2666 Norwich St 1, Fitchburg: "$25,000 in improvements since 2010: Renewal by Andersen Doors & Windows. New furnace. New A/C. Tile, vanities, kitchen counters & flooring. Zero Condo fees! Spacious main bedroom with extra closets. Recreation room in lower level has a full bath. Dining Room opens to a deck & fabulous yard with room for garden and play. All appliances, even front loading wash machine & dryer & butcher's block kitchen island included. Quick closing possible."
Staying in the Verona and Fitchburg School District is affordable and easy by owning this Townhouse. Quiet location and close to the Elementary and Middle School Campus.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Middleton Schools Homes With Acres Selling This Year
A home in the country is well within the reach of Dane County home buyers again. Six years ago developer land grabs pushed the cost of dirt sky high and builder prices were at a premium. The new economy has forced developers to release their grip on land, builders have left the industry, material prices have come down, and building contract prices have adjusted to demand. On top of that, the existing homes built in the last dozen years are coming on the market and their prices are favorable.
Seven homes, priced between $599,900 and a million dollars, in rural Dane County NW, have closed in the Middleton High School district according to the RASCW MLS. Every neighborhood I look at shows just about the same results: Owners are accepting offers in about 50 days after getting the price close to where buyer's appear to be waiting. The patience of the owners is also about the same everywhere. Six, seven, eight months pass before owners make that last necessary price change. Are owners letting go, or just losing their grip?
Maybe the reasons owners start at a price that doesn't get the attention of the buyers are diverse, but the results are consistent: When you count time on the market in terms of months, statistics are showing you may be likely to end up accepting an offer below 90% of your initial asking price. The seven homes closed this year sold at 82% of their initial asking price. 94% of their last price means the owners are down an average of over a $100,000 from their initial price.
OK, these are averages and some locations are just better than others. It's not accurate to say "You home is worth X% of this price because it has been on the market X months." Of course that's silly. Here's my suggestion as to what might make sense: If you started the process of selling 60 days ago, with a price which was supported by recent sales at that time, and you are still on the market, a price change could be in order. How much? It depends. Look at the recent sales...don't hung up on the differences in your home. Agree that the homes are different and try to focus on what people are getting in the price range. If you thought your home was worth $650,000 and other homes between $550,000 and $750,000 are selling for an average of $25,000 less than the last asking price, but $75,000 less than the first, you probably will have more activity by t moving aggressively toward that $75,000 number than you will by creeping nearer the $25,000 drop.
My point is this: The best we can do is price according to sales at a given time. Then the buyers who are out there look at homes and judge them based on their criteria. While we are on the market, other homes are selling. If the new sales are lower than the old sales, and we are not getting an offer, it is reasonable to expect that we will not get an offer at the price we are at and we should move accordingly. The model of pricing I believe in works this way: If we are targeting the right buyer and the right buyer is not making an offer, we have to change the price to appeal to the buyer. If we are targeting the wrong, buyer we can change the marketing. Does that make sense? If not, we should talk. If yes, we should definitely talk.
Seven homes, priced between $599,900 and a million dollars, in rural Dane County NW, have closed in the Middleton High School district according to the RASCW MLS. Every neighborhood I look at shows just about the same results: Owners are accepting offers in about 50 days after getting the price close to where buyer's appear to be waiting. The patience of the owners is also about the same everywhere. Six, seven, eight months pass before owners make that last necessary price change. Are owners letting go, or just losing their grip?
Maybe the reasons owners start at a price that doesn't get the attention of the buyers are diverse, but the results are consistent: When you count time on the market in terms of months, statistics are showing you may be likely to end up accepting an offer below 90% of your initial asking price. The seven homes closed this year sold at 82% of their initial asking price. 94% of their last price means the owners are down an average of over a $100,000 from their initial price.
OK, these are averages and some locations are just better than others. It's not accurate to say "You home is worth X% of this price because it has been on the market X months." Of course that's silly. Here's my suggestion as to what might make sense: If you started the process of selling 60 days ago, with a price which was supported by recent sales at that time, and you are still on the market, a price change could be in order. How much? It depends. Look at the recent sales...don't hung up on the differences in your home. Agree that the homes are different and try to focus on what people are getting in the price range. If you thought your home was worth $650,000 and other homes between $550,000 and $750,000 are selling for an average of $25,000 less than the last asking price, but $75,000 less than the first, you probably will have more activity by t moving aggressively toward that $75,000 number than you will by creeping nearer the $25,000 drop.
