caused a number of multiple offer situations on listed homes. This is good news for sellers, but can pose problems, too.

Great news: we’re officially in the fall real estate market. Because we’ve had low inventory this year, it’s not uncommon to have multiple offers on a property with some offers substantially higher than the list price. Though this may seem like a great problem for the seller to have, it’s important to be careful when it comes time for the appraisal.

A good listing agent will analyze each offer with their seller and educate them about every problem that may occur during the transaction. An example of a common problem with high offers is when the home doesn't appraise to its agreed-upon price.

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A good agent will bring the home’s features to the appraiser’s attention.

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In this situation, a seller will want to go back to the highest offer and re-negotiate with the highest bidder so that they’ll pay the difference between the appraisal and the purchase price in cash. This will essentially remove the appraisal contingency and prevent any future delays in re-negotiating the offer price when the appraisal does come in.

The seller will want to make sure that they have their listing agent meet with the appraiser at the property at the time of the appraisal. Listing agents have a pulse on the local market and will share the most recent comparable home sales, buyer feedback, the number of offers on the home, special features of the property, and any recent upgrades with the appraiser in order to justify the sale price.

If you have any questions about low appraisals or the home buying or selling process in general, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I hope to hear from you soon!

The Difference a Year Makes in Boston

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Summer is here in Boston. The Red Sox are starting to heat up and so is the real estate market.

The first five months of sales from 2016 are already up 15% from 2015. Much of this is due to an increase in new construction, as well as a respite from the record-breaking snowfall we saw last year. Sale prices have already increased by 8% this year!

Although we’ve been seeing some great numbers for sellers, the market is starting to balance out a little bit for buyers as well. Inventory has been steadily rising and prices are cooling off a bit. If you tried to buy a home earlier in the year, it’s possible that you were shut out and could not find a home. Have no fear because more inventory is here. Buying in the next couple months is a great idea because you can still take advantage of mortgage interest rates below 4%!

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You need to price to
sell in this market.

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We wanted to mention one more thing for the sellers out there. Although you can sell quickly in this market, you can only do so if you’re priced correctly from the beginning. You need to price to sell, not to sit. Overpricing your home will cause it to sit stale on the market. When your home has been sitting on the market for a long time, buyers feel more at ease making offers much lower than the asking price. It’s vital to sell quickly in today’s market.

If you have any questions about the Boston real estate market, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you via phone or email.

Avoid Missing Out on Low Inventory in Massachusetts

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Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Value Report

Today, I have some great news to share with you! A year ago, we were buried in approximately seven feet of snow! That’s not the case this year. We’re seeing signs of early spring weather this month.

Ready for even better news? Inventory across the state of Massachusetts is extremely low! Let’s look at it by neighborhood.

In South Boston, there’s 40 active condos on the market, and last fall, there was over 100. In Milton, there are 32 active properties on the MLS compared to last fall’s 95 listings. In Watertown, there’s 2 total properties for sale currently! There’s a clear advantage to listing your home today. Don’t wait for the spring market. Now is the time to act!

If you’re thinking about listing this year in the surrounding Boston area, reach out to me by phone or email. Let’s get started now, so you can take advantage of low inventory right now. I look forward to hearing from you!