Real Estate Reviews by Real Estate Broker Rick Rodriguez

October 2009 Real Estate Market Report

By Rick Rodriguez

Good news....

According to the National Association of Realtors chief economist, Lawrence Yun, the housing market has turned for the better: “The recovery is broad-based across many parts of the country. Housing affordability is at record highs."

The Pending Home Sales Index reports that contract activity for pending home sales supports this good news. Pending sales have risen for six straight months. This six-month upswing is a pattern never before seen since the Index began in 2001, according to the NAR. These “pending sales” represent a signed contract where the property has not yet closed.

Buyers are taking advantage of lower home prices. Yun also says “Existing-home sales are expected to rise through the end of the year and into next year."

On the other hand...

 

HOME PRICE REDUCTION LEVELS STAY ABOVE 25 PERCENT FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH ACCORDING TO TRULIA’S OCTOBER PRICE REDUCTION REPORT

 

Northeast Leads Country in Price Reductions for Month of October with Nearly One of Every Three Homes in Region Cutting Asking Prices

SAN FRANCISCO, October 8, 2009 – Trulia, Inc. announced recently that 25.6 percent of homes currently on the market in the United States as of October 1, 2009 have experienced at least one price cut. More than one in four current listings on Trulia have been reduced in price for the fourth straight month. The total amount slashed from home prices is $28.4 billion, a $967 million increase from June 2009. The average discount for price-reduced homes continues to hold steady at ten percent off of the original listing price through the fourth quarter and into next year."   See full story at www.trulia.com go to Press Releases.

So, what gives?  On one hand you've got our Chief Economist pouring out some optimistic news yet we're still seeing price reductions across the nation!  I'd say both observations are correct.  There is plenty of activity in the Bay Area real estate market.  Buyers are hurriedly trying to capture a home prior to the tax-credit disappearing at end of Novemeber and this is putting pressure on the inventory levels.  That may not be true across every real estate price point; however, it certainly is a factor in some ranges. 

MORE PROOF.........of sales activity

Around the Bay Area, 7,879 new and resale homes and condos sold in September. That was up 5 percent from the 7,518 sales in August and 8 percent from the 7,271 sales one year ago.   The month-to-month gain was atypical: sales normally decline around 11 percent from August to September. In DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988, September sales have increased three other times, in 1988, 1992 and 2008. September sales have averaged 8,835, ranging from 5,014 in 2007 to 13,343 in 2003. Last month's year-over-year sales gain was the 13th in a row

Are there price reductions out there?  Yes, of course, and in some cases great values are being sold at bargain prices.  In fact, in some cases, it's cheaper to buy than to contruct a new home. 

It will take work but good buys are out there.  I've seen them in Danville, Concord, Oakland, Castro Valley, and Hayward.  Expect a bit of a challenge in some price points as buyers are competing for housing.  Contact me today!

 www.6325BooneDrive.com

Real Estate Market Report September 2009

By Rick Rodriguez

We are entering this fall with momentum. For the first time in five years, home sales have increased for four months in a row as reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The monthly sales gains are the largest on record for total existing-home sales dating back to 1999. Single family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops rose 7.2%. The Commerce Department reports that new home sales rose 9.6% in July.

These increases are attributed largely to competitive prices and first-time home buyers. Also, inventory is falling. New home inventory is at its lowest supply in 16 years. And a 4.9% increase in orders to durable goods offers a positive sign for real estate and the overall economic landscape. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, reports that “the demand for foreclosed and lower-priced homes has spiked and a lack of inventory is becoming a common complaint.”

What I find interesting is that locally there are two parallel trends going on. In our area (Alameda & Contra Costa counties), the lower price range reflects more sales at reduced prices. Here is where you find short sales and foreclosures, though now with multiple bids. The traffic and offers is high in price points from 300k to 500k.  Many buyers are frustrated because it's easy to get caught up in the gloomy economic outlook and be flabbergasted over 10 offers on one house.  It's a truly different experience for those, like me, on the front lines of today's real estate market.

 

The million dollar question is where will real estate values go from here?  The million dollar answer: who the heck knows!  No, just kidding!  The way I answer the question from a professional perspective follows:

While buying right, or at the right purchase price is of course optimal; the reality, however, is we can never time the market.  My best advice is buy for needs and be satisfied with the purchase for the money  paid.  Markets are unpredictable but once the purchase is concluded it's best to acquire all the necessities needed for comfort, security, and peace of mind. 

