What Can We Expect for 2014?

Welcome to our video blog! 2013 was a wonderful year in real estate and we expect 2014 to be even better. This December marks the 18th consecutive month of continued increasing sales price. What accounts for the increase?

Since last year we have seen a 45 percent reduction in bank owned and bank mediated properties which put a lot of pressure on the average home sale. It helped drive prices up.

As you may remember, in the beginning of 2013 we saw some of the lowest interest rates ever at 3.5 percent, but even at 4.5 percent rates are fantastic.

Our inventory levels have remained around 3.5 months all year. This makes it a competitive market for buyers. Sellers are more confident than ever, receiving multiple offers. Buyers need to come in with a strong bid.

As you can see we've had a fantastic year. We look forward to serving you and answering all your real estate questions in 2014.

Happy Holidays! Have a safe and wonderful holiday season!

Merry Christmas!

It’s hardly believable that we are at the cusp of yet another year – and it’s almost 2014! With a fantastic year behind us, we look ahead toward a great future in the coming months. I can’t tell you how much of a pleasure it has been serving our community members with the expert advice, one-on-one care and guidance with real estate endeavors in our communities.

Here’s a warm, resounding “Thank you!” to all our current and past clients. We believe you are more than just clients; you’re our friends and neighbors. We cherish that special relationship we have with each and every one of you.

Whether you have engaged in the purchase of a new home, sold a property or just needed advice and counsel on your real estate transactions – we have enjoyed being a part of the journey with you.

Once again, thank you for trusting us with one of the most important aspects of your life and we wish you a warm, wonderful holiday season – with many happy times to come in the New Year and beyond!

Our 3 Secret Home Marketing Tools

Welcome back to our video blog! Today I have with me Bar Larson; we have worked together for the past 15 years. We wanted to talk to you about how to effectively market your home and what our strategy is to get your home sold.

Did you know that 90 percent of buyers start their search and continue their search online? They have access to hundreds of homes all from behind their computer screen. How can your home compete? Well, there a number of things we focus on.

1. Staging - We spend 2-6 hours with a client staging their home. It's important to know that staging isn't decorating. It's presenting your home in way that showcases its best features: space, architectural features, etc. 
2. Professional Photographer - We hire a professional photographer for all of our listings. We want your home ready for its presence online as well as when buyers come to see it in person.
3. Exposure - It doesn't matter how your home looks if no one knows it's for sale. We pay for premier placement on websites to make sure your home shows to the most buyers.

If you are thinking about buying or selling. Give us a call. Let's figure out your next step. Thanks for watching!

Happy Holidays!

Welcome back to my video blog. Thanksgiving is just a few days away and during this time of year I am always reminded how lucky I am to have clients like you.

I wanted to wish you happiness, peace and prosperity. Remember on Dec. 7th we will have Santa's Reindeer from 1pm-9pm. Bring a toy for tot.

Happy holidays to all of you and your loved ones!

4 Ways to Prepare My Home for the Market

Thanks for joining me! When someone is considering selling their home, a lot of the time they aren’t sure how to get it ready for the market. Do they need to remodel? Should they paint? What do they need to do?

I have a list of a few inexpensive changes that can add tremendous value to your home in the eyes of the buyer. A buyer wants a modern home in good condition. They don’t want to have to do anything to it.

1. Fresh carpet and paint - You wouldn’t believe the difference new carpet and a new coat of paint can make. 
2. Remove wallpaper - Sorry guys, but wallpaper is just not in anymore. Take it down and put a neutral color down.
3. Make sure everything works - Go room by room and check if the doors close properly, are the sliding closet doors on track, are the light switches working, etc. These are all things a buyer will check.
4. Bathroom and kitchens - If you watch HGTV at all, you know that the bathrooms and kitchen are always a main point in the eyes of a buyer. While you don’t need to necessarily remodel, make sure it’s up to date. Replace the cabinet fixtures and door handles. Maybe switch out the faucets for something nicer.

Making your home modern and fresh is the goal when preparing your home for the market. If you have any questions about how to get your home ready, please give me a call. I’d love to help.

Thanks for watching!

Is it Too Late to Get My Home On the Market?

Thanks for joining me today! Can you believe Halloween is just a week away? With winter around the corner, I have a lot of sellers ask if they should wait until next year to list their home.

The answer is no! Now, is a fantastic time to sell your home and I’ll give you three reasons why.

1. Inventory is lower than it has been in five years - The amount of pending homes is highest it’s been in more than nine years. That means there is a strong demand and fewer homes on the market. That’s less competition for you!
2. Interest rates are low - We did see a slight increase, but 4 percent is still incredibly low. Even the slightest increase affects your buying power. If you are looking at a $400,000 property and interest rates increase to 6 percent, you now only have the buying power to purchase a $320,000 home. That’s a significant difference. Don’t wait!
3. The market will remain strong through the fall - With the pent up demand and such low inventory, the market will continue to go strong through the fall and winter months.

