Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category
Why I Don’t Practice Dual Agency
April 21st, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice, Real Estate News
As a buyer or seller you may run into the concept of dual agency. That is basically where an agent “represents” both sides of a real estate transaction. Say my company has a listing. I also have a buyer under a Buyer Agency Agreement. My buyer likes the house I have listed. Uh oh. No problem. Under Dual Agency I can say to my buyer and seller, “Don’t worry, I’ll represent both of you”. Riiiiight.
In a nutshell, I do NOT practice dual agency because I believe in keeping my promises. When I get a listing I promise to represent that seller throughout the entire process, from listing to closing. It would be wrong of me to go back to my seller and tell him I can no longer represent just him because now I have a buyer and can get both sides of the deal. Same with a buyer.
Now, dual agency can get pretty confusing with “designated agency, who is representing whom, who can and cannot be a designated agent. It just isn’t worth the liability. So, I keep it simple. If you are my buyer or seller I represent ONLY you throughout the ENTIRE transaction. Ask your “big company” agent is they can make the same claim.
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6012 Turkey Farm Road - Stoneridge, Chapel Hill
April 1st, 2008 categories: Neighborhoods, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News
There is a new listing on the market! The home is located at 6012 Turkey Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC. It is in the highly desirable Stoneridge/Sedgefield neighborhood. Situated on four acres, this home overlooks the Johnston Mill Nature Preserve. After wandering through your own four acres you can go across the street and spend hours in the preserve. Great privacy, yet you are close to everything! You also get the great Chapel Hill schools, without the city taxes. (There is a small school tax on top of the county tax, but it is well worth it!)
The house has three bedrooms and three full baths. There are also two additional rooms that could be used as offices, media rooms, exercise rooms - you decide how to use them! Great attached garage workshop, as well as a large outside storage shed. Great kitchen, breakfast area, family room to spend a lot of quality hours. Or get away to the comfortable living room for some quiet. There is a large back deck to relax and enjoy nature.
CLICK HERE for a VisualTour of this listing.
For more information on this wonderful home, give me a call at 919-417-9753, or email me at jjod3@earthlink.net.
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Stoneridge-Sedgefield Market Update
March 27th, 2008 categories: Neighborhoods, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News
The next neighborhood I picked for some statistics is the Stoneridge/Sedgefield neighborhood. It is located along Whitfield Road about one mile east of 86. It is in the area that is in the Chapel Hill School District, but not in the city limits. So, great schools, but no city tax. (There is a special school tax, but it is worth it!) Most of the homes in this neighborhood were built in the early to mid eighties, with at least an acre of land.
The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Stoneridge/Sedgefield as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months. These figures are a pretty good indicator of the average price in this neighborhood. You occassionally get houses priced much higher, but those are BIG houses on BIG lots!
So, if you want to be close to everything, but still have your “space”, check out Stoneridge/Sedgefield. Email me, or give me a call at 919-417-9753 if you want more info.
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Who Will Sell Your Home
March 13th, 2008 categories: Home Selling Advice, Real Estate News
When the time comes to sell your home there is a lot you need to consider. The biggest decision is: who are you going to use to sell your house? Sell it yourself? You can try, but it is not nearly as easy as you might think. You cannot just post a sign in your yard, put an ad in the paper and hope people will flock to your castle. Doesn’t work that way. You simply must get your home in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is where virtually everyone gets their information. If you are not in the MLS, you are missing out on the vast majority of buyers. Not smart!
To get in the MLS you can use a high-priced firm, a “discount” firm, or an entry-only firm. All have their plusses and minuses.
You can go with a high-priced national firm. They will tell you they have hundreds of agents that will make your house a priority. Right. Or they have fancy relocation affiliations that will pull in so many buyers you will have to beat them off. Right. Don’t get me wrong. They ARE good firms with good agents. They just over-charge for what they do.
A full service discount firm (that would be me!) does everything a high-priced firm does, just for less.
An entry only firm will simply put your listing in the MLS with maybe a sign in the yard. Other than that you are on your own. For some people that is a great option.
What to do! Obviously, I think you should use ME! I looked at all the options and decided to do it MY way. I provide full service at a reduced fee. (See my Fee Structure button for how and why I charge what I do.) I don’t have a fancy relocation department, but so what. A buyer coming into town is going to see your house in the MLS with or without a relocation department. Why pay extra for a useless perk?
Give me a call at 919-417-9753 and see what I can do for you.
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Providence Glen Condos
February 29th, 2008 categories: Neighborhoods, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News
The next neighborhood I have picked is Providence Glen condos. These condominiums are located of Sage Road an Old Sterling. Therefore, as you can imagine, they are convenient to everywhere you might need to go. These are pretty new condos, the final phase just recently being completed. (The units on the market now are re-sales.) Each building has 12 condos, four to a floor. You usually have a choice of two and three bedroom units. Some come with a detached garage space.
There is an elevator in each building so you don’t have to use the stairs if you don’t want the exercise. There is a great clubhouse and pool, as well as a tennis court. The chart shows the units on the market and those that have sold in the past six months. They are well priced for anyone who wants the ease of owning a condo. If you want additional information, give me a call at 919-417-9753.