My point is this: The best we can do is price according to sales at a given time. Then the buyers who are out there look at homes and judge them based on their criteria. While we are on the market, other homes are selling. If the new sales are lower than the old sales, and we are not getting an offer, it is reasonable to expect that we will not get an offer at the price we are at and we should move accordingly. The model of pricing I believe in works this way: If we are targeting the right buyer and the right buyer is not making an offer, we have to change the price to appeal to the buyer. If we are targeting the wrong, buyer we can change the marketing. Does that make sense? If not, we should talk. If yes, we should definitely talk.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
If I Knew Then What I Know Now...
"If I could turn back time...You walked out that door I swore that I didn't care
But I lost everything darling then and there..." Well like Cher, you can't turn back the hands of time, but you haven't really lost everything. Equity is only money, and if you think about it, equity isn't money either; more like ink in the shape of numbers on paper. Oh, sure we had clung to those numbers. Like a King in his counting house we counted out our money. "Saving" was easy. Just wait a few months and change the numbers on the spread sheet by a few percentage points.
Since 1989 I've talked to people who say this about real estate: "If I knew then what I know now...." Some years they'd be buyers, some years they'd be sellers, and some years were right to be a renter. We probably did know more than we admit, we just didn't believe what we were seeing and hearing. Today we have a chance to redeem ourselves using a new found trust in the evidence. Before you enter the real estate market as a home seller, know this: HOMES SELL IN LESS THAN 60 DAYS WHEN PROPERLY PRICED.
I'm telling you today what you need to know to avoid the implications of taking an action without being aware of what's happening. You can look in any neighborhood in Dane County and find the evidence to support this statement: Price according to sales in the last six months and you will negotiate an offer in 60 days or less. Price according to what you wish for and you will stay on the market until you adjust to the price supported by recent sales. Plan on this: a home properly priced will sell for 95-97% of the asking price in less than 60 days. Miss the price and you may take more than six months to get 89-94% of your first price...after a long time trying.
Give or take a few days and percents, I will bet you a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut that the numbers for January through June will be consistent in any market area in Dane County.
McFarland over $299,900:
If you follow this concept of pricing where the evidence supports and not at what you hope for, you will get where you want to be with a lot less time invested. In fact, you will also be able to say "I'm glad I knew what I knew when I needed to know what I know now." You don't have to hire me to use this strategy, but I do like my Krispy Kreme HOT NOW.
Best wishes--no luck involved, this is just math.
But I lost everything darling then and there..." Well like Cher, you can't turn back the hands of time, but you haven't really lost everything. Equity is only money, and if you think about it, equity isn't money either; more like ink in the shape of numbers on paper. Oh, sure we had clung to those numbers. Like a King in his counting house we counted out our money. "Saving" was easy. Just wait a few months and change the numbers on the spread sheet by a few percentage points.
Since 1989 I've talked to people who say this about real estate: "If I knew then what I know now...." Some years they'd be buyers, some years they'd be sellers, and some years were right to be a renter. We probably did know more than we admit, we just didn't believe what we were seeing and hearing. Today we have a chance to redeem ourselves using a new found trust in the evidence. Before you enter the real estate market as a home seller, know this: HOMES SELL IN LESS THAN 60 DAYS WHEN PROPERLY PRICED.
I'm telling you today what you need to know to avoid the implications of taking an action without being aware of what's happening. You can look in any neighborhood in Dane County and find the evidence to support this statement: Price according to sales in the last six months and you will negotiate an offer in 60 days or less. Price according to what you wish for and you will stay on the market until you adjust to the price supported by recent sales. Plan on this: a home properly priced will sell for 95-97% of the asking price in less than 60 days. Miss the price and you may take more than six months to get 89-94% of your first price...after a long time trying.
Give or take a few days and percents, I will bet you a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut that the numbers for January through June will be consistent in any market area in Dane County.
