Selling Smart

How To Price Your Listing So It Sells For Top Dollar and In A Timely Fashion from Ken Brand on Vimeo.

I’m sharing the why’s and what’s and how’s of creating a useful CMA (Competitive Market Analysis) for pricing your property. The goal is to sell it for the highest possible price, in your desired time frame.

Experience has shown that Qualified Home Buyers comparison shop. Typically, they will define a price range and an area or areas that they are interested in, the style and design, desired amenities, etc., and they go shopping, looking at pre-owned homes and New Homes.

After viewing all of the available homes that meet their criteria, a buyer will narrow their choices down to a short list of one or two homes.

In this day and age of Buyer Representation, the buyer’s representative will prepare a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) to assist the buyer in the decision making process and offering price. At this point the buyer…having viewed all of the available homes (competition) will want to know..what similar homes have actually SOLD for, average number of Days on Market, Price Per Square Foot and List Price to Sales Price ratio.

This research is used to help determine their offering price and ultimately their own limits to what they feel a home should sell for relative to it’s competition.

Also, once the Buyer and Seller agree on a price and the buyer’s mortgage is being processed, the lender will send an appraiser out and they conduct the same research.

What we provide is the research on homes that a buyer interested in viewing your home may also consider and data the appraiser will also look at also.

By reviewing this market data we can select a price that will position your home competitively in the market place so we can meet your goals.

If there’s anything we can do for you, give me a call:  Ken Brand 832-797-1779

Real Estate Market Update

I’m happy to report that real estate activity is beginning to heat up, as it always does this time of the year.  There are positive influencers that should assure increasing activity, at least until July or so.

Home Buyers – Read This

If you’re a buyer, and you find what you like, pull the trigger or you’ll lose out. The average number of days on the market for sold properties in the 70 to 80 day range.  The average for unsold properties is in the 110 days range.  The sweet one’s sell in a day or two, don’t lose out.

Mortgage interest rates are pygmy sized, dipping just below and just above 5%.  Come on!  That means a $300,000 mortgage will run around $1,500 per month in principal and interest.  Every expert agrees that after the government stops buying mortgage securities, rates will go up.  Simple question, do you want lower payments now or higher payments later?  Act now or pay more, I guess.  Don’t you think?

The Homebuyer Tax Credits will end in June. If you’re a qualified buyer, we’re talking free money.  Yes, FREE MONEY.  You can get FREE MONEY now, or wait and lock in a higher interest rate, higher monthly payments and get NO FREE MONEY.  Not sure if you qualify?  You can read about it HERE.

And lastly, as for reasons to buy now, I believe this article from Business Week speaks loudly – If You Don’t Buy A Home Now, You’re Either Broke or Stupid.

Home Seller’s – Read This

For Sale listing inventory is a bit lower than last year and sales activity is above last years at this time.  This means you have less competition (resale and new homes) and more buyers.  For the reasons I’ve shared above, possibilities for an agreeable sale are “right now”.

The key to a successful sale is masterful merchandising, bold internet broadcasting, competitive pricing and choosing the right Realtor Icon to coordinate and lead your campaign.  Take a look at the picture below.  As you can see, the sellers we represent sell their homes for alot more money that our competitors.  This doesn’t happen by accident.  We have a plan, we work our plan and good things happen.  You’ll find more helpful data/information in the collection below.

Homes prices have remained stable for the most part.  Real estate is hyper local in nature.  That means what’s happening in your specific neighborhood could be better or not that The Woodlands averages.  The good news for all of us, we don’t live in Phoenix or South Beach or LA.  The horror stories of plunging prices and rivers of foreclosures doesn’t apply to us.  Thankfully.

Very low mortgage rates and the Homebuyer Tax Credit are currently spurring buyer activity.  It’s expected that rates will rise about the time the Tax Credit expires.  Selling a home in July will be less certain that it is today.  If you’re going to move, do it now, while the doing is good.

Real Estate Agents – Read This

The next 120 days will present the best opportunities for success in 2010.  When mortgage rise and the Homebuyer Tax Credit expires, it’s likely qualified buyer activity in general will slow.  Now is the time to touch base with your past clients, prospects and suspects.  What I’m saying is, if ever there was a time to sprint and work smarter and harder than ever, this is it my friends.  You’re selling and buying clients need to know that now is the time to ACT (see above).

If you’re working hard and getting nowhere or your broker is not providing you and your clients with the tools, support or bold broadcasting you need to succeed, give me a call – Ken Brand 832-797-1779.  Maybe we can help each other.

Everyone – Read This

Take a look at these market statistics, they confirm what I’m sharing above.  Our market is healthy and opportunity exists for those willing to grab it.

We have this super cool web tool that allows you to research Average Sold Prices,  Average List Price To Sold Price %,  Average  Price Per Square Foot, Number Of New Listing Per Month, Number of Sales Per Month, Average Price Per Square Foot and more.

