Should I List My Home During The Holidays?

by John Armstrong

Should I list my home during the holidays is probably the question I am asked the most by seller during this part of the year.  My answer is always a very firm...maybe. The 2 factors that need to be taken into account are 1- How's the market? and 2-What's your motivation?

"How's the market" is the easier question to answer to answer.  Look specifically at your price range. How many homes are on the market in your price range? How many homes sold during the previous 30 day period. This will tell you your chance of selling, assuming you are priced correctly.

"What's your motivation? "  is a little tougher question. Are you moving because you want to? Are you moving because you need to? Are you relocating? Are you trying to maximize your value? Is this a divorce? Did someone die?

In the Bloomington-Normal Real Estate market things don't "shut down" for the holidays. The relocation buyers are still buying in December because they have to move here not based on when they want to but when their employer wants them in Bloomington.

Bloomington-Normal homes are still selling to investors.  Investors don't care that it's 9 freaking degrees outside. They are looking for winter projects so they can hit the market in the spring or rent them out.

During the holidays, many not so motivated sellers take their homes off the market.  There is less competition.

Should you list your home? Call The John Armstrong Home Selling Team, I will let you know your chances of selling.

Follow me on Twitter @JohnArmstrongTm

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Great site for finding your dream home www.SearchHomesInBloomington.com

Chase Helping out Vets

Chase announced it will donate at least 100 homes it owns to wounded military veterans as part of a program operated by a national nonprofit group known as Operation Homefront. None of these homes are in Bloomington-Normal.

Eligible military families must be on active duty, not currently own a home, and be financially capable of taking on home ownership. Spouses of military members killed in action will also be considered for the program. 

"These individuals have made tremendous sacrifices for our nation, and as they move back into civilian life in a tough economic environment, we hope that a mortgage-free home will make that transition a little easier," Frank Bisignano, JPMorgan Chase Chief Administrative Officer and CEO of Mortgage Banking, said in a statement. 

Military families can apply for the Homes on the Homefront program atwww.OperationHomefront.net/HomesOnTheHomefront.

The announcement comes months after Chase has taken steps to develop a foreclosure prevention and assistance program for military vets. Last year, Chase admitted to 14 wrongful evictions of military families. Other wrongful evictions of military families also surfaced from other banks last year, and the Justice Department is currently overseeing reviews by major banks of military members’ mortgages for any violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.   

Source: MarketWatch and REALTOR® Magazine Daily News

Read More

Banks to Pay Military Members for Foreclosure Errors

5 Reasons Your House Didn't Sell

Of course, I'm not talking about YOUR house not selling.  I'm talking about someone we all know. It's been mathematically proven from a study at ISU 9 out of 10 of us know SOMEONE whose house didn't sell recently (ok I made that statistic up) lets call him Billy Bloomington.

Reason #1  Billy's price was too high too high. I know it's easy to drive around Bloomington and see houses with sold signs and say "If they got $175k for that then I can get $200k for my house".  That's why you should talk to a Real Estate Professional (I'm partial to John Armstrong).  A great Realtor is a student of the business and has a feel for the Bloomington Real Estate market
   
In Bloomington-Normal we had a great year in 2013 and yes prices went up in some price ranges more than others.  I felt from March 1st to July 15th the BloNo market shot up as much as 5% because our inventory in Bloomington-Normal fell to historic lows while buyer activity was up 12%.

Reason #2  Billy didn't take into consideration what buyers would say about his home.  Just because Billy can live with his 1987 parquet entry (parquet flooring reminds me of Boston Garden and Larry Bird) doesn't mean a buyer will want to live with it.

How is a buyer going to feel about your homes condition? If your trying to get the top of the market price..... then you need to know the top of the market expectations.

Reason #3 Billy should have taken that 1st offer 3 days after listing. Value is never higher than when you first hit the market. Every morning when I get to my office (I like to call it the John Armstrong Home Selling Teams pent house in the sky), I look at what sold the previous day. I look to see what they were asking vs what they sold for.  After 18 years of doing this I can tell roughly how long it was listed before I look.

I would never advise you to take a low ball offer but I will give you advise.  It breaks my heart from time to time when against my advise a seller passes up a good offer. On the other hand I've had sellers agree to offers when I advised them to hold out for more.

Reason #4 Billy didn't take the market seriously.  If the market is hot and you've had no activity that should tell you something about your price or marketing.

In the Bloomington-Normal real estate market from March 1 to July 15, the median days to sell a house was 12 days. If you were on the market for 7 days and didn't have a showing...it's time to change what your doing, think about improving your price.

Reason #5 Billy hired his aunt Milly (all names were changed so I don't get in trouble) to list his house, Milly's marketing blows!!!

Billy's problem was he hired aunt Milly to list his property. Billy needed a mind change. He needed The John Armstrong Home Selling Team to PROFESSIONALLY MARKET the sale of his largest asset.  My team has the best SYSTEMS available in the Bloomington-Normal Real Estate market for selling your home.

