Ways to Make a Home Sell Faster

With Spring finally here, we are starting to see more property coming on the market. I've written before about ways to differentiate and add value to a house before it comes on the market, but these tips from HGTV are still especially timely.
Courtesy of HGTV’s FrontDoor®:
Make a big impact with some minor (and some not so minor) home improvement projects. See the top ten picks below.
# 1: Top Budget-Friendly Project: Clean and Conquer Clutter

Cleaning and decluttering is by far the most cost-effective way to add value to your home. A clean and clutter-free home looks larger and makes a great first impression on homebuyers. So scrub, dust, mop and vacuum each room until it shines, and while you’re at it, seriously scrutinize your possessions and toss or donate anything you haven’t used in a year.
If you’re selling your home, put away your favorite knickknacks and family heirlooms. Buyers want to see a clean, neutral space where they can envision their own belongings.

# 2: Top Energy Efficient Project: Add Insulation

# 3: Top Outdoor Structures Project: Build a Fence

# 4: Top Big Ticket Project: Finish the Basement

# 5: Top Home Exterior Project: Repair Gutters

# 6: Top Outdoor Living Project: Add Outdoor Lighting

# 7: Top Landscaping Project: Tidy Your Lawn

# 8: Top Storage & Organization Project: Maximize Storage Space

# 9: Top Bathroom Project: Refresh Fixtures

# 10: Top Kitchen Project: Upgrade Appliances

For more ideas and details on the top 10 projects that add home value, click here.

A Timely Reminder

A friend of mine mentioned that he missed the deadline to appeal his property tax assessment last year, so I thought that I'd take this chance to remind my readers about the dates.
The Santa Clara County assessor’s office is one of 10 in the state that mails assessment notification cards to homeowners early every year. This year the cards will be sent out to 465,000 property owners on June 23.
Larry Stone, the county assessor, has said that last year his department reduced the value of 98,000 properties, which took a total of $19.3 billion off the county’s assessment rolls. He believes most will carry over this year, and an additional 30,000 to 40,000 properties will be placed on Proposition 8 temporary assessment relief status, as well.
Homeowners should wait until they receive their notification card before asking for an informal review or appeal. In the meantime, they can gather information regarding the value of their home based on values at the beginning of the year.
Remember, in accordance with Proposition 8, the market value of a property has to drop below the assessed value before a homeowner can seek a property assessment reduction.
Once homeowners receive their assessment notification card, they have until August 15 to seek an informal review. Homeowners can do this online by going to www.sccassessor.org. Homeowners have between July 2 and September 15 to file a formal appeal, and requests for appeals will not be considered after the deadline.

Don't Believe Everything You Hear

A while back, I ran a standard credit check, and had a real shock. All three credit bureaus had listed me as deceased as of 2005. Obviously someone pushed the wrong button on a computer, and that mistake certainly never kept CitiBank and other creditors from collecting their monthly payments over the years. However new credit for "the late Bobbie Lemberg" would certainly be hard to get. Two credit bureaus were willing to accept a letter, current driver's license and phone bill as proof that I'm still here, but Equifax demanded a notarized letter too...pretty untrusting.
A friend who knew what had happened sent me this article about a San Francisco woman who had the same problem. Her situation was even worse, though. Her insurance, Social Security and pension were cancelled when she "died."
Anyway, despite any rumors running around, I'm very much alive and kicking...and selling real estate!

Spring Fever

Looking at the history of my blog, I realize that I have gone from publishing daily to bi-weekly, and lately, to about once a week. I don't know if this is a normal progression or a minor burnout.
It's certainly not writer's block, because I have a backlog of subjects I'd like to cover. I've been busy preparing two new listings for market, and trying to get buyers in contract in a multiple offer market, but that's nothing new...so I'll chalk it up to Spring Fever and promise to do better. Since this is the first day of Spring, and my cherry tree is beginning to blossom, that is the perfect excuse.

