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Lowering the Price of that Sacramento Home Listing
The California Association of REALTORS sent me and every other Sacramento real estate agent an email this morning. I could not figure out if it was an April Fool’s joke. It said that on April 1, 55 million households will see its new commercials: California REALTORS, Champions of Home. I don’t recall exactly how many people live in California, but I think the number is around 35 million. Maybe 38 million. I suppose many people could own more than one home; hey, I know, maybe babies own a few extra homes.
My thoughts today is how to be a champion of home for sellers in Sacramento when sellers don’t have enough equity and don’t want to do, or won’t qualify for, a short sale. One thing an agent can do is offer to put the home on the market at a price point where it will not be a short sale if a buyer elects to pay that price. In other words, let the market decide. Don’t make the decision for the seller. But that approach can backfire because when the home doesn’t sell, the sellers might be very upset with their agent.
Some agents just want the listing, period. They don’t always care if the home will ever sell. They just want their sign in the front yard and for buyers to call them. It’s free advertising. I never want to be THAT listing agent. I won’t tell sellers what they want to hear. I will tell sellers what I think. That’s what I promised to do many many decades ago when I became a real estate agent, and I don’t vary from that premise today.
Sometimes, it is necessary to tell a seller that the price might be too high. Telltale signs are many showings and no offers. The only thing worse than that is no showings at all, but in this market, buyers want to turn over every rock. Hence, just because a seller is getting showings doesn’t mean the buyer wants to buy that home. If a seller has showings and no offers, then the price might need to be reduced to a point that will entice a buyer to make an offer.
How do you know the price point that will work? By examining comparable sales. In this crazy market, wetting your finger and sticking it in the air might work, too. It might be painful to tell a seller that she may be better off renting her home than trying to sell it, but sometimes, that’s the call a Sacramento real estate agent has to make.
Sun City Hilton Head is Resort Retirement Living
We tried to go into the back entrance of Sun City Hilton Head yesterday, but fast realized the gate was coming down too quickly to zip through without a pass. Which was my suggestion to my husband. Oh, just hurry up and follow that car in. Because that method always works for a Sacramento real estate agent without a passcode or auto reader in the vehicle. But the electronic arms are really fast in the south, where one might expect things to move more slowly and they do except for THIS.
I have clients who have bought and sold homes in Sun City Lincoln and in other Over-55 Active Adult Communities such as Heritage Park in Natomas. But those pale in comparison to Sun City Hilton Head. Why, not only do seniors end up not paying any state income tax, the property taxes are ridiculously low as well. South Carolina is a great state for retirees hoping to save money or live on battered retirement accounts.
My husband’s family has a home in Sun City Hilton Head, so I was treated to a first-hand experience. There many differences between this Sun City and say Sun City in Lincoln, California. For example, the streets are laid out mostly in curves. The homes are oriented on the lots to maximum distractions or annoyances from the neighbors — in other words, they are not lined up in rows looking like duplicates of each other. The designs are very distinctive. Not a tiled roof in my vision path. And many of the homes are situated on ponds or lakes or other inlets of water.
I could be wrong about this but it seems that the home designs and locations seem to take advantage of the environment and work around the natural habitation instead of chopping it all down or draining it. This appears to be a very quiet area where nothing evil lurks except maybe that alligator.
Yes, there is an alligator in the pond out my family’s back door. And a Snowy Great Egret. Cardinals and bluebirds. Of course, there is a golf course. And swimming pools. Clubhouse. Rec room, heck, even a movie theater with a 500 person capacity. It’s got almost everything. But the drawback is one is removed from urban civilization and plopped down in a field among other people mostly all hailing from other states. I guess it beats sitting around and listening to strangers yak about mutual hometown friends and high schools or, worse, being hated by the natives because you’re not from there.
Still, there are no grocery stores, no shopping centers, no museums or art galleries, no restaurants or music halls, none of the stuff you’d find in an actual city. But it’s close enough to heaven for most folks or they wouldn’t have chosen Sun City for retirement.
Rising Home Prices in Sacramento Knock Out Short Sales
Short sales are soooo 2012. When a reporter called to interview me a few weeks back, she asked if I am seeing appreciation in Sacramento and, if so, how much. How much are homes appreciating? Trying to put a finger on the exact amount is difficult without reviewing the variable stats, but my gut said double digit. I wanted to say in the 20% range but I didn’t reach out that far; although, in hindsight, it would have been accurate.
There are so many ways to show and predict the real estate market in Sacramento. You can look at month-over-month numbers and year-over-year, and compare square-foot costs to closed sales, you can manipulate the crap out of numbers to make them say just about anything you want them to reflect. You can say sales prices are going up because homes sold for more this month than they did last month, but that doesn’t take into account the fact that we have fewer homes for sale or more homes or that sellers are moving up and those are not first-time home buyer numbers, and so forth.
What I am seeing all over the board is the fact that rising prices in Sacramento are putting sellers into positions of equity. These are sellers who would have been a short sale candidate last year but this year they are sellers with equity. While they might have been kicked under the table by buyers in March of 2012, this month buyers are handing them real silverware, placing linen napkins in their lap and popping the cork. Sellers with equity are back.