McFarland over $299,900:
- Avg First Price: $386,117
- Avg Last Price: $378,783
- Avg Sold Price: $362,083
- Sale price as Percent of last asking Price: 96%. Sale price as percent of first price: 94%
- Cumulative days on the market on average: 163 Days.
- Average Days on the market after last price change: 53
- Avg First Price: $724,900
- Avg Last Price: $609,780
- Avg Sold Price: $584,374
- Sale price as Percent of last asking Price: 95%. Sale price as percent of first price: 87%
- Cumulative days on the market on average: 289 Days.
- Average Days on the market after last price change: 50
If you follow this concept of pricing where the evidence supports and not at what you hope for, you will get where you want to be with a lot less time invested. In fact, you will also be able to say "I'm glad I knew what I knew when I needed to know what I know now." You don't have to hire me to use this strategy, but I do like my Krispy Kreme HOT NOW.
Best wishes--no luck involved, this is just math.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
By Necessity We're All Learning to Rebuild a Better Real Estate Community
"Necessity is the mother of invention." Maybe Plato said it first, but we're living it today. Difficult situations have inspired us to apply solutions which are sometimes smart, sometimes ingenious, at times unique and creative. Usually these solutions are not all together new, and sometimes they are neither smart nor effective. But, we are living and learning and moving forward regardless of the results of the lever pulling behind the curtain of Oz.
A new consumer of real estate and real estate services is emerging. Ambiguity is flushed out by inquisitive consumers, service providers, and underwriters. Owners are demanding better evidence of a buyer's ability to consummate a purchase and buyers are taking more time to consider the implications of a contract before committing. That's wise, because the lenders and sellers are holding buyers accountable right up to closing.
The service is changing too. As Realtors and mortgage lenders who can't make a profit in their business leave the industry, they make room for enthusiastic business minded people who come in with their expectations in check. Real estate firms have adjusted their training/coaching to develop talented people to be effective Realtors in the new economy. These new licensees know no other market. They aren't burdened by the "old ideas" and start fresh learning the basic principles of highly effective business models. Maybe by the end of this year we will see that 20+% of the licensees terminate their membership in the National Association of Realtors in the last 24 months. That's good for the consumer. No industry is capable of providing exceptional service with people who are one foot out the door.... or further. The mortgage lenders who didn't give up their day jobs are out and the skilled, responsible people are again dominating our market. These are not times for order takers. Smart people who solve challenges, without creating them, are in charge.
Everyone in the process, buyers, sellers, lenders, Realtors, title companies,.. everyone, has learned and trimmed of the fat of recklessness; and the process is healthy. Back to what it was? Definitely not. Will it get back to what it once was? Hopefully not. Those of us who have been in real estate for 15, 20 and 30 years owe it to the community to rebuild a better real estate community before we leave.
A new consumer of real estate and real estate services is emerging. Ambiguity is flushed out by inquisitive consumers, service providers, and underwriters. Owners are demanding better evidence of a buyer's ability to consummate a purchase and buyers are taking more time to consider the implications of a contract before committing. That's wise, because the lenders and sellers are holding buyers accountable right up to closing.
The service is changing too. As Realtors and mortgage lenders who can't make a profit in their business leave the industry, they make room for enthusiastic business minded people who come in with their expectations in check. Real estate firms have adjusted their training/coaching to develop talented people to be effective Realtors in the new economy. These new licensees know no other market. They aren't burdened by the "old ideas" and start fresh learning the basic principles of highly effective business models. Maybe by the end of this year we will see that 20+% of the licensees terminate their membership in the National Association of Realtors in the last 24 months. That's good for the consumer. No industry is capable of providing exceptional service with people who are one foot out the door.... or further. The mortgage lenders who didn't give up their day jobs are out and the skilled, responsible people are again dominating our market. These are not times for order takers. Smart people who solve challenges, without creating them, are in charge.
