1340 N Dearborn # 16E, Chicago, IL
Chicago’s exclusive Gold Coast area!

Selling a home quickly remains a challenge in many markets across the country. Heidi Cole, of the Corcoran Group, offers this advice for anyone who wants to expedite a sale:

Cut the asking price to 10 percent to 15 percent below what comparable properties in the neighborhood are selling for.

Spruce up the outside. Update the landscaping. Power-wash the exterior and paint the door.

Appeal to first-time buyers. Advertise on younger consumers’ favorite Web sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Hire a photographer to shoot the house with a wide-angle lens so the rooms look bigger in online photos.

Price the house in the lower end of the range. A $299,000 house is in the high end of the $250,000 to $300,000 range but a $301,000 home is in the low-end of the $300,000 to $400,000 range.

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How to Woo First-Time Buyers
First-time home buyers can be tough to catch because they are wary of overpaying and skeptical about buying homes in need of improvement.

A survey for Coldwell Banker last year found that 81 percent of first-time buyers said move-in conditions were very important. Only 7 percent were willing to consider fixer-uppers that they could buy cheaply.

Here, according to Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers in Southern California, are ways to lure a first-time buyer:

New paint, decluttering, and removing odors are very important, but don’t urge too many expensive modifications.
Offer to pay closing costs.
Provide a home warranty.
Make a counteroffer, even if the first offer is really low-ball

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Amy Hoak, (06/16/2009)

It’s only 9:45 am. We have listings in Lemont, Chicago, and Lombard! Visit us at Kalerealty.com

The vacancy rate of homeowner housing was virtually unchanged in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the rate in 2007, with vacancies at 2.9 percent and 2.8 percent respectively, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The vacancy rate in the first quarter of the last two years is about 70 percent higher than it was from 1995 to 2005, when the first quarter homeowner vacancy rate never rose above 1.8 percent and generally stood at 1.7 percent or lower. The rental vacancy rate has also remained steady for the last two years at about 10.1 percent. Source: The U.S. Census Bureau

The National Association of Realtors says more than 50 percent of March’s home sales were tied to first-time buyers, many of whom snapped up foreclosed homes and other distressed properties. Experts believe getting first-time buyers off the sidelines to take advantage of historically low rates and federal tax credits will reduce the glut of homes on the market and spark a recovery. Some point out that first-time buyers are helping to revitalize communities in Florida, California, and other states hit hard by foreclosures. However, distressed properties often sell for 20 percent less than traditional properties, and the increase in lower-end sales is driving down the national median home price. Source: USA Today

The housing market is looking healthier, but U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said Wednesday that it is too early to tell if the recovery has taken hold. “We do have some early signs, I think, that the market is stabilizing. Since January, what we’ve seen is both prices and sales volumes moving up and down around a relatively stable number,” Donovan said. Donavan also said he was optimistic that President Obama’s policies are bolstering the market. “I think in particular when you get below the national level what you see is that in markets like California that were the hardest hit, that is where the signs (of recovery) are the strongest,” he said.