http://www.coloradodreamhouse.com/index.php/news/ The next four weeks are going to be slow in Colorado Real Estate as kids get ready to go back to school and parents try to get back into their normal routines. The good news is the second selling season from September 15^th through November 15^th is right around corner. That’s the second best time to sell a home in Colorado. What does the next four weeks mean for buyers and sellers? To find out watch this week’s market update with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty agent Dan Polimino.

Check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppt7X137KeA 

Click here to Get started searching for YOUR Colorado Dream Home.

It’s the end of the July and in a few short weeks the summer real estate season will begin to slow down. Right around the second week of August, things begin to slow down as parent and children try to sneak in one more vacation before school starts. Then once school kicks in and people get back into their normal routines, real estate will pick up again. If you’re a seller, don’t be surprised if you see a dip in your showings between the second week of August and the second week of September. 

The question for buyers is: did you take advantage of the historically low prices and low interest rates this summer? Here are a few things I saw this season: 

1)      Unbelievably low prices. I am going to go out on a limb and I’ll eat my words if I wrong, but I think it’s safe to say that values have never been this low and we may never see this again. 50% off some homes is not part of a regular 10-year real estate cycle. This happens once in a lifetime.

2)      Sellers in the 200-400 price range turned the tables on buyers. Sellers understood that the bottom of the market had come and gone, they stayed firm on their prices, and in most cases got full asking price.

3)      Lower than normal inventory. The words “I can’t find a home for my buyers” was spoken by more Realtors this past summer than in the last three years.

4)      Mistakes, Mistakes, Mistakes. More than one buyer decided to do nothing rather than make a decision this past summer thinking that the home would still be on the market whenever they were ready. Those buyers were disappointed to find out that their number one choice had sold. That trend of “I don’t have to make a decision today, tomorrow or in a month” is quickly coming to an end for buyers. 

The good news is I think we are poised for good fall. It was fall of last year when we first began to notice the turnaround in the economy. Right around September, showings started to pick up and we had one of our best fall’s selling seasons in some time. I expect the same to be true for this year. The fall selling season goes from mid-September through mid-November. 

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost 

If you’ve noticed all this month, I have been staying with a central theme which is “sell your home now.” In the first week of April, I wrote about pricing it right, the second week, I tackled what to do if you are not getting offers. In week three this month, I took a look at inventory in the luxury market and what to do if you are selling a home in that price point. If you would like to re-read any of those columns, you can at http://www.coloradodreamhouse.com/index.php/news/. This week, I want to close out the series talking about staging your home properly for a quick sale.

Let me be consistent from the outset that price is the biggest motivating factor right now, so price will trump staging any day of the week. But having a home that shows well may garner you a better offer. With that said, let’s get to today’s topic on why staging is becoming more and more of a must.

Remember, the first rule of all showings is that the buyer must be able to see themselves living in your home. To do that, follow these rules:

1. De-clutter – too much stuff takes away from what the home really looks like. The buyer ends up spending more time looking at all of your stuff than trying to figure out if the home will work for them. So back a POD into your driveway and dump all of your belongings that you can live without into the POD until it’s time to move.

2. Remove furniture – unless you’re a minimalist, you probably have too much furniture. Pack that in your POD as well and open up the rooms. They’ll not only look larger, they’ll be more inviting. Only keep the right amount of furniture in the room to show what the room is intended for.

3. Keep it neutral – don’t go crazy with the colors or the carpet. It may look blah and vanilla to you, but buyers want it that way. Remember, they are thinking about their own touches and style for the house. You don’t want them to remember how hideous the purple wall was in the dining room.

4. Avoid theme rooms – you may love the Green Bay Packers Shrine that you built in the basement, but a Minnesota Fan isn’t going to be thrilled. Buyers that like contemporary are going to have a hard time with the Elizabethan room in your home. Keep it simple.

5. Clean and clean again – this should go without saying, but your home has to look like “Mr. Clean” lives there all the times.

Try these tips and then let me know if it helped you sell your home.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost 

I am pretty candid with sellers when I go in their homes to meet with them about listing their property for sale. I tell them, “I cannot sell your home, only you can.” I know what you are saying, “But Dan, you are a Realtor, that’s what you do…you sell homes.” No, I market homes, create showings, and give you an opportunity to sell your home.

You have the final say if you are going to sell your home and at what price. If it were up to me to sell your home, I would go into the local MLS and change the price of all the homes I am listing. Moreover, I would change the price so the home sells in a week to 30 days. Now you’re saying, “But Dan, you would give away my home for nothing.” No, no, I wouldn’t. But I would price it according to the market data so it fetches an offer in a week to 30 days.

There are sellers who are sitting on homes that are overpriced anywhere from $30,000 to $900,000, and even more. Their homes will sit on the market for 3 months, 6 months, a year, two years, and over that time, the sellers begin competing against themselves. You know what I mean: they priced their home at $650K, three months later, there’s no offer and they lower it $615K, then six months later it’s $599K, a year later it’s $549K, and so on. The seller has had no offers and they are competing against themselves by reducing the price and chasing down the market. Does that sound like a strong selling strategy? I think not!