Everyone in the process, buyers, sellers, lenders, Realtors, title companies,.. everyone, has learned and trimmed of the fat of recklessness; and the process is healthy. Back to what it was? Definitely not. Will it get back to what it once was? Hopefully not. Those of us who have been in real estate for 15, 20 and 30 years owe it to the community to rebuild a better real estate community before we leave.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Healthy Real Estate Markets and a Passion for Peace
When I am most at peace with the business of real estate, my approach to the circumstances of the day is guided by writings of people such as Thomas Merton and less by the ways of business gurus. For a few years I've kept my eyes open for Merton's Passion for Peace, Reflections on War and Nonviolence, copyright 1995. Last week the book finally found me. It was out of place on a shelf (probably discarded by a person when something more intriguing found them) and I scooped it up. Compiled from Cold War year writings by Merton, the peace reflections are relevant to me for processing the conflicts of today in government, politics, my business, and my daily interactions.
Memorial Day weekend is an appropriate time to dedicate myself to practicing principals of peace and looking for areas in my business where I will be aware to apply healthy actions. I can see that some of the changes are well underway in my life and I know those changes have made me a more useful person to the consumers who trust me. Areas I am paying attention to:
- Results: Sales by the numbers are detractors. To determine anything to be Good or Bad by the volume of business I do would be an indicator that my thinking is stinking. Fixation on results by the numbers leads to coercion.
- Coercion: Affordability Indexes are tools of coercion when applied to home ownership for me. I am not licensed to sell investments and when I reduce a home ownership idea as a financially viable alternative I have crossed into an area out of my expertise. A tool in the hands of an unqualified person may be a damaging weapon.
- Calculations: Plans and schemes to anticipate a person's reaction are tools to put me in charge of manipulating situations to my benefit.
- Patience: Allowing people to make decisions on their own time, based on their own values, and accepting the decision keeps me at peace and puts peace into the lives of other people.
I know I do not have a monopoly on peaceful business practices so when I say I consider this real estate economy to be healthy, it's not just from my perspective. The level of activity is allowing people room to think, time to rest, and opportunities to consider other's points of view. A frantic pace is not either just good or just bad, but a pace of patience and understanding is peaceful.
Wishing you a peaceful Memorial Day, with gratitude to all who gave their lives so that I may live another day.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Blackhawk---Looking as Strong as it Once Was
There was a time when it seemed any home in Blackhawk had a buyer as soon as the house hit the market. For us Realtors who provided relocation services to Madison area employers, getting a home for your client was a race to the finish. All that seemed to change a few years ago when the prices peaked at the same time buyers vanished. In 2009-10 we were helping people rent Blackhawk homes. We saw the activity begin to pick up late last year and decisions to buy are turning into commitments this spring.
Fifteen homes will close between the middle of December and the end of July it appears. There have been six closings already and another nine homes have offers pending. That's a big load of the higher end inventory in Middleton and good news for people who have yet to put their home on the market. I don't think all of the buyers have made commitments by any means. (But be cautious--some of the buyers are committed to tremendous value and they aren't about to buy above the bottom price---).
The only thing stopping home owners from selling is--well, the home owner themselves. On average, owners are selling for 10% less than their initial asking price and they are patient. About 180 days (5 months) go by before the owners get their price in line with the expectations of the buyers. After that, the owners are negotitating acceptable offers in less than 50 days. Sales prices are 96% of last asking prices and that's pretty fine even in the sizzling market of 2005.
If you're moving from Blackhawk, be aware your buyer can not be fooled. They see everything from Fitchburg to Verona, to SW Madison, to west Dane, to Waunakee. They know the prices, the values, and they are inspired to get a price they can write home about. Buyers, are wise to know that owners in Blackhawk know what you know too--there is only one Blackhawk. Price of admission is still going to be a little more than you might have expected.
Fifteen homes will close between the middle of December and the end of July it appears. There have been six closings already and another nine homes have offers pending. That's a big load of the higher end inventory in Middleton and good news for people who have yet to put their home on the market. I don't think all of the buyers have made commitments by any means. (But be cautious--some of the buyers are committed to tremendous value and they aren't about to buy above the bottom price---).
The only thing stopping home owners from selling is--well, the home owner themselves. On average, owners are selling for 10% less than their initial asking price and they are patient. About 180 days (5 months) go by before the owners get their price in line with the expectations of the buyers. After that, the owners are negotitating acceptable offers in less than 50 days. Sales prices are 96% of last asking prices and that's pretty fine even in the sizzling market of 2005.