 

Since 1984, I've specialized in listing and selling real estate in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area) Area.  My strengths are transaction management, residential and investment property, technology, marketing, and property management.  For more information visit me at www.RickRodriguez.net

 

 

Real Estate Market Report August 2009

By Rick Rodriguez

I hope you’re enjoying your summer. Some are calling our current real estate market the “summer bounce.” You have probably seen on the news that real estate is on the upswing. Some areas are experiencing multiple offers with homes closing for more than the asking price. One online real estate website reports that seven of the top ten areas receiving multiple offers are in California.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) statistics reflect this bounce: existing-home sales rose for the third consecutive month with an increase of 3.6% in June. NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun explained that the uptrend is due to tax credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions.

Let’s break down last month’s existing home sales by region:

• West: 6.4% jump in sales volume
• Northeast: 2.5% increase
• Midwest: 0.9% higher
• South: 4.0% rise

29% of these sales were from first-time buyers. There are 12% more buyers looking at homes now than a year ago. As homes sell, inventory is shrinking: total housing inventory last month fell 0.7%. Existing condominium sales jumped 14%. Yun predicts the increase in sales in all major regions of the country will continue for the rest of this year.

San Francisco Bay Area

The vast majority of sales remain under the million dollar mark in the Bay Area.  But there is a noticeable divide throughout the Bay Area.

The deep divide is reflected in Marin, which is one of the highest priced counties in the Bay Area. In July there were 1210 single family listings—621 under a million of which 38% of them were in escrow, 359 in the one to two million dollar range of which 19% were in escrow, and 230 over two million of which only 7% were in escrow. If you looked at all of the listings over one million, only 14.6% are in escrow or about one in seven listings.

There are many reasons why this could be occurring.  Loans over the conforming limits are still more difficult to obtain, as lenders continue to require larger down payments, interest rates continue to be higher than conforming loans, and lender appraisals make for more challenging negotiations. Many sellers on the market are still testing the waters because either lower asking prices would put them under water or they think that their homes are unique and unusual, believing that buyers would be willing to overlook comparable homes that have sold for less. 

As I tour new listings around the Bay Area, I find that only about 10% of these new listings over a million dollars have a real chance of selling at or near their asking prices.  The others will wallow on the market, many having to reduce their prices until they finally have a willing buyer.  Some sellers receive offers which they consider too low and they reject them. Ironically, over time the list price falls below the offer price.  Had the seller taken the initial offer, they could have saved time, money, and stress.

The bulk of sales in most marketplaces fall below the $700K mark. The vast majority of multiple offers are in the lower price ranges.  There is strong activity for well priced homes! For example, a Berkeley 2 bedr./1ba. home listed at $495K received 15 offers, and an Oakland 4bedr./4ba. home priced at $600K received 7 offers.

First time buyers are excited by the price declines that have occurred over the last 2 years.  So, as you can probably imagine the demand in these price points is high.  In representing buyers in the price range 100k to 300k,  it's not uncommon to compete with multiple offers; some are all cash (many), and usually offers are over the list price.  Let me caution that over ask prices might be caused by short sellers and pricing strategies.  Call me for a further elaboration on this point!

Not every home in the lower price ranges is selling like hotcakes.  There are many listings that sit as sellers and/or lenders have unrealistic price points or refuse to make the necessary repairs and/or stage in order to make these homes more appealing.

Call me to discuss the best buying opportunities in the Bay Area!

Cap Rates for Multi-family or Commercial REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS:

Capitalization Rate (Cap Rate) is often used to estimate the value of investment real estate, four units or more multi-family property, and most often used to determine the investment property’s fair market value by using the “fair market” cap rate for the specific type of investment real estate. It is a more accurate way of measuring value or price than simply using the multiple of gross income method or price per unit method. Cap rate method takes into account variables like vacancy factor and expenses of the investment, while the multiple of gross income or price per unit method does not. Appraisers also take into the account other factors, i.e. the overall market trend, whether the property is operating in its optimum state, deferred maintenance, etc. to determine the value.

