Katharine's Realty Blog

In todays market, home buyers don't make offers on overpriced listings Here’s why: • Their agent knows it won’t appraise! In the “post-crash” real estate market, sellers (and agents) need to be spot-on with pricing. Otherwise, the listing will languish. • They don't want to offend the seller. It goes against human nature to offer substantially less than asking price to a seller. It's insulting to the seller and embarrassing for the buyer. • Buyers erroneously believe that the seller knows the home is overpriced. They believe that if a seller would be willing to sell for less, the seller would simply lower her price. • Buyers also assume that the seller must have turned down low-ball offers from other buyers because surely someone, somewhere along the line, had offered a reasonable price to the seller. But many times, there are no offers at all. https://www.thebalance.com/looking-twice-at-overpriced-homes-1798671 There are ways you can get the price right from th

Next up Part 2 IF IT’S NOT SELLING, IT’S NOT COMPELLING! In the first home selling post, I stressed the importance of getting the price right the first time listed, and why it’s important to have an agent with DEEP knowledge of the neighborhood. In this segment, I’ll tell you about what to do if you get it WRONG, and the next post how to make it RIGHT. Details matter in real estate! As I said, the EXPIRED/WITHDRAWN category should be avoided, whenever possible. Re-assessing the property’s value should be done asap, by a professional appraiser. Although a knowledgeable agent should be able to use comparable properties to evaluate price, sometimes there are issues missed. Take for example, lake properties built with large walk-out basements, tricked out with fine amenities. But, come selling time, even the finest of finishes do not add value to the “below ground” square footage when appraised, because of regulations by Fannie Mae. Even now, 90% of homes are purchased with mortgage

GET THE PRICE RIGHT From the start!  Part 1        When selling, getting the right list price for your home is critical.  If you or your agent gets it right, your home will sell for maximum value, and least days on market; saving you time and money.     Get it wrong, and one of two things will happen: First, get it wrong on the low end, and a tsunami of offers will arrive after listing goes live.  Sometimes a bidding war is desirable outcome in a hot market; other times its just the wrong price. I know a seller who got 18 offers in one day, and thought “Wow” this is great, but there wasn’t the price boost expected from multiple bidders.  If the agent got the right price point from the beginning, they would have made more money and saved a lot of time dealing with offers.     The second possible outcome when the price is wrong, is that few, if anyone looks at your property.  Maybe some lookers at the beginning, but no offers; tire kickers only. Your house will likely fall into t

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-mansion-must-a-media-room-11549552906 There was a time when custom luxury homes proved their bona fides with lavish home theaters—typically found in the basement and outfitted with forward-facing seats, fabric walls for soundproofing, a projector for cinema-style viewing and maybe a “Godfather” or “Batman” poster to round out the theme.   Today, homeowners are coming out of the dungeon. Home theaters are increasingly being replaced with multi-function media rooms—lounge-style spaces located in or near the main living areas. Here cozy couches, tables and chairs are arranged to facilitate TV and movie watching, as well as game night, cocktails, homework and hanging out. And all that A/V equipment? It’s nearly invisible. See article for remainder of content...

High Real Estate Demand in South Carolina in 2018     Bodes Well for 2019 Real Estate Sales        South Carolina (SC) had the highest influx of people moving in 2018; more than than any other eastern state. North Carolina came in a close second, with Florida lagging in third place. High demand is good news for SC and the real estate market.  https://taxfoundation.org/where-did-americans-move-in-2018/      Noteworthy, from the map above is that there’s exodus from the Northeast (New York leading the way, then New Jersey and Massachusetts), and California on the west coast. Surrounding western states, such as Oregon, Nevada and Arizona gained more inbound people moving in 2018.       These trends are important in the real estate market and can help predict home sales and prices trends in 2019. The graph below confirms the general home sale trend of more people moving to the southeast, but the map above is more specific and shows that SC is the state accounting fo