Proven methods to sell your house

1. Home Warranty Policies

The thing that is most attractive to buyers is a home warranty policy. The good news is that this is also the most cost-effective incentive option for sellers, too.
Sellers can assure buyers that any unexpected repairs that fall under the warranty policy will be covered. A home warranty typically costs only a few hundred dollars for the seller and can offer the buyer a tremendous amount of peace of mind. There are a number of home warranty providers out there, so make sure you do your research to find the best provider for the home in question.

2. Assistance With Closing Costs

The economic and lending environments have created a situation in which many prospective buyers don’t have the cash required to cover their closing costs. Many times, the difference between a buyer being able to buy a home or having to pass it up can lie in the closing costs.
Sellers who are willing to contribute to the closing costs stand a much greater chance of attracting a larger pool of buyers. Sellers can decide how much they want to offer based on what makes financial sense for them and the prospective buyers. While this might be a bit more costly option than the home warranty, it can be equally as effective in sealing a deal.

3. Remodeling/Repair Credit

If your listing has a feature or flaw that repels buyers, consider offering a credit towards repairs or remodeling. If you are receiving feedback that buyers consistently don’t like a particular aspect of the floor plan or condition of a listing, then consider a credit. This gives you and your client a way to overcome a potential objection right up front. The more objections you can remove, the closer you get to a sale.
These were the top 3 most attractive incentives in according to people who actually purchased homes in 2011. For more, download this great handout on attractive buyer incentives.
The next time you are trying to sweeten the pot for a prospective buyer, consider these options with your sellers. These just might be the incentives you need to land that perfect buyer and close the deal.

Real estate Update

Steve Tyson’s Real Estate Update for 4 Subdivisions

Neuse Harbour  Active homes for sale by price range Current number of homes on the market=10 Pending sales=1 Active homes for sale by price range $190,000-$250,000=3 $295,000-$320,000=2 $,660,000-$1,095,000=5 There was 18 home that sold and closed in Neuse Harbour in the last 12 months. The most expensive house sold was $399,000.	Stately Pines Current homes on the market=6 Pending sales=0 Active homes for sale by price range $139,000-$200,000=4 $270,000-$699,000=3 There were 12 homes that sold and closed in Stately Pines in the last 12 months. The most expensive house sold was $244,000.
Carolina Pines Current homes on the market=15 Pending sales=3 Active homes for sale by price range $119,000-$$150,000=5 $169,000-$200,000=3 $200,000-262,000=6 $305,000=1 There were 20 homes that sold and closed in Carolina Pines in the last 12 months. The highest priced home sold was $255,000.	Tucker Creek Current homes on the market=3 Pending sales=2 Active homes for sale by price range $165,000=1 $259,000 $260,000 There were 10 homes that sold and closed in Tucker Creek in the last 12 months. The highest priced home sold was $229,000.

Total homes sold January 1-August  23 2007=1377

Total homes sold January 1-August  23 2008=1033

Total homes sold January 1-August  23 2009=751

Total homes sold January 1-August  23 2010=828

Total homes sold January 1-August  23.  2011=822

Total homes sold January 1-August  23 2012=835

There are currently 1360 homes listed for sale in our multiple listing service. We are selling homes at a rate of about 107 a month. .

Feel free to call or email me if you would like to have a customized absorption rate or a Comparable Market Analysis for your property. Home sales in each neighborhood can vary greatly.

Any suggestions to make this article better would be welcomed. I can be reached at SteveTyson@NCmove.com  And remember you can always visit me online at www.NewBern-NC.Info

                                      

Realtor Steve Tyson
The Tyson Group Realtors

Real Estate News

I would like to say the Real Estate Market is improving but to do so would not be accurate. In July there were 117 total sales in our MLS. Sales ranged from $27,000-$532,000. All this adds up to about a one year absorption rate, still a buyers market.

However, I am feeling some resistance to further decreases in prices. Seems like things were in somewhat of a free fall for several years and I think in many price ranges today prices are close to the bottom. Only time will tell.

With prices reasonable for the most part, and interest rates at historic lows, with a modest down payment you can buy a home cheaper than you can rent a home.

When will home prices start improving?

This question comes up quite often in my conversations with real estate prospects. My answer is always the same.
Real Estate prices will start improving when the economy starts growing and jobs are being created. The population of the US is growing and the growing population will require additional housing. Sooner or later, hopefully sooner, the demand of the additional growth in the population will put upward pressure on prices. But first, we need jobs and a growing economy.