• It starts with professional advise on getting the home price correctly the first time
• We use a professional photographer with better equipment than any amateur would use
• The great part is we put those picture everywhere buyers are looking 

The John Armstrong Home Selling Team 309-661-7068

For more Bloomington-Normal Real Estate updates, tune into "On The House" with John Armstrong on Saturday morning at 8:00 on Cities 92.9.

To learn more about the John Armstrong Home Selling Team check out JohnArmstrongHomes.com
Follow us on Twitter @JohnArmstrongTm

Houses Under $50k in Bloomington-Normal

How's the Under $50K Market in Bloomington-Normal?

If you've been shopping for a home for sale in Bloomington-Normal under $50,000 this blog is not news to you. The $50K market has been selling like crazy to investors. I believe it's only going to get in Hotter!!!!

Key Stats On Homes listed in Bloomington-Normal for sale since Jan 1 2013 under $50K

• 57 Houses listed since Jan. 1 2013, for sale under $50K since Jan. 1 2013 in Bloomington-Normal
• 8 are currently for sale
• 1 listed for sale is a short sale with an offer currently, 7 houses are available
• 46 have closed
• 3 are currently pending
• 37 Median Days is how long they took to sell

What's Happening In The Bloomigton Housing Market

In doing my daily homework today on the Bloomington-Normal real estate market I found some interesting data. If you look at the surface and see 675 homes for sale in Bloomington-Normal and 99 homes have sold in the previous 30 days. You would think that's pretty average for this time of year. And you would be correct.

However, a closer look tells us not all price ranges are  performing the same. The above $250,000 price range currently has a 22 month supply of homes for sale in Bloomington-Normal. In a balanced market (not a buyers or sellers market) you would see 5-6 months supply

This is much different then we are seeing in the below $250,000 portion of the the Bloomington-Normal market. This segment is performing at a 5 month supply. I would normally expected this to be more like in 9 months given we are in December.

 

 

 

                                                                                                          
       Knowing what is happening in your price range is a critical part of successfully getting your home sold.
If you'd like to know what your home is worth and how that price range is performing contact John Armstrong at John@JohnArmstrongHomes.com 

For more info on the Bloomington-Normal Housing Market  tune into my weekly real estate radio show Saturday mornings at 8:00 called "On The House with John Armstrong" on Cities 92.9                                                                                  
                                                                                                       

Everything You Need To Know About Buying A Hud Property

If you ever wanted to buy a HUD property in Bloomington Illinois here are some things you should know. Of course, The John Armstrong Home Selling Team can help with the process.

Did you know about HUD's:
Good Neighbor Next Door Program?

http://www.hudhomestore.com

Law enforcement officers, pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade teachers and firefighters/emergency medical technicians can contribute to community revitalization while becoming homeowners through HUD's Good Neighbor Next Door Sales Program. HUD offers a substantial incentive in the form of a discount of 50% from the list price of the home. In return you must commit to live in the property for 36 months as your sole residence.

How the Program Works

Eligible Single Family homes located in  revitalization areas are listed exclusively for sales through the Good Neighbor Next Door Sales program. Properties are available for purchase through the program for seven days.
How to Participate in Good Neighbor Next Door

Check the  listings for your state. Follow the instructions to submit your interest in purchasing a specific home. If more than one person submits on a single home a selection will be made by random lottery. You must meet the  requirements for a law enforcement officer, teacher, firefighter or emergency medical technician and comply with HUD's regulations for the program.

HUD requires that you sign a  second mortgage and note for the discount amount. No interest or payments are required on this "silent second" provided that you fulfill the  three-year occupancy requirement.

The number of properties available is limited and the list of available properties changes weekly.

Click the link below to see a new home available in this program!

http://www.hudhomestore.com/Listing/PropertyDetails.aspx?caseNumber=132-181796&sLanguage=ENGLISH&zipCode=&city=&county=mclean&sState=IL&fromPrice=0&toPrice=0&fCaseNumber=&bed=0&bath=0&street=&buyerType=0&specialProgram=&Status=0&OrderbyName=SCASENUMBER&OrderbyValue=ASC&sPageSize=10&pageId=1

The Importance of Great Pictures When Selling Your Home

How important are great online pictures?  I see crazy pictures online all time.  Take 2 minutes to think about 96% of all buyers find their home online.  I know the Bloomington Normal Real Estate market is a lot smaller than most but even in Bloomington people are finding the home they buy online.

 What buyers see on the internet determines what they look at in person.  Professional photography gives home sellers that edge they need for their marketing. 

                                                          

  On left is an example of laziness. Take 5 minutes and pick the room up.

 Use a wide angle lens for showing the room not pictures of funiture

The one on the right is one of my listings. My photographer, Say Anything Photography, even takes the time to remove things on the counters.

The wide angle gives a perspective of the size of the room.
 


Which house would you want to look at? They are the same price.

To hear more about the Bloomington IL Real Estate Market tune in on Saturday Mornings at 8:00 to On The House with John Armstrong on Cities 92.9