When I get a call from a seller asking if I will handle a short sale for them, the first thing I do now is establish whether they have to do a short sale. Because you know what? They might not have to do a short sale. Many of these sellers are finding that they qualify for a regular sale. Even sellers who are behind in their payments are finding investors who are willing to make up the back payments, bring them whole and even put some money into their pockets — after all is said and done and closing costs are paid.
Is it obvious to everybody? I wouldn’t be writing this if it were. I see it. I see it even if the comparable sales don’t support it because I have special glasses, the kind that see through walls. Not really, but I do spot certain instances that others can’t seem to see. I know which way the wind is blowing. I sold over $32 million last year, and that’s a lot of homes — I see a lot of action. If you are wondering whether you need to do a short sale or if you can sell with equity, you should call this Sacramento real estate agent, yes, me, at 916 233 6759. I might be able to sell your home without it being a short sale.
And wouldn’t that be a fabulous thing for you? Relief might be right around the corner. Get a jump on it. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759. I love my job, and I’m happy to talk with you.
Three New Home Listings in Sacramento Area
Just before Easter, I’ve got a bunch of new home listings in Sacramento coming on the market. One home that I listed over the weekend in Lighthouse Marina is in the process of getting preapproved by Bank of America for a Cooperative Short Sale. Yet, all of the other 3 home listings are available immediately. Not one is a short sale. This is the future of real estate in Sacramento; I’m telling ya. Very few short sales. Many more equity listings. I don’t care what anybody says — if he or she disagrees — because this Sacramento real estate agent sees the writing on the wall. Stats will prove me right later. You can betcha.
My first new listing is an updated Craftsman bungalow in the Med Center for $225,000. Beautiful front porch where you can sit and watch people. Close to restaurants and UC Davis and all of the action. This is an exciting opportunity to own a home for less than rent. Yes, it’s true, there is no garage and parking is restricted, but it’s a gorgeous 1928 Craftsman at an affordable price that takes limited parking into account. So hurry!
Another new listing is a tri-level home in Roseville. If you have a need for four bedrooms, this is your home! On top of that, it features 3 full baths. The tri-level is really a 2214 square-foot two-story with a step-down family room overlooking a park-like yard with a raised and covered deck for outdoor entertaining. It has vaults, a stone fireplace and an open kitchen with tiled counters. All for the astounding price of $395,000.
Next, we have a popular single-story near Machado Dairy Park in Elk Grove. This is a corner home overlooking a cul-de-sac with 1870 square feet and 4 bedrooms. It is situated on Pedra Do Sol Way, where I have another listing presently in escrow. This streets winds around off the main drag and is south of Whitelock, which makes it even more attractive to first-time home buyers. The exotic wood floors are so bright it hurts the eyes to look at them. Sunlight floods this home. Priced right at $285,000.
Who says there are no new listings in Sacramento? Here are 3 that are new to the market today. No waiting for bank approval. All owned by sellers with equity. Fast closing possible. Interest rates are still under 4%. What are you waiting for? This is the best opportunity you’ve had in years to buy a home. Get moving. Call me for a private showing. Elizabeth Weintraub, 916 233 6759.
Can a Sacramento Real Estate Agent Guarantee Service?
How can you guarantee a client will be perfectly happy with your services? I mean, you might be providing extraordinary service and your client could be half bonkers, unable to recognize this gift of superior excellence. Or, you could be a crummy Sacramento real estate agent or doesn’t give a crap what others think — rendering any guarantee of happiness and satisfaction totally worthless. I believe a guarantee of satisfaction means the person providing the service will make it right. It’s not like if one finds a fly in one’s soup one can be served another bowl of soup, but it’s a similar concept.
I offer my clients a 100% guarantee of satisfaction. If they are unhappy for some reason, I will go to any lengths to make them happy. The secret is to try to not let it get to the part where they are unhappy. Sometimes, it’s beyond an agent’s control. For example, let’s say I explain over and over to a seller that when we get the short sale approval letter, we will most likely be given 30 days to close escrow. I explain the entire short sale process. I talk about how quickly we’ll receive an offer, the 6 to 8 weeks it will probably take to get the offer approved by the bank, and then the 30 days to close.
I’ve been selling real estate long enough to know there are some words a client does not hear, and if the words are heard, they might not be understood. Thirty days to close is one thing if a client is thinking about the 30 days between March 1st to March 31st. It’s quite another when she realizes if a sale closes on March 30th, she might not find a place to move because most rentals are available on April 1st. That’s a dilemma.
Fortunately, I have an answer for that. Another agent might say, nope, you’ve gotta close on March 30th. The bank said so, and the bank rules. This agent whose blog you are reading will, on the other hand, work to make her seller happy. I promised her.
So, now we have a closing date of April 11th. It’s not just lip service or meaningless words I stick into my biography. I really mean it. A personal guarantee of 100% client satisfaction. That’s my mission.
