A recent posting by a friend, and fellow blogger in Hawaii, Keahi Pelayo provided some great information about dropping newspaper circulation (read the entire article  in Editor and Publisher).  

The data presented in the article reinforces a previous article about “Why Real Estate Advertising has Changed?”   As the  market for real estate changes so do the avenues for “advertising” properties for sale. According to the National Association of Realtors, over 80% of today’s buyers begin their home search on the internet.

Search for your next home here. 

Related Article:  Cincinnati Enquirer Circulation

Glad you asked that question.

The Multiple Listing Service of Greater Cincinnati (MLS) as well as other MLS systems throughout the country spew out reports of days on market and list price/ sale price ratio based on incorrect assumptions.

Our local MLS “Days on Market” (DOM) is data based on the current listing only.  So if I put my home up for sale in April, 2008 and extended the contract and then signed a new listing contract in February -the counter for days on market began in February.  Assuming the home sold April 2nd, the DOM would be 61 days (not the actual 355 days).

The same is true for List Price- the MLS calculates the ratio based on the last list price in the system-not the original list price of the property.

In West Chester 11-4 bedroom homes closed between April 1st through April 20th.  According to MLS the List/Sale price ratio was 96.70%.  In reality, after checking the individual property histories for the 11 sales- the List/Sale Price ratio was 90.17%. If I go one step further and remove the new construction home that sold for more than asking price, the list/sale ratio was actually 87.85%.

Current real estate data doesn’t provide buyers or sellers with totally accurate information.

Next time you need accurate data about current market conditions- ask for the original list price-not the current list price- and actual number of days on market.  Both of these numbers are available by reviewing the property history for each property.  Remember that the process is labor intensive and time consuming- so please don’t ask your Realtor for the data about every house.

Quick access to numbers about local real estate market-subscribe today.

Judging by the amount of trash stacked up in the neighborhood this morning- we weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the beautiful weather to clean out the garage and other parts of the house.

I still have a question- how can the “tools” I bought to help sort out and store “stuff” become part of the problem?

You know the shelving unit that was supposed to help organize the garage takes on a life of its own and now commands the space needed to park a car.  Or yesterday’s conundrum- storage bags.  These things are great!  You can load 1500 lbs of clothing into a bag, use a vacuum hose to suck the air out and end up with a storage bag that will fit anywhere…..but the rest of the bags don’t slide effortlessly back into their box.

A lot of today’s sellers feel the same way- cleaned and primed for sale and nada. 

Real Estate is not going to slide effortlessly back into the old “box” and we all need to adjust our thinking.

Your home or condo may not be selling because:

• Price
• Price (buyers don’t perceive value based on condition)
• Price (won’t appraise)
• Price (60 other homes in area are priced less and selling)

If you want to sell or buy in today’s market, you need to understand about “getting out of the box” – need help, call or email.

Press Release

March 1,369 Home Sales Continue

Local home sales continue their 2009 climb, with March home sales improving 21.4% over February, and February a similar 22.2% improvement over January’s 923 sales.

Nationwide, seasonally-adjusted home sales dipped 3% last month over February.

In the region, March sales totaled 1,369 units compared to 1,128 a month earlier. Average sale price climbed to $137,755 from $130,046 during that 30-day time period.

Today every consumer wants a great deal!

It’s a no brainer there.  Whether you’re buying a car, flat screen TV, computer or piece of real estate- buyers want the best deal at the best terms.

Today many real estate buyers are narrowing their property search to “short sales” or “foreclosures” assuming great deals are waiting for them. 

And while there are lots “short sale” properties for sale is Cincinnati, West Chester, Fairfield, Mason and surrounding areas – purchasing a “short sale” property can be rewarding-but only if buyers are prepared for the entire process. (Short Sales are properties which are still owned by seller, but require lender approval prior to accepting a contract)

Things to know about “Short Sales”

• The contract may or may not be handled in a timely manner by the lender- be prepared to wait-in some cases months and months- before approval is granted
• Many of the properties have several lenders (mortgage, 2nd mortgage and in some cases taxes) and all the secured lenders have to approve the deal- bottom line-more waiting.
• The seller may not be in a financial position to fix any problems that appear on home inspection report
• Your contract needs to have a time-frame defined when your purchase offer is ”null and void”- don’t tie yourself up for months on a deal that may never close.

Many lenders are beefing up their “short sale” departments and deals are happening-however there is no guarantee-so go into the deal with your eyes wide open.

Need more information on buying or selling “short sales” call or email.

Related Articles:  Crucial Advice on Short Sales,  Before You Buy a Short Sale