Click Here To See The Full Report or CREATE YOUR OWN.

Click On This Picture To Review All Research or Create Your Own.

Let us know if we can help you – Ken Brand – 832-797-1779

Selling Customers Their Way – Snap Shot for The Wizard Academy Workshop – Austin TX from Ken Brand on Vimeo.

Selling Customers Their Way

Taught by Dennis Collins & Ken Brand

$1600

May 5th & 6th

Join us for 48 hours and we’ll share all the secrets to sell customers their way. We’ll cover the simple principles behind the Science and the subtle Art of Street Smart selling. Step by step, we’ll cover why, what, when and how to attract, persuade, connect, converse, loyalize, story tell and sell like hell.

The experts tell us we have a meaningful connection with only 25% of our customers. It’s easier to sell to people with whom we connect. How do we sell the other 75%? We’ll teach you how to detect and connect with the other 75% using behavior social styles.

Talk to the customer the way the customer wants to be talked to. Cookie cutter selling just doesn’t bring home the bacon anymore.

Here’s a preview:

• Spotting The Social Styles On The Firing Line
• How To Create Top Of Mind Awareness
• When Sellers Become Buyers
• How To Build Trust and Loyalty
• How To Point Social Media
• Highly interactive role playing.

How we sell has changed forever. Teutonic shifts have compound-fractured traditional perceptions and expectations, we see broken bones poking out everywhere.

Do you feel change-quakes and tremors ripping beneath your feet?

Want to do something about it?

Want to recast your selling future?

This event will be limited to the first 12 lucky people. Don’t be late to register.

Who is Dennis Collins?

Who is Ken Brand?

Registration Sign-UP

If you’re wondering about the Fed’s surprise .25% rate increase for the Discount Rate, and what effect it might might have on Mortgage Rates, click on the link below and read the article.   It’ll only take you 2 minutes.

If you think you might make a move in 2010, you can save yourself hundreds on your monthly mortgage.   It sounds cheeze and like a big come on, but seriously, if you lock in your 5% mortgage rate now, you can brag about in this winter and for years to come.  Especially if  mortgage rates creep from 5% to 5.5% to 6.75% to 8.25% to 9%.  It all sounds impossible, but you know what, I was in the business (1979) when mortgage rates his 22%.  I remember selling homes in San Diego, CA at 18% and 22%.  And besides, anyway you slice the salami, between 5% and 6% is awesome low.

So, if your a buyer or seller, read this article and get crack’n.

Mortgage Markets Pass The Tipping Point, Rates Up For Good | The Mortgage Reports.

Banging around on the computer, working on Market Reports for The Woodlands TX, while I watch ESPN’s Super Bowl pre-game reports.  Can’t wait till kick-off.

Let me share this report and factual find.

The Real Estate Icons I work with are the VERY BEST listing agents in The Woodlands Area Market.  How do I know?  I know because when you parse all the numbers, you will see that on average we net our sellers 3% more than our closest competitor.  The average sales price in The Woodlands hovers around $340,000.  That just under $10,000 MORE for our sellers every time and $10,000 LESS for sellers who choose another brokerage firm

That’s a big deal right?  I think so.  I know our sellers do to.

Check It Out.

I’ll share a full pantry of detailed reports in the next couple days.  In the mean time, take a look at this By Price Range report.

We’re seeing growing buyer and seller activity.  Written contracts were 3 less than January 2009.   Active for-sale inventory is down 5.25%.  Inventory is currently at 776, last year, same time, 819.  No big deal, like I said, activity is beginning to pick up, buyers are setting viewing appointments and sellers are prepping their homes for sale.   Last week we had an Open House Blitz (our next one is scheduled for February 21st.), our agents reported anywhere from 3 to 27 people touring their Open House in a 2 hour period.  Total traffic count peaked at just under 200 people,

I’m thinking that the threat of higher mortgage rates, a time limit on the Homebuyer Tax Credit and expiration of leases, the next 120 will be brisk.  I believe this article from Business Week speaks loudly – If You Don’t Buy A Home Now, You’re Either Broke or Stupid.

Here’s what it looks like, you can download the .PDF version HERE.

If we can help you with anything real estate related, call me – Ken Brand 832-797-1779.

Thanks

In Texas, when buying real estate, there are couple of predetermined contractual triggers for a buyer to Terminate the Residential Contract.  The most common of the two is this paragraph:

Paragraph 23. provides an unrestricted buyer right to terminate.  Unrestricted means for ANY reason.  The buyer is not required to justify or explain why they are terminating.