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Where To For Home Prices?
February 26th, 2008 categories: Home Selling Advice, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News
A big question right now is where do home prices go from here? The national news has story after story about falling home prices. An article on Yahoo Finance, “Existing Home Sales Decline“, isn’t very optimistic for the near future. Basically, sales of existing homes fell 12.7% in 2007. That’s a national average. Some fell more, some fell less. And there are pockets that went up, too!
Prices, nationally, are expected to continue dropping until the end of 2008 or into 2009. There is a pretty good inventory of houses that need to be sold to end the downward pressure on prices.
Locally, in Chapel Hill, we do have a lot of unsold homes at this time. For the East Chapel Hill School District there is a 12 month supply of existing single family homes. However, we are lucky to have a pretty good buyer base. The universities, medical centers and RTP all provide a pretty steady supply of buyers. Plus, more people are moving INTO North Carolina, so that helps as well.
All is not doom and gloom. But it does mean if you have to sell, your house has to be a “cream puff”, the prettiest house on the block. Give me a call. I’ll help you make sure your house is the best one out there.
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Home Sales in East Chapel Hill HS district
February 25th, 2008 categories: Chapel Hill Schools, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News
This chart is a summary of the market conditions in the East Chapel Hill High School district. It represents the detached single family houses which closed from 1/25/2008 to 2/25/2008, as well as those active on the market. As you can see there are 116 detached homes shown as active on the Triangle Multiple Listing Service, up from 109 a month ago. There were only 10 homes which closed in that same period. This means an absorption rate of 10 homes per month for a 12 month supply. Of course, it would vary depending on the price of the house, but you get the idea.
For a seller this means you absolutely HAVE TO be fully committed to getting your house in show condition. You have LOTS of competition! For a buyer, it means you can be in a great negotiating position, if you have done your homework. I can help you whether you are buying or selling.
You can also see we have a very wide range of homes in our market. This sample does not include condos/townhouses. There are a WHOLE lot of those out there, as well! If you want to know more about the living opportunities in the East Chapel Hill High School district, or any other local area, give me a call. I’ll be happy to help.
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Silver Creek Neighborhood
February 19th, 2008 categories: Neighborhoods, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News
The next neighborhood I picked for some statistics is Silver Creek. It backs right up to East Chapel Hill High School. The homes in this neighborhood are truly magnificent. You need to take a ride through Silver Creek just to see the designs and landscaping of some of these homes. And if you want to work those calf muscles take a walk through the community. It is hilly! It is convenient to pretty much everywhere you would want to go!
The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Silver Creek as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months. Like its neighbor to the east, Springcrest, at the moment there is not a lot of activity, so don’t take the statistics too seriously. But, yes, they are high priced homes. Activity should pick up as the Spring season starts.
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Furnished Or Empty - Selling An Unoccupied House
February 13th, 2008 categories: Home Selling Advice, Real Estate News
If you have to sell a home that is unoccupied, due to death of owners, divorce, a move, whatever, one of the big questions is should you sell it with the furniture still in the house or move the furniture out? Long ago, before I got into real estate, I had agents tell me to get everything out so potential buyers could see themselves and their furniture in the house. Bad idea. After I got in the business I realized what a big mistake that was! You want the house to be furnished. If it is empty, people see an empty house. If it is well furnished, they see a home. Big difference. It is also amazing how ALL the little scratches, chips and dirt are MUCH more evident in an empty house.
A big advantage of selling an empty house is that you have the opportunity to really stage the house. A staged home can look beautiful, but it can be a pain to live in. So grab the chance and get rid of all clutter, clean like a demon, and arrange the furniture to maximize space and views. Get rid of big clunky, furniture. Set the table as if for a feast. There are lots of things to do since no-one is living in the house. Make that potential buyer see the possibilities in your home!
And don’t think you can set it and forget it. Every few days you need to go in and make sure the house still smells OK. A vacant home can get that “vacant smell”. Hard to describe, but you know it when you smell it. So open windows, change the air filters, walk around a bit and take the time to see if anything needs to be adjusted. You will be glad you did.
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Real Estate Takes A Beating?
January 29th, 2008 categories: Home Selling Advice, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News
You likely have seen it all over the news over the past few weeks. How new home sales have fallen by a record amount, or existing homes are not appreciating in value, etc. It is enough to depress anyone. However, things are never as bad as they first seem. Sure the housing market is taking a hit right now, but that doesn’t mean you give up. Houses ARE still selling! People move for tons of reasons, so there is always a supply of buyers, particularly in the Chapel Hill area.
We are lucky in that part of the local population is very “fluid”. That is, they are only here for a few years and then move on. Examples are grad students, interns, professors, that come and go. Many of them want to buy a house for the years they are here, so we get a supply of ready and willing buyers. Plus, there is a net influx of people to our area. They realize what a great place Chapel Hill/Orange County is and move here. This also helps keep our area from suffering the huge peaks and valleys of other areas of the country.
If you’re looking to buy, now is the time! Give me a call.
If your looking to sell, get your house in order and let me show you how to maximize your return in this market.
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