WARNING …. WARNING …. Overpricing your Spring Texas homes is a bad strategy.  I use the word overpricing but home sellers use the phrase “Testing the Market”.  No matter what you call “it” the end result for you sellers is less money for your home.

Why? ………..

 What’s wrong with “Testing the Market“? ……  Testing the Market will bring you

Less Showings: Buyers are beginning their shopping and we should say comparison shopping for homes online. They are comparing the value of your home to others based upon the photos and price. All of this even before they step inside. Bottom line if buyers think your home is overpriced they are not even going to make an appointment to view it.  Read More »

The real estate industry like other industries has its fair share of abbreviations. And I would have to say that I am just as guilty as the next Spring Texas Realtor in using real estate abbreviations in my correspondence. I throw them around assuming that everyone knows exactly what they mean.

So what does MLS, CMA, LP, SP, DOM, A, OP, P, PS mean?

MLS - Multiple Listing Service: A database that contains information on property listings. In the listing agreement it will identify whether the broker will or will NOT file the listing with a MLS. The local MLS for an area typically has the most comprehensive database of listings.

CMA - Comparative Market Analysis: An impartial evaluation of market activity and is used to estimate the potential selling price of a Spring Texas home.

LP - List Price: The dollar figure at which the property is listed for sale.   Read More »

In the Spring Texas real estate market, buyers and sellers alike are often confused about the differences between market value, appraised value, and tax appraised value. 

So let’s first start by tackling market value. The market value of a home is how much a ready, willing, and able buyer is willing to pay for the home.

The appraised value of a home is the value determined by an appraiser. If you are a buyer financing the purchase of a Spring Texas home, your lender may require the property to be appraised by an appraiser. The appraiser works for the lender and his job is to determine if the value of the home is equal to or greater than the amount that you are financing.

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Have you ever heard the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”?  Well, nowhere is it more true than in the listing photos of Spring Texas homes. Simply put more photos and more quality photos will translate into you selling your home for more money.

Just how important are additional photos?  According to a Realtor.com survey online listings with at least six photos are viewed 300% more than other listings. 300% …. NOT 10% but 300%. Now that’s pretty powerful.

With 84% of the buyers using the Internet to search for homes, 300% more exposure to these potential buyers translates into more interest, a faster sell, and more money.

Read also: How do buyers find the Spring Texas home they purchase

But its NOT just quantity of photos that will drive buyers interest in your Spring Texas home but also the quality of the photos. Good quality photos will seduce buyers to fall in LOVE with your home even before they enter the door. Read More »

Attention all Spring Texas home sellers: How secure are your homes?  As a seller, you probably have reservations about letting buyers and their Realtors who you know NOTHING about view your home. 

But buyers are NOT going to submit an offer till they actually view your home. So you have to provide them with easy access. And you can’t stay in the home during the showings because then the potential buyers don’t feel comfortable.

So what can you do to secure your Spring Texas homes and their possessions while they are on the market?  

Prevention:

• Secure the valuables - Remove temptation. Now is not the time to be displaying your priceless coin or baseball collections. Not only are they a temptation but they are also a distraction to potenial buyers. Read More »

If you are a Spring Texas home seller, you better be ready to compete against new construction homes for buyers. Because in and around the Spring Texas area, buyers have numerous new construction options.

How do you compete?  

Better Pricing - New home builders are luring in buyers with huge discounts, financing incentives, flat screen TVs, and furniture gift cards. Now you don’t have to give the buyers your TV to get your house sold. But you need to have it priced right to attract the buyers. They will be comparing your home against others they view and they won’t make offers on over-priced homes.

Excellent Condition - The builders inventory homes are NEW. They do not have worn out carpet, outdated light fixtures, loud paint colors, grout that needs a deep cleaning, or sidewalks that could use power washing. The builders homes sparkle and so should yours.

Read Also: Top 30 things to do before putting your home on the market

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If you want to make more money instead of less money on the sale of your Spring Texas home avoid these 9 mistakes. 

9. Defer maintenance items (A.K.A. - “Honey Dos”) - Before you put your house on the market get all of those weekend projects that you have been putting off done. Buyers want to move in and immediately begin enjoying the home. They want their first action item to be unpacking and not repairs.

8. Don’t replace so the buyer can choose their own color - Buyers are unable to visualize what the new carpet will look like in your home. All they see is the carpet that is in need of replacing. And even if they were able to visualize it, they 1) are going to over estimate what the cost is going to be and 2) don’t want to deal with the hassle of having it installed.

7. Seek advice from friends and family members when establishing the price for your home -  Your friends and family members have probably sold homes before and maybe even in your general area. But are your friends full-time Realtors in your local real estate market? If so, listen to them and get their advice. If not, follow the advice of your full-time Spring Texas Realtor. Remember your Realtor is the expert. Your Realtor helps people buy and sell homes for a living not just every couple of years but day in and day out.

6. Make showings inconvenient for the buyers - The Spring Texas real estate market has plenty of inventory right now. If buyers can’t view your home at a time that is convenient for them, they will just move on. So don’t make the mistake of thinking buyers will or should work around your schedule. Because they won’t.

Read also:

• Top 7 tips on showing your house
• Spring TX Real Estate: The key is the KEY

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Whenever I receive a low ball offer I have to hold back my gut reaction of wanting to call the buyer’s agent and say “Is your buyer CRAZY? How could they offer so little for such a great real estate property?”

I know that getting upset with the buyer’s agent is not going to get my seller’s house sold. So instead I calmly call the buyer’s agent and seek first to understand. As I am hopeful that the reason I received a low ball offer is because of a misunderstanding of the comps, the Spring Texas real estate market, or the cost of upgrades that need to be made to the home. Read More »

If your Spring Texas home is on the market for between $270,432 and $206,350, you need to say “Thank You” to the FHA. Because yesterday, they just made it possible for more buyers to qualify to purchase your home.

As the requirements for subprime loans have become stricter and 100% financing loans are being eliminated, the popularity of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans has been increasing. FHA loans require only a 3% minimum down payment, FICO scores do not apply, they have higher allowable debt ratios than the debt ratios imposed on conventional loans, and the interest rates are competitive with conventional loans.  All good reasons that make a FHA loan a great choice for the first-time home buyer with little money saved and less than stellar credit. Read More »