Generally, buyers use the Option Period to have the property inspected, address any concerns and to negotiate any repair items.  Request to make changes or amend the original terms of the contract can using the TREC Amendment To The Contract.  The seller is not obligated to agree to amend the terms of the contract.  If the seller does not agree to the buyers requested amendment(s), the buyer has the unrestricted right to terminate.  The key to a successful termination is using the proper form, TREC Notice of Buyer’s Termination. (The Option Period does not give the seller the right to terminate the contract.)

The following is a snippet from the Texas Association of REALTORS® eNewletter.

Termination of contracts

After completing inspections on one of my listings, the buyer requested the seller repair several items shown on the inspection report. The seller refused to do any of the repairs. During the option period, I received a Release of Earnest Money form (TAR 1904) signed by the buyer and his agent showing the earnest money being returned to the buyer. No Notice of Buyer’s Termination of Contract form (TAR 1902) has been received by the seller or the listing agent. Does the Release of Earnest Money form satisfy the buyer’s notice of termination requirements under Paragraph 23 of the contract? Paragraph 21 of the TREC contract requires that all notices from one party to another must be in writing. TREC has promulgated the Notice of Buyer’s Termination of Contract form for use when a licensee is helping a buyer provide the appropriate notice to the seller of the exercise of his termination option. While a buyer can use any form of written notice to terminate the contract, a buyer’s agent asked to help the buyer give the appropriate notice should use the promulgated form. When the appropriate box of the form has been checked, the TREC Notice of Buyer’s Termination of Contract form makes it clear that the buyer intends to and is giving the appropriate notice to the seller of his election to terminate the contract under the provisions of Paragraph 23. While one might believe that the buyer has made the decision to terminate the contract under his termination option by sending the seller or his agent a signed Release of Earnest Money form, showing the earnest money being released to the buyer and indicating a release of all rights or liabilities under the contract, a court might not agree that this writing satisfied the buyer’s notice requirements under Paragraphs 21 and 23 of the contract. The preferred practice would be for a buyer’s agent to have a buyer who intends to exercise his termination option under the provisions of Paragraph 23 use the TREC Notice of Buyer’s Termination of Contract form and send the signed form to the seller at the address specified in Paragraph 21 or by facsimile as specified in that paragraph. The Release of Earnest Money form could be signed and included with the notice form to facilitate the execution of that form by the seller.

Practice Note: This same procedure of sending both the TREC notice and the release of earnest money form to the seller can be used when the buyer is giving notice to the seller of the termination of the contract under any paragraph of the contract or any contract addendum.

If you have any other contract related questions, fire away.  We’re here to help.

Ken Brand- 832-797-1779 / Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors – The Woodlands TX

Choosing A Broker To Sell Your House Can Be Tricky?

Should you choose a friend?  Should you use the agent who sold you the house.  Should you ask a trusted friend for a recommendation? Spin the bottle or throw a dart? Go with the lowest commission?

Start by defining what your goal is.  For most sellers, the goal would be, “When I sell my house and I sign the closing documents, I want the escrow agent to hand me the biggest check possible!”

Or, let’s hope not, but it happens, depending upon your market, if you’re upside-down you want to write the tiniest check possible.

Is this your goal?

Selling For Top Dollar

This isn’t some lame sales pitch, spewing hot air, smoke and mirrors.  It’s simple.  Everyone you interview is going to tell you they are great and famous.  We do this and we do that!  In fact, you might think you’re listening to a chorus, all the agents singing the same tune.

How Can You Tell If A Broker’s Marketing Play Will Achieve Your Goal – Netting More Money At The Closing Table?

This is the hard part made simple.  Everyone talks a good story, but, if someone is REALLY doing a better job, there should be a way to document it.  Guess what.  There is.  Take a look at the Broker’s “Original List Price To Sales Price %”.   The higher the percentage, the more net proceeds for the seller.

For example, in The Woodlands TX, the average Sold Price for November of 2009 was $332, 094.  The difference between one broker at 93.2% and the leading broker (us:-) at 96.8% = $11,955.38

$11,955.38 would be huge, right?   And what if the Broker who had the highest Original List Price To Sold Price % also had a Guarantee in writing — “Anytime you want, if you’re unhappy, you can terminate on the spot?

The Logical Choice

Everything a broker commits to doing is designed to net the seller the most money.  Evaluating the Original List Price To Sold Price % is a way to determine if what you’re being told will help you achieve your goal — which is to  sell for top dollar and net more money.  The no hassle, terminate at any time, guarantee is assurance that you’re not taken for ride.

In our market, The Woodlands TX, here’s a comparison average from January to November 2009.  My eyes are old so this graph is a bit difficult to read, if I click on the image it blows up to a readable size.

If you’d like to look at more market data – check this out.

What Next?

So.  If you’re gonna sell your house and you’re goal is have the escrow agent hand you the biggest possible check at closing, then we might be able help you.  Give me a call if you have any questions:  Ken Brand 832-797-1779

Cheers.