Give me a call at 651.481.6711 so we can get your home on the market now. Or maybe you are thinking about buying, we can help find the perfect home for you! Thanks for watching!

Tips to Choosing the Best Real Estate Agent

Welcome back to my video blog! When you choose a real estate agent, you want to make sure they are the best. I have a list of five different things you should look for when hiring your real estate agent.

1. What is their network ability? - Your agent’s network has a huge impact on getting your home exposed and the number of showings you will have. 
2. What is their sales experience? - Our team has consistently sold more than a hundred homes each year. When you interview an agent, ask for their proven track record of transactions. Get the names and addresses to verify.
3. Are they a good negotiator? - Having an agent with good negotiating skills is not only helpful with the purchase agreement, but keeping the sale together all the way until close.
4. What is their marketing strategy? - Did you know that 90 percent of buyers start their search online? What is your agent doing to appeal to those buyers? Do they bring in a professional photographer and stager? 
5. Do they belong to a team? - Teamwork is important; on our team each individual has an area of specialty but all help one another out. When there is a team behind you, you know that every detail is being taken care of for you.

These are five basic things to consider when hiring your real estate agent. If you have any questions, or are ready to buy or sell, please give me a call!

Thanks for watching!

Staging Your Twin Cities Home

 

What are some things you need to do in order to stage your home correctly to make sure that it is ready to sell?

A lot of people get confused when we use the word staging. Sellers think we mean redecorating. A stager doesn’t redecorate your home; rather they arrange the room in a way that accentuates the best features of your home.

How the home is displayed for a showing is different from day-to-day living. We will arrange furniture to focus on the architecture of your home. Sometimes we will bring in accent pieces to add color and draw the buyer’s eyes around the entire room.

The buyers out there now are very into the Pottery Barn feel. So, when we stage your home we keep that in mind. It may sound like a simple step, but it makes a tremendous impact on how your home sells.

If you have any questions on how to get your home ready to sell, please give me a call at 651.481.6711. I’d be more than happy to help you!

What are the main things a seller can do to increase their curb appeal?

What are the main things a seller can do to increase their curb appeal?

First, you might be wondering what curb appeal even is. Curb appeal is the attractiveness of your home from the exterior. Having a home that is appealing on the outside helps make a great first impression on potential buyers.

Why is a good first impression so important? Studies show that 90 percent of buyers start their search online. If you don’t have quality pictures, they may not even visit!

If they do like your home, often they will drive by and through the neighborhood. That’s why it’s important to have your lawn trimmed, landscape kept up and toys and bikes put away.

Keep your garage door closed and consider putting lighting around to accent the home. You would be amazed at how a few inexpensive updates can add such tremendous value to your home.

If you have questions specific to your home, please give me a call! I’d love to help get your home in the best selling shape!

What Do People Need to Do Before They Go On Vacation?

Welcome back to my video real estate blog!

What do people need to do before they go on vacation?

That’s a great question! The first thing you should do is put your newspaper on hold. Last week, I drove by a home that had 8-9 newspapers sitting out front; this is a red flag for intruders.

One of the other things people often forget about is turning off your water.  It’s very simple. Just turn off that valve. You wouldn’t believe the amount of water damage that can happen when there is a leak from an ice-maker hook up just for two or three days.

You also want to make it appear that someone is home. Set your lights on a timer.  Lower the shades so that people can’t see into the house.  Put your mail on hold. Also turn down the volume on your ringer so that it’s not ringing all day with no one answering.

A few years ago, we lived in a neighborhood where several homes were broken into on Easter Sunday. The sheriff said the intruders stayed away from the homes that had a sign for a security system. So if you do have a security system, make sure that sign is prominent in our front yard.

Let someone you trust know you’re gone and ask them to keep an eye on your property. Make sure someone is cutting your grass. A big red sign that you aren’t home is having a wild, overgrown yard.

These are just a few simple things you can to do make your home more secure while you are away.  If you have any questions please call me at 651.481.6711!

Thanks for watching!

Lakeshore Home Tour

Hello! I wanted to tell you about a couple upcoming events happening this weekend. This Saturday and Sunday is the Vanneste Group Annual Lakeshore Home Tour. We will be featuring five properties on three of our premier lakes in the Shore View area. The tour is open from 1pm – 3pm both Saturday and Sunday.

The second event is the Annual Slice of Shoreview hosted at Island Lake Park! Rock It Science will be performing on the main stage from 4pm – 7 pm. There will be games, prizes and even fireworks at 10pm Saturday night!

If you’d like more information please visit www.sliceofshoreview.com

Thanks for watching! We hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please give me a call at 651.481.6711

Twin Cities Summer Market Update 2013

Call me if you have specific questions about your neighborhood market at 651.481.6711!

Welcome to my blog! I wanted to give you an update on how the housing market is going and answer a couple questions I’ve been hearing a lot!

What’s happening in our current market compared to this time last year?

Pending sales are up 10% from where they were just 2-3 months ago. They are up 18% from this time last year. So the market has definitely seen a lot more activity!

