June 2010

Article by: Phoebe Chongchua

You love your home but when it comes time to sell, you have to share the love. In the other words, you have to make your home be seen in the eyes of potential buyers as their home. That can be tricky.

But if you do some of the basic things such as clearing clutter, creating light, bright, and open space, adding curb appeal, removing personal items (family photos, trinkets), fresh paint, and clean or new carpet -- you'll be on your way to attracting serious buyers. I've written a lot about staging and creating curb appeal so check out my other columns for more on those topics.

In this column, however, we're looking at specific areas that create widespread appeal inside the home. Here are some of the top areas to improve: countertops, flooring, built-in furniture, and old-style attached fixtures such as those big sheet mirrors in the bathroom. However, when making these improvements, there's one important consideration.

Functionality is the greatest concern cited by homeowners, according to the latest poll conducted by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).

"The functionality of a home is very important, especially over the long term, as many homeowners in this economy have opted for remodeling over moving to new homes," says NARI National President Paul Zuch, CR, president of Capital Improvements.

So let's explore the areas I mentioned earlier and see how improving these items can lead to greater interest in your home. Countertops are fixtures in homes. So making sure that you select the best material to endure the daily wear and tear is important. If we're talking about the kitchen, for instance, there are many options: granite, tile, recycled glass (for a green option), solid steel, composite stone, butcher block, laminate, and even concrete.

Yes, that last one sounds surprising but concrete is being used for countertops and laminate isn't necessarily trying to mimic other materials anymore.

Instead, homeowners are embracing laminate's own unique high-tech look. The popular trend is a mixing of several styles creating a blended custom look for the kitchen.

But in the end, functionality will rate highest for potential buyers. All of the countertop materials mentioned above have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to maintenance and usage; make sure you completely research the material before selecting it for your home.

Fixtures are an important area to improve. "People know a lot more about design," Laura Kirar from Laura Kirar-TRU Design told the Alexandria Times. These days, quirky, eclectic styles from international trends are becoming more prevalent in the United States. However, push the envelope too far with quirkiness and you just might lose a potential buyer. What's important to know is that buyers are paying attention to fixtures. If you have damaged or worn out faucets or lighting, it's best to replace them before showing your home. Also, replacing those big, nothing-special sheet mirrors with some framed mirrors can add a unique look without costing very much. While you don't want to have to spend a lot just before you sell your home, remember that these seemingly small items can have a great impact on improving buyers' interest in your home.

Flooring is a big interest for buyers. Wood floors are still very popular. Many Realtors say buyers are looking for hardwood floors. That's partly because they endure and don't go out of style. However, if they're damaged it can be a drawback because buyers may focus on how much work it will take and cost to do the repairs.

Built-in furniture can improve a home. Built-in bookcases and entertainment centers can save space and help make the room look larger. However, there's a downside. Built-in furniture isn't easily movable. So, potential buyers will have to really find the furniture useful and suitable for their needs. "It's all about personalization—homeowners want to know that their space can be converted easily into a different space in the future," Zuch said in a press statement by NARI. And that's what buyers want as well—the ability to make your home theirs when the sale closes.

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Easy Tips to Stay Cool (and Save Energy)
This Summer

Green the Block, www.greentheblock.net, is offering some simple summer tips to stay cool and save energy. Find a few tips below and at this link.

1. Using operable windows, shutters, awnings, and vents as originally intended to control the interior environment.

2. Place your air conditioner in a central window, rather than a corner window, to allow for better air movement.

3. Fans can make rooms feel five to ten degrees cooler and use 80% less energy than air conditioners.

4. To get the hot air out at night: open the downstairs windows, and use window fans in upstairs windows to suck large volumes of hot air out of the top floor of the house. On really hot evenings, run bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans for an hour.

5. Unplug the AC to DC power converters when they're not needed. Some of them use electricity even when nothing's attached to them, and they produce heat when they consume power. Feel each plugged-in power converter. If it's cold, it is not using much electricity and isn't warming your house. If it's hot, unplug it if possible.

This month's trivia: What percentage of the land area of the U.S. above 10,000 feet is located in Colorado?

For the answer, check out our Facebook fan page!
 

Article by: Kenneth R. Harney

The Federal Reserve's latest region-by-region analysis of the national economy, the so-called "Beige Book" released last week, has an important message for anyone interested in real estate: It's a gradual recovery out there, but it's for real and it should prove durable.

The Fed's report, which is based on detailed assessments from 12 member banks spread around the country, noted that the home purchase tax credits have stimulated sales as they were intended to do.

But what happens when they're gone? Most economists in the Federal Reserve System "think that low interest rates and fairly low prices will continue to make the (housing) market attractive for prospective buyers," says the report.

Some dramatic pickups in local sales this spring were highlighted by the Fed -- the state of Maine, for instance, saw a 63 percent year over year jump in the latest month, Rhode Island sales were up by 26 percent and New York 20 percent.

The Fed didn't mention them by name, but there are dozens of other metropolitan markets that have racked up hefty gains as well: hard-hit Miami saw house and condo sales jump 31 percent in April over the same month the year before.

Baltimore sales jumped by 26 percent, Washington, DC by 36 percent. Metropolitan Nashville, Tennessee, saw sales increase by 27 percent.

Though most of these areas are still reporting either flat or slightly negative prices, a handful are beginning to see positive appreciation.

San Francisco and San Diego both are looking at 5 percent appreciation, according to the (Integrated Asset Services) IAS 360 housing price index released last week.

Palm Beach, Florida prices are up 3 percent. And Orange County, California, prices up by 1.4 percent, according to the IAS index.

Now, no one is predicting a break-out of big-time home price appreciation across the country anytime soon. But the IAS numbers suggest that home buyers and owners can at least be confident that we've reached or passed the bottom in most areas.

Nationwide, the index found prices in April were up by almost one percent.

Of course there are still some major roadblocks in the way of any full economic and housing market recovery. Tops on the list: the naggingly high and persistent unemployment numbers.

Although the latest federal jobs report looked good at first glance -- a net 431,000 gain and a decline in the unemployment rate to 9.7 percent from 9.9 -- most of those came from temporary Census-taker hirings.

So, as usual, the picture is complicated. But overall, we think the Federal Reserve probably has the outlook pegged about right.

Alice P's Market Update www.rogersrealty.net
www.rogersnrogers.com		 June 2010