Why not just price it below the market curve and sell it right out of gate? How does carrying the home for 3 months, 6 months, a year, or two years including the time, aggravation, and expense make sense to anyone? The days of some fairy tale buyers coming off the street and overpaying for your home are long gone. Buyers are too smart these days, too savvy, and have done way too much home work.

Remember, for each day that you don’t sell your home, you buy it. I can’t sell it for you because my name is not on the deed. So price it to sell in the next week to 30 days and move on with your life.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and http://www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost 

I was talking with the good people from Shea homes the other day and they find themselves in an interesting predicament. I am sure a lot of home builders find themselves in the exact same situation these days. You see, Shea has people walking through their models in Back Country everyday that would love to buy a new home there BUT…they have a home to sell.

You see, the “BUT I have a home to sell” issue is happening all over Colorado. Many home owners would love to buy right now and take advantage of the low prices, low interest rates and many incentives, but they can’t sell their home or afraid it will take too many years to sell their home. So Shea came up with a good idea to help people sell their homes.

I know what you’re saying, “Selling a home is a pretty standard process. Many people know how to do it.” Not so fast; this is a very different real estate market place than the last time you sold a home. Moreover, the real estate landscape is changing everyday and the way we buy and sell homes will look a lot different in two years than it does today.

So what’s Shea up to? They are going to start holding classes on selling your home. Not exactly a new creation when it comes to ideas, but it is a good one and here’s why. For years, real estate agents, mortgage lenders, and yes builders held home buying classes, but very few held home selling classes. The reason is simple; it’s been a while since we’ve been in a scenario that is so one sided with more sellers than buyers. As such, there really hasn’t been a reason to hold “home selling classes” until now.

What are you going to find out if you decide to attend one of Shea’s classes? How to sell your home with today’s latest marketing techniques and technology, the science of pricing, and how absorption rate affects how quickly you’ll sell. How about how to SAVE MONEY on the sale of your home, what buyers really want when evaluating a home purchase and a whole lot more?

If you want to attend “How to Sell Your Home Today” and hear from great realtors like Gary Lohrman from Fuller Sotheby’s, Bill Watson from ReMax, Pam Kiker from Keller Williams and the Shea Team call 720-344-1800 and tell them you want to attend the class. Or email Sheri Tannascoli at sheri.tannascoli@sheahomes.com. The class is on Saturday, Feb 27^th at 11:30am at Back Country in Highlands Ranch.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost

You don’t have to sell your home right now. You would like to, but you can wait until the market turns around and you have a better chance at getting a higher price for your home. I don’t blame you and if you don’t have to sell right now, then don’t.

In the meantime, are there some things that you can do to not only improve your home, but make it more attractive to buyers in the near future and increase the value? You bet, says Chuck St. John of CSJ Home Improvement, LLC.

Chuck says that this should be broken down to two categories: ‘normal upkeep’ and ‘improvement’. St. John says that unfortunately, many people who are getting ready to sell their homes start to neglect it. Instead of fixing things like they are going to be living in that home for another 10 to 20 years, they may let some things go because they know that they are going to sell it in the next year or two. This is a common mistake because home inspectors can see a house that has been neglected a mile away and that may be just enough to kill a deal. Besides, you want to make sure that your home shows better than the rest of your competition. Paying attention to details always pays off and helps a home show better than the rest. Chuck’s first tip is to have an inspection even though you are not selling the home. A good home inspector should be able to give you a solid list of items that need attention or maintenance. His second tip is to have someone with an unbiased opinion walk your home and list what needs to be replaced or repaired from a cosmetic standpoint.

Finally, St. John says that improving any of the following areas in a home will only add value and help get the house sold. Remodeling kitchens and bathrooms tops the list. Flooring and painting always get noticed. A new furnace and/or hot water heater are good attention getters. Outside new paint and a new roof tops the priorities list.

The takeaway message here is to use this time while you are waiting for the market to turn around to improve your own home. You’ll be glad you did.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost

I was recently speaking to a couple of frustrated lenders and it was not about being able to qualify someone for a loan. They had their clients qualified and ready to go, but the buyers could not find a home to write a contract on. You see, these buyers weren’t being extra picky. There just seems to be a shortage of homes on the market in the lower price range. If you are a buyer looking for a home in the 250K and below range, chances are, you could be having a hard time finding something that will meet your needs. Of course, there are always homes for sale in the lower price range that need a lot of work, but that doesn’t work for the majority of people who are looking. Let’s say that you are a first time home buyer with not a lot of resources to gut a house and remodel it. What does that leave you to shop for? Answer…not much.

The purpose of this column is simply to say that if you are thinking about selling your home and it falls in the 250K and below price range, this could be your lucky day. Moreover, if your home is in move-in condition then you could have multiple offers within a short amount of time. You see, since builders have stopped building and sellers have decided not to sell their homes at this time, active inventory is very low. According to Metrolist, single family and condo inventory is down by 20% from just one year ago.

This is all very welcome news because it seems that it’s been longer than normal around here since we have seen a seller’s market. Caution… this not the case for the majority of price points out there, but if you are 250K and below seller, take advantage of this now. First time home buyers have until Dec 1^st to be closed on a home.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.CoDreamHouse.com