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Icebergs Ahead…??? How Savvy Sellers are Making Ice Cubes…
August 18th, 2007 categories: Charlotte Area News, NC Mortgage News, Real Estate News, Seller Info
Here in the Charlotte area we have been blessed with a rock-solid market. While many areas of the country have experienced rapid price increases only to now be experience steep price declines, Charlotte has been cruising at a nearly perfect pace – prices increasing steadily, but not too fast.
This has helped keep sudden pricing drop-offs from from a “market-correction” from happening.
Well, if you have picked up a newspaper and just glanced at headlines or flipped on the television even briefly, you can’t help to hear about the housing market. Typically the news reports are how “bad” the market is. The Charlotte Observer just this week had a huge front-page headline that said “Home Permits Fall; Is Trouble Lurking?” I don’t think it’s just me, but that is a scary headline if you are trying to sell your home or about to put your home on the market.
Of course this is not the first gloomy headline that has hit our local paper in the past few weeks. Add to that the uneasiness in the mortgage business, and it’s enough to pull that “For Sale” sign out of the yard and throw it as far as you can. Here are 3.5 tips that smart sellers are doing instead:
1) Keep Perspective – Be aware of what these numbers being reported really mean. Often news reporters are looking at a very wide view. In the case of this article about building permits, they took the entire total of new building permits issued in the entire county and compared it to previous numbers. Nothing necessarily wrong with this, but it doesn’t tell the full story and namely the story for a specific area. Our area is large enough that we have numerous mini-markets. One data point doesn’t tell you the story for your neighborhood.
2) Keep Marketing – There are several tried and true rules to selling a house in a good market or a bad market. Things like good curb appeal, have open houses, advertise, market, market, market. There can be a temptation to listen to the nay sayers and cut back on marketing efforts. Your outstanding real estate agent can help you here. (psssst…I know a really good one if you need recommendation..)
3) Keep Your Investment Hat on – Remember, your home is an investment much like your 401K, stocks, or whatever. And like these investments, rises and falls in value. Don’t get hung up on what you think you could of sold your house for last year. Celebrate its appreciation. No appreciation? Then, again, do as investors in the stock market do – either cut their losses and move on, or stay put and way for the inevitable rise in value.
3.5) A bonus tip – Having a hard time looking at sales price versus profit? Then take your monthly total mortgage payment, add taxes, insurance, and utilities. Divide this total by 30 and see what your fixed costs per day come out to. This can help take some emotion out of the pricing.
Remember – Contact me anytime for free, no-pressure, no-hassle, answers to your real estate questions.
Happy Selling…..
August 20th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
[…] Icebergs Ahead???? How Savvy Sellers are Making Ice Cubes? Summary: The Charlotte market where they are just starting to see signs of a turn down or maybe not? […]
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:22 pm
[…] Icebergs ahead for a Charlotte’s seller’s market? […]