New Bern Waterfront Homes

Waterfront Homes for Sale

In the past year I have sold 18 waterfront homes and believe we are starting to see some signs that waterfront home prices are starting to stabilize and could start tracking up. When you combine prices and interest rates owning a waterfront home has never been more affordable. If you are on the sideline, you better get in the hunt or you might wait to long. So call the New Bern waterfront expert today to help you find the best waterfront property for you.

New Bern and area home sales

Currently, there are 1387 homes listed for sale in our MLS System. Of these 90 are listed as Bank Owned, and 48 are listed as Short Sales.

During the past year there were 1214 homes sold in our MLS.  This equates to a little over a year absorption rate, not good news if you are a seller. However each price range varies in days on the market before a sale takes place and list price to sells price ratios. If you happen to be in a good price range you could expect to sell in under 120 days. When a house is priced to sell, buyers and buyers agents realize this, and will often make an offer closer to the asking price.

Although the number of bank owned properties is about as high as I have seen it, it is relatively low compared to the market as a whole, about 6%. Interestingly enough, bank owned properties accounted for about 16% of sales in the last year. This probably indicates that banks will get aggressive on their sales price especially when they are not sold in a reasonable time frame.

Year to date home sales are about the same as last year volume wise. Total dollar volume is however down 3%. I am not sure, but believe, this is due to home prices still sliding south.

New Home Sales


There are 154 new homes listed for sale in our MLS. In the last 365 days  237 new homes sold. Of these new home sales, 107 were priced from $150,000-$200,000 This compares to 282 new home sales in the year prior and 330 the year before that. Why are sales down 50% from 2 years ago? I believe this is largely due to banks being very cautious about construction loan lending, more folks looking at renting instead of buying, and attractive existing home prices.

I have read some words of encouragement regarding some housing markets, especially those that were hit the hardest. However, I believe the market will improve when the economy starts to create jobs, and I am not real confident the current President knows how to do this.

Wall Plaster in a 19th Century Log Cabin

When we think about the American frontier, images of isolation, privation and strenuous labor can come to mind.  Life on the frontier certainly was difficult and dangerous.  A homesteader’s first year was often a frantic race to establish his family before the winter’s first snow began to fall.  His first job was to cut timber which cleared land for planting crops and provided logs for building a cabin.  The wife and children might stay with a neighbor or even remain back east while their new house was being built and crops and garden planted.  Conditions in their new log home were primitive as most cabins had only dirt floors, almost no furniture and only a small, cast iron stove for heat and cooking.  However, once established in their new home pioneer families were eager to improve their cabins with siding, wooden floors, paint and plaster.  Even on the frontier people did their best to follow the latest fashions and keep up with the Joneses.

German immigrants Wilhelm and Sophia Ney homesteaded along the Minnesota River just east of Henderson, MN in the 1850s.  Wilhelm built a large 22’x 32’ cabin from maple and basswood logs in 1855 which served as the family's home until he built a larger house out of the local, cream colored Chaska brick.  The old cabin had been cocooned in board and batten siding and converted into a horse barn. However, despite being used to stable horses for many decades, remnants of the original daubing and lath and lime plaster have survived on the rear wall.

Exterior of the Ney cabin showing half dovetail notching and board and batten siding.

The cabin's  interior showing the hewn logs and rafters and plaster remnants.

19^th century plaster was made from lime, sand and sometimes animal hair and applied in up to three coats over wooden lath.  The plaster was mixed on site (the lime often coming from local deposits of limestone) and lath split or riven from trees felled in the area.  Wilhelm Ney split his lath from small branches of willow trees which were abundant along the nearby Minnesota River. The lath was nailed directly to the log walls with a straw backing which allowed the lime plaster to adhere more easily. 

Plaster remnants, lath and wooden pegs used to hold tack for the Neys' horses.

Close-up of the lath, plaster and straw.

Once the newly plastered walls had cured they could be white washed, painted with brightly tinted oil or kalsomine paint or even covered with fashionable wallpaper bought at the local dry goods store.   Indeed, some plaster, paint, siding and a new frame-and-panel door could make a log cabin look as refined as a frame house built in town.   Only its thick, log walls might betray its humble beginnings.

The Ney log cabin can be visited at the Ney Nature Center located just a few miles east of Henderson, MN along State Highway 19.