As usual for Tuesday we went on our broker's open tour yesterday, we saw several homes and had added to this having been out on Sunday as well since we have sold all our listings. Yes, the market is strong in our area, but prices have become more realistic or so I thought till yesterday.

We saw only one house we thought was well priced. Many were priced too strongly and in some instances we wondered what they were thinking. however, there has been a lot of sales in our area and there was a shortage of homes on the market, but it does not help the seller to have an overpriced home sit and sit. Now, I don't believe it is the agents who are pricing these homes strongly, I think it is the home owners and with Spring getting established, or so we thought although the tempretures have dropped a little this week some price ranges are seeing a lot of houses come on the market. The $500-600,000 range and the $700,000 - 750,000 have seen a lot of homes come on in the last two weeks. Because there has been a shortage I think homeowners think they can ask any price.

But buyers are not fools, they want value for their investment, especially if it is three quarters of a million dollars. They want bathrooms and kitchens to be updated, they want the house to be clean and freshly painted and the landscaping needs to be attractive as well.

So before you put your home on the market get a good agent to give you advice on what needs to be done to sell your home. They are not trying to just spend your money they are trying to help you sell your home in the quickest amount of time for the highest price. And if you cannot afford the time to get the home ready then price accordingly. You have to make sure your home is the best value in the price range in which you fall.

Recently I have noticed that our local code enforcement officers have been pretty relaxed about directional for sale and open house signs. In the past this has been the case till someone in the township complains when an overzealous real estate agent has plastered them everywhere and not removed them even weeks after the sale. I can only believe that this relaxed attitude has been because of the state of the housing market and a feeling of compassion upon neighbors and those needing to sell their homes in this market.

What are you finding in your market and why if there is a change do you think it is happening?

Frankly, I think Open House signs should be taken down after an Open House is finished, it actually damages everyones chances of getting drive by visitors if you leave them out all week because no one knows if the pen House is active unless of course you add balloons. Why do agents not remove their signs? Is it because they cannot remember where they put them, or they just don't care about littering a neighborhood with signs?

What about directional signs? I think a limited number should be allowed, but if the rule is that no directionals are allowed then this rule should apply to everyone, agents and FSBO's as well.

Although there is constant media attention on how many homes are in foreclosure our area has a serious shortage of homes for sale. Yes, there may be houses for sale, many of which are overpriced or in need of serious updating which we are finding is turning buyers away but even these are low in number.

So if you live in or around Tredyffrin, Easttown, Willistown, Charlestown, Newtown, Schuylkill township or Radnor we need homes to sell in various price brackets. Call or email us now for an immediate appointment and let us help you, prepare your home for sale, price it correctly and sell your home.

Real Estate is Local!

As much as you read and hear in the media about the crashing real estate market you must always remember real estate is local. As we do not have a national weather forecast so the real estate market varies from area to area. What is happening in Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit is not the same as is happening in Philadelphia. And what is happening in Philadelphia is not the same as is happening in Chester, Delaware or Montgomery Counties. And what is happening in the counties is not necessarily the same as is happening at township level in Easttown. On top of this the market also varies by price bracket as well.

So let's look at some comparisons for 2006 and 2007 for Easttown township locally using information provided by Trend our local MLS. As you can see this information is split by price brackets and into home sales and condos.

In 2007 there were 168 sales of properties compared to 161 in 2006, the value of the property sold dropped quite substantially, but when you look at the price brackets you will see why. All of 2007 we have seen the million dollar homes taking longer to sell. In 2006 there were 48 homes sold for over a million dollars, of which 2 were over three million dollars. In 2007 there were only 32 homes sold over a million, but interestingly four of these were priced over three million dollars. Most other price brackets have seen minor changes other than the $500-549,999 range which saw a big jump from 4 homes to 13 sold in 2007.

Days on market increased with more homes taking 30 to 90 days to sell rather than selling as soon as they were placed on the market. There was a 1% drop in the average price sellers were receiving at settlement compared to what they were asking from 2006 to 2007.

So, overall, the local market in Easttown does not seem to have been as affected as the so called national market. However, it is important to realize a home priced and prepared correctly for sale does have more chance of selling more quickly and closer to the asking price. If you want to know how to prepare your home for sale or what the right price is for your home now please contact us.