Heard on the street.....

Talking about real estate and sale prices in the Rochester region has always been high on the party conversation scale. Who is selling, who paid what, and where are they moving, have been at the center of the neighborhood grapevine.

Recent comments in various news outlets are also conversational in nature, and sometimes the individual making the comment , may not have thought out completely their string of thought.

For instance, a comment such as " homes are taking an average of six weeks to sell", may bring panic to a seller, and relief to a buyer. Generally we all want to get a pulse on the market, except if we are the ones selling or buying! There is enough pressure on the parties involved as it is, and hearing another opinion can send some sellers over the edge, for sure.

The Realtors I've considered as experts over the years, have all agreed on one thing consistently during every market up or down during the past twenty years----price it to sell and it will, quickly.
Generally , every house for sale will sell, given time. Time , however is the variable that does dictate price. Over the past five years, we all have become experts on real estate.

So, that aside, lets look at the reality factors. Realtors can be as patient as anyone when it comes to waiting. It's in their job description! Most would prefer not to wait, and good agents tell you that right up front. Price it right, on the first day, and let nature take its course.

Taking six weeks is the exception, but if you are a seller and you are in week seven, it's time to have that reality conversation.....With yourself first, and then with your Realtor.
In every housing market over time, homes have sold in an hour; on holidays; before the open house; and before the ink on the listing contract has dried.

Everyone wants to be a seller in the "next great real estate boom", and a buyer in the "down market". In the meantime, feel free to buy that dream home, preferably in less than six weeks!

It's Contagious

Like millions of other Americans, I spent part of the long Memorial Day weekend working on my landscaping.As usual, my annual "overdoing it" weekend was filled with mulch. Not your everyday mulch mind you, but triple ground black mulch, as it was called. It was really brown in color, but I'm sure there's a marketing person behind the name. My special 7 yards of mulch,was distributed evenly across my gardens, and by the second day of doing this, I noticed something had changed.

That morning , there seemed to be an effort by others in the neighborhood to really start redoing their landscaping as well. Their efforts were more in the mode of complete reconstruction, as I would call it , and I was impressed.

As I watched from our yard, I thought, this improvement stuff is really contagious! Although they may have been grumbling under their breath about my obsessive gardening, they were improving their property; their dream home; their investment; their life surroundings.

The impact of such a simple task adds immensely to their future as well.Homes appreciate in value because of many factors, but TLC , tender loving care, is a primary factor.Conversely lack of such attention even in a simple manner can lower your homes value.The "dressing up" of your home inside and out will increase your property's value, there is no doubt about it.

Doing it periodically during the change of seasons will save you time and energy when the time to move on comes.

I actually thought I would need more than 7 yards of mulch, but once I saw it piled high in our yard, I knew my mulch expert Scott was right.He also got to deliver more mulch to the neighbors.How contagious!