Sunnyvale in Top Ten Cities Where Prices are Rising

Yahoo Real Estate featured an article from Forbes Magazine that had some positive things to say about the housing market.
Asking prices on single-family homes have increased as much as 36% from the previous year in some cities, an indicator that Michael Simonsen, CEO of Altos Research, a Mountain View, Calif. market research firm, says reflects "a bounce off the bottom of the bubble bursting."
To find out where prices are increasing the most, Altos Research pulled data for every U.S. city with at least 100 homes on the market (roughly 8,000 cities), and found those with the biggest price jumps from the previous year. Altos tracks asking prices for single-family homes but not condominiums.
Asking price, or list price, can be revealing because it records the price of a home at the earliest point in a sale. If sellers are asking for more money, it means they sense demand.
Lexington, Mass., has seen prices increase more than anywhere else. List prices rose 36% since last year, to a median $1,197,923. But this more likely reflects a change in the type of house for sale than an increase in the price of a typical house.
Three of the top 10 markets for rising prices are here in California, a state at the heart of the real estate boom and bust. But because markets in here were inflated earlier, many were well positioned to make a comeback even before the larger economy recovered.
That's true in the cities of Sunnyvale (here in Silicon Valley), Poway and affluent Arcadia, outside of Los Angeles, where prices increased an average of 28%. Inventory has dropped in these markets, suggesting demand is up, and prices in California rose overall from January 2009 to August 2009. That’s a natural seasonal trend for healthy markets, but it hadn't been reflected in California since the bust.
However, it's futile to draw conclusions about the national market from a few cities, and it's just as difficult to predict what turns a local market will take based on national trends. But data that bores down into local trends and uncovers positive signals, alongside indicators of a broad national recovery, together tell a story that the country's beleaguered housing market may be finding solid footing.

What's Up with Fannie Mae?

I was listening to Bob Brinker's talk radio show on the way to a weekend appointment, when he rattled investors by mentioning that Rep. Barney Frank had said that debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is different from bonds issued by the Treasury Department. Frank also raised the possible risk that investors in the companies' debt may not be paid back.
To calm worried investors, Frank later issued a statement adding that "this status does not prevent the Treasury from treating the debt of Fannie and Freddie in the manner that it believes best supports the important goal of stabilizing the financial system."
Treasury Department was forced Friday to reiterate its financial support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "As we said in December, there should be no uncertainty about Treasury's commitment to support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they continue to play a vital role in the housing market," Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly said in a statement.
While their debt doesn't carry an explicit government guarantee, the Treasury has taken numerous steps to reassure investors that the government will keep the companies running. Late last year, the Obama administration pledged to cover unlimited losses through 2012 for Freddie and Fannie. So far, the companies have needed $126 billion in taxpayer aid.
Frank's statement unsettled investors because it injected a measure of uncertainty into the market. He has scheduled a hearing for later this month on the two companies' future. The Obama administration, however, wants to wait until 2011 to propose an overhaul.
Fannie Mae admitted last week that it needs another $15.3 billion from the federal government to stabilize its finances. Fannie, which is controlled by the federal government, has been making some financial progress. It reported a fourth-quarter loss of $16.3 billion, including $1.2 billion in dividend payments to the Treasury Department, as compared to a loss of $25.2 billion in the same period in 2008.
(I guess that this is improvement.)
Its problems stem from a continuing stream of bad loans, with over 5 percent of its single-family loans more than 90 days delinquent, up from 2.42 percent in 2009.

The Census and Real Estate

Starting in March, Census forms will be delivered to every residence in the United States and Puerto Rico. A couple of clients have asked me why they should bother, and why the government is spending so much money on this.
First of all, they have no choice. The Census is required by the Constitution to take place every 10 years. The 2010 Census will help communities receive more than $400 billion in federal funds each year.
What does this mean for us? Well, in addition to helping our community to receive federal funds for things like hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, and emergency services, the Census will arm us with statistics to better know our community and potential home buyers.
The resulting data also gives us a better idea of trends in the market, who’s buying homes, and home ownership statistics. To see recent reports on housing topics from the Census, visit U.S. Census Bureau Housing Topics.
And don't forget, the data collected by the Census also helps determine the number of seats our state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, further ensuring that voices are heard....we hope!

Zillow, Trulia, and True Value

I often hear from clients who want to know why the estimates of value they get on their houses on Zillow.com is so far off from what they think the prices should be. I explain to them that this site uses any comparables that have the same zip code and square footage, regardless of builder, condition, and school district.
I guess that Money magazine agrees with me. In this month's "Web Guide 2010," they have a section called: Don't Try to Do this Online. Under the heading 'A Waste of Time' they say, "Don't think that Zillow.com tells you what your house is really worth." They say that the "Zestimates" are based on limited comparables, and are inaccurate unless there have been a lot of sales in your neighborhood lately. They suggest using an appraiser to evaluate the property in person.
For buying a home, they recommend Trulia.com...a site that I find "truly" helpful.