If you're moving from Blackhawk, be aware your buyer can not be fooled. They see everything from Fitchburg to Verona, to SW Madison, to west Dane, to Waunakee. They know the prices, the values, and they are inspired to get a price they can write home about. Buyers, are wise to know that owners in Blackhawk know what you know too--there is only one Blackhawk. Price of admission is still going to be a little more than you might have expected.
Monday, May 2, 2011
April Accepted Offer Numbers Will Be Up
April showers didn't stop home buyers from getting out and making offers. The activity was as brisk as the temperatures. I expect in July we will see that May and June were aggressive closing months. What happened in April has everything to do with people grasping reality instead of straws.
First time home buyers are reaping the benefits of resisting the 2010 tax temptation...I mean break. Instead of competing with other government subsidized consumers for over priced homes, those who waited have accepted offers on homes priced up to 40% below what they would have paid last spring. Owners are conceding to the facts of the market and letting go of hope for prices that can't be substantiated. Foreclosed homes are trickling on to the market in ones and twos at unusually low prices and the banks are creating competition which otherwise wouldn't exist with a strategy worth noting. In one neighborhood of homes built in 2004 and '05, one home came on the market at $183,000 and sold to the best offer at $200,000; a great price for a 4 bedroom 6 year old home. As soon as that one closed, the bank released another that had sold new for $220,000. The asking price of $174,000 drew at least six offers. I'm guessing that one will close around $195,000--I'll be curious to see.
In the higher price points owners are seeing plenty of qualified buyers coming to town. If we didn't know better we'd think the relocating buyers meet at the Dane County Airport and plan their strategy. Even multiple offers aren't driving prices to the upper limits and owners are placing value on such novel ideas as cash and terms and closing dates.
A healthy market means the local buyer isn't at a big disadvantage to the transferee and they have a chance to negotiate an offer without promising to take a bridge loan until their home sells. Offers subject to sale aren't as taboo today; in fact if you look at in a fishing analogy, an offer on your house subject to sale of another house is like having two lines in the water--if you get a fish on either line you have a chance to catch the one more you need for a limit.
Last spring the activity was 60% below $250,000. This year we'll see the market represented in a more healthy way with sales from top to bottom. April sales might still pale, but nothing is ever either just good or bad. How about we look at things as healthy or unhealthy? The health of the consumer continues to grow as everyone gains insight---knowledge of what is reality.
First time home buyers are reaping the benefits of resisting the 2010 tax temptation...I mean break. Instead of competing with other government subsidized consumers for over priced homes, those who waited have accepted offers on homes priced up to 40% below what they would have paid last spring. Owners are conceding to the facts of the market and letting go of hope for prices that can't be substantiated. Foreclosed homes are trickling on to the market in ones and twos at unusually low prices and the banks are creating competition which otherwise wouldn't exist with a strategy worth noting. In one neighborhood of homes built in 2004 and '05, one home came on the market at $183,000 and sold to the best offer at $200,000; a great price for a 4 bedroom 6 year old home. As soon as that one closed, the bank released another that had sold new for $220,000. The asking price of $174,000 drew at least six offers. I'm guessing that one will close around $195,000--I'll be curious to see.
In the higher price points owners are seeing plenty of qualified buyers coming to town. If we didn't know better we'd think the relocating buyers meet at the Dane County Airport and plan their strategy. Even multiple offers aren't driving prices to the upper limits and owners are placing value on such novel ideas as cash and terms and closing dates.
A healthy market means the local buyer isn't at a big disadvantage to the transferee and they have a chance to negotiate an offer without promising to take a bridge loan until their home sells. Offers subject to sale aren't as taboo today; in fact if you look at in a fishing analogy, an offer on your house subject to sale of another house is like having two lines in the water--if you get a fish on either line you have a chance to catch the one more you need for a limit.
Last spring the activity was 60% below $250,000. This year we'll see the market represented in a more healthy way with sales from top to bottom. April sales might still pale, but nothing is ever either just good or bad. How about we look at things as healthy or unhealthy? The health of the consumer continues to grow as everyone gains insight---knowledge of what is reality.
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