What price points are selling fastest?
Homes that are priced under $200,000 are selling very quickly. It’s not uncommon for a good property in that price range to see anywhere from 3-6 offers. The reason for this is there is a lot of pent up demand from first time home buyers. They are noticing that prices are going up and interest rates are creeping up, so there is this sense of urgency now to get the best price and rate possible!

I hope this answers some of your questions! Make sure to check out my next videos on what specific things you should do to maximize your profit during a sale and some tips on how to protect your home while you are away on vacation!

Thanks again!

Now's the Time to Sell

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Would you like to get multiple offers the week you put your home on the market?  That’s what we’re seeing. It’s an impressive situation because buyers are outbidding each other trying to get good homes, and they’re spending more than what the home is listed for! No surprise because there are 31% fewer homes on the market than a year ago. With the dwindling supply, it would take less than three months to sell all of the homes currently on the market. 

Another sign of a surging market is home prices. When the supply goes down, it helps push prices up. In fact, the median home price in the Twin Cities rose 17% from last year at this time. Now this may not be true for every neighborhood or price range, but prices are solid across the board.

What does this mean for the seller? If you’ve thought of selling your home, the time is now. Since there are fewer homes on the market, there’s more competition for available homes. Low inventory often translates into multiple bids, high list-to-sale price ratios and being able to negotiate better terms. It’s a great time for sellers. 

So what does this mean for buyers? Buyers are entering a competitive market with multiple offers helping to drive up home sales prices. Be aggressive. When a home that you’re interested in hits the market, plan to see it as soon as possible and make the best possible offer that’s at an appropriate price point for the seller. Remember, inventory is low. If you hesitate, the property could be gone because others will be making offers. 

Keep in mind that mortgage loan rates are extremely low, which makes buying a home more affordable than ever, but the rates won’t last forever. Interest rates are still below 4% with some as low as 3% for a 15- or 20-year fixed-rate mortgage. If you wait and interest rates rise, you could get locked into spending a few hundred extra dollars a month on your payment.  

Give us a call so we can tell you where to be positioned and how to be successful in this market. Please contact us at (651) 481-6711 or email us at TheVannesteGroup@gmail.com. 

Foreclosures vs Short Sales

 
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Just a couple years ago, most people usually thought they had to give up their home in a foreclosure when they faced a financial stonewall.  However, since then the phenomenon of short sales has been on the rise, leaving homeowners a bigger, better and brighter option for the present and future.  In this article, we explore the comparative differences between the two so you can gain an edge when deciding which is better for you.


Purchasing Power

After walking away from your mortgage through a foreclosure, you can expect to feel the negative impact of it for five years, in terms of being able to purchase another home.  Even then, like a bankruptcy, a foreclosure is something you will perpetually have to report no matter how long it has been since the home went into foreclosure. 

Though these days you see a lot of talk about the financial and credit impact foreclosures have on homeowners, the unseen part of it is something to be dealt with.  Going through this process can leave a lasting emotional hole in people who otherwise were law-abiding citizens, going about their normal lives when all of a sudden they are faced with severe financial hardship and must resort to extreme measures.  That, or if the value of their home has dropped well below the amount they paid for it and they see very little hope for the future.

Short sales are much simpler.  They will affect your purchasing power for a mere two years, often just the amount of time it takes to get back on one’s financial feet.  Not only that, there is no requirement to report a short sale transaction.

Credit Outlook

There are two main areas that are of concern when it comes to your credit – your credit score and your credit history.  In case of a foreclosure, credit scores drop a whopping 200 to 300 points.  This can have a significantly negative impact on your ability to purchase big-ticket items or secure loans in the future.   Not to mention it takes years to rebuild a credit score that has dropped that low.   In terms of credit history, a foreclosure remains visible on your credit report for anywhere from ten years or more, rendering each future potential lending transaction either useless or very hard-pressed at getting approved.  The overall impact you will see on your credit will be for about three years.

Short sales are far easier on your credit outlook, in that the point drop is only about 50 on average and the transaction itself will impact your credit profile for as relatively little as 12 to 15 months.  The one thing to keep in mind is that if you have defaulted on any payments or if you already have a weak credit profile, the post-short sale point drop on your credit report can be more than just 50.  Also, there is no formal reporting or declaration of a short sale on your credit report like a foreclosure although the transaction will show up as either settled or not paid in full.

Amount Still Owed

Usually there is a gap in the amount owed after owners walk away from a property and the bank assumes responsibility.  In case of a foreclosure, given the amount of processing time and resultant vulnerability and exposure of the property, the value can and often does drop greatly after vandalism and from sitting there unused.  The Deficiency Amount (also called Judgment Amount) is the difference that remains after the bank calculates what was owed on the property at the time of foreclosure and when they sold the home. Because of this vandalism and vulnerability, the amount of value drop is far more than with a short sale, when the homeowners are still residing in the property during processing.  The bank has the legal right to pursue homeowners for the amount difference. 

Short sales differ in that not only is the deficiency amount much less but also, your Realtor can negotiate a waiver of that amount so you don’t have to pay for it.