Two years ago I wouldn't have been able to anticipate the incredible journey of this past year. Mom transitioned off the planet in September. The experience , while difficult at times, resulted in great gifts: my siblings & I are closer then ever and I know that mom now knows ALL and that "All" is very good indeed. I held her hand as she took her last breath, eulogized her along with the 100's of people who's lives, in one way or another, were made better for having known her. And now she sits in the field of infinite possibility ready for whatever comes next. The peace I feel for having been an intimate part of her passing will infuse & feed my life from here forth.
The boys are doing great! Barton, 20, has been dancing up a storm at U of A in Tucson and graduates in May, a year early. He just returned from a choreography gig in Undine, Italy and is cast in another Balanchine piece, Rubies, this spring. Joey, 17, is loving playing varsity lacrosse goalie and busy serving as president of his junior class at East High School. Willy, 14, serves on Student council for his Freshman class at East and recently won First Place in both Solo & Duo Humor, at the regional Speech & Debate Tournament in Casper, WY.
It feels tremendous to be back in the real estate saddle, and undistractedly focused on my boys, friends & family, & you, my clients! The coming year promises to be an exciting ride. Why?
• TAA partner, Tracy Shaffer & I are deepening our partnership with some great new information, tools & services (more on this soon).
• I'm adding a new area of expertise in Live/Work space. And...
• We've survived the worst of the recession, not simply "still standing", but thriving!
I'm looking forward to spending time together in the coming year.
Wishing you and yours all the best, now and in the coming year, I send you much light and love,
Yours in Gratitude,
Laura
SELLERS:
One of the metrics I like to use to gauge the market is to look at the number of showings per/active listing per/month. Basically, the more showings/active listing/month, the more closings I expect a month or two down the road. This graphic shows these numbers both by price range of home ($50k - $100k, $100k - $150k, etc.) and as a total for the entire market. What we see is that the more people there are out looking for properties the more housing sales we’ll see. It’s incredible to observe how our housing market has strengthened over the past couple of years as more than 40 percent more buyers are in the market than there were two years ago. If you’re interested in listing your property or even just testing the market out give me a call so I can give you more information.
BUYERS:
I often get the question, “How much of a discount can I get off the asking price?” Well, the answer may surprise you. In both good times and bad the average discount hovers right around 3 percent. Why? It's simple seller psychology.
Sellers HATE to give a large discount to a buyer. They have a tangible, emotional resistance to dropping the price too much to meet an offer. But, after having their property sit on the market for a while with no bites, many grudgingly come to realize they have to drop the price to move it. Here’s a typical scenario:
Consider a property that went on the market for $200,000 on August 1st. For two weeks it has no showings, then Bob Buyer sees it and offers $180,000 (a 10 percent discount). Horrified, Sally Seller refuses (in a huff of resentment!).
A month later there have been just a couple of looky-loo showings so Sally Seller meets with her listing agent to strategize. The listing agent provides recent comps and Sally Seller finally agrees to drop the price to $185,000 to get some action on the property. Bob Buyer sees it again, and again offers $180,000. Sally Seller accepts! The discount she gave was only 3 percent of her FINAL asking price, so she’s ok with it. Bob Buyer’s patience got him a solid deal and now YOU better understand market psychology. Strange as it may seem, this dynamic plays out over and over again in the residential real estate market.
To learn even more about how buyers and sellers think, drop me a line and let’s talk about it.
The boys are doing great! Barton, 20, has been dancing up a storm at U of A in Tucson and graduates in May, a year early. He just returned from a choreography gig in Undine, Italy and is cast in another Balanchine piece, Rubies, this spring. Joey, 17, is loving playing varsity lacrosse goalie and busy serving as president of his junior class at East High School. Willy, 14, serves on Student council for his Freshman class at East and recently won First Place in both Solo & Duo Humor, at the regional Speech & Debate Tournament in Casper, WY.
It feels tremendous to be back in the real estate saddle, and undistractedly focused on my boys, friends & family, & you, my clients! The coming year promises to be an exciting ride. Why?
• TAA partner, Tracy Shaffer & I are deepening our partnership with some great new information, tools & services (more on this soon).
• I'm adding a new area of expertise in Live/Work space. And...
• We've survived the worst of the recession, not simply "still standing", but thriving!
I'm looking forward to spending time together in the coming year.
Wishing you and yours all the best, now and in the coming year, I send you much light and love,
Yours in Gratitude,
Laura
SELLERS:
One of the metrics I like to use to gauge the market is to look at the number of showings per/active listing per/month. Basically, the more showings/active listing/month, the more closings I expect a month or two down the road. This graphic shows these numbers both by price range of home ($50k - $100k, $100k - $150k, etc.) and as a total for the entire market. What we see is that the more people there are out looking for properties the more housing sales we’ll see. It’s incredible to observe how our housing market has strengthened over the past couple of years as more than 40 percent more buyers are in the market than there were two years ago. If you’re interested in listing your property or even just testing the market out give me a call so I can give you more information.
BUYERS:
I often get the question, “How much of a discount can I get off the asking price?” Well, the answer may surprise you. In both good times and bad the average discount hovers right around 3 percent. Why? It's simple seller psychology.
Sellers HATE to give a large discount to a buyer. They have a tangible, emotional resistance to dropping the price too much to meet an offer. But, after having their property sit on the market for a while with no bites, many grudgingly come to realize they have to drop the price to move it. Here’s a typical scenario:
Consider a property that went on the market for $200,000 on August 1st. For two weeks it has no showings, then Bob Buyer sees it and offers $180,000 (a 10 percent discount). Horrified, Sally Seller refuses (in a huff of resentment!).
A month later there have been just a couple of looky-loo showings so Sally Seller meets with her listing agent to strategize. The listing agent provides recent comps and Sally Seller finally agrees to drop the price to $185,000 to get some action on the property. Bob Buyer sees it again, and again offers $180,000. Sally Seller accepts! The discount she gave was only 3 percent of her FINAL asking price, so she’s ok with it. Bob Buyer’s patience got him a solid deal and now YOU better understand market psychology. Strange as it may seem, this dynamic plays out over and over again in the residential real estate market.
To learn even more about how buyers and sellers think, drop me a line and let’s talk about it.
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