Less than four units residential investment is often bought and sold through residential real estate agents, not taking into account certain investment principles. Still the investor needs to do the simple mathematics to ensure a positive cash flow and investment return, taking into account the terms and conditions of the financing.

The fair market price or value of the property can be calculated by dividing Net Operating Income (NOI) by the “fair market” cap rate. This is the “Income Approach”. The cap rate is expressed as a percentage. An investor prefers to purchase with a high cap rate and the seller wants to sell at a low cap rate as indicated by the Net Operating Income of the property.

Call me to discuss multi-family property investments, cap rates, property management, commerical, and land investments!

San Francisco Bay Area Real Estate Report June 2009

By Rick Rodriguez

The summer real estate market is heating up. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes rose 2.4% in May. This is the first back-to-back monthly gain since September of 2005. Also, inventory is down 3.5% nationwide. The California Association of Realtors (CAR) just reported that inventory last month was down 50% from May of 2008. The CAR is predicting a “seller’s market” as inventory shrinks.

Still, right now home prices are better than many buyers thought they would ever see again. Many families who were previously “priced out” of an area now have the opportunity to own in prime locations.

I am seeing other signs of a stronger market place:

• Open houses are very active. Broker’s tours are bustling.
• In some local areas, there have been multiple offers with the home selling over the asking price.
• First time homebuyers are taking advantage of the $8,000 incentives being offered by the Federal tax credit.
• Mortgage rates are still lower than in past years. The average commitment rate for a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage was 4.86 this May. The rate was 6.04 in May of 2008.

One problem that is cropping up is that appraisals based on past sales can come in lower as prices rise. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun reports, “Lenders are using appraisers who may not be familiar with a neighborhood or who compare a traditional home with distressed sales. This appraisal problem must be corrected.”

San Francisco Bay Area Report

The good news is that months supply of inventory (MSI) has dropped dramatically from last May. This May, six out of nine counties are under 5 months MSI with 5 months being average for a normal real estate market. Last May, only one county was under 5 months (SF at 3.3 months).  In fact,  five of the nine are currently under 4 months MSI.

The change has occurred from banks unloading the bulk of their REOs and short sale properties. The under $500K properties have flown off the shelf. Inventories are now anemic with few exceptions. Seven out of nine Bay Area counties have less than a 3 months supply of inventory (MSI) in the $500K and under price segment. Only Napa at 3.3 MSI, Marin 5.6 MSI and SF 5.7 MSI are above the 3 month mark. We have begun to see improvement in the $500K to $1 mil. price range.  Five counties are under 5 months, only Marin 5.4, Sonoma 7.2, Solano 9.0, and Napa 12.6 are over. However, eight of the nine counties have fallen month over month for the last 3 months. Some of the reduction is due to seasonality, however as prices have dropped, buyers have taken advantage of the values and interest rates.  The most challenged price segment has been the million dollar plus.  The MSI has been most impacted in this sector. It varies from a low of 7.3 months in SF (last May it was at 2.4 months) to a high of 50 months in Napa (Napa varies significantly from month to month depending on the number of closed sales in this price segment–last month was 35 months).  There is a bit of a silver lining in that six of the nine counties months supply of inventory has dropped month over month for the last three months. Only Solano, Napa and Alameda have varied up or down in the million dollar plus price range.

Median and average sales price continues to fall in all counties, but at a slower pace than over last year.  In fact, 6 out of the 9 counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties) have actually had median price increases month over month for the last three months. Eight out of nine counties increased median price over April.  Only time will tell if this can be sustained, but it is a positive sign.

Those counties with the highest declines in median sales price have had the greatest increase in sales over last May.   Conversely, those with the smallest declines in median sales price have had either the lowest increase or actually declined in units sold over last May.  The three counties that had the largest declines in median price had some of the highest increases in sold units—Contra Costa (-41% MP/+21% Sold), Solano (-36%MP/+56% Sold) and Santa Clara (-33%MP/+14% Sold). The counties with the lowest median price declines had decreases in solds—San Francisco (-14%MP/-35% Sold) and San Mateo (-17%MP/-7% Sold). Only Marin county did not follow this pattern.  Marin median price declined -33% and also solds declined -10%.  A bit of the double whammy!

New pending sales this May compared to last May have shown marked improvement. Every county except for San Francisco is up over last year. I a range of a high of 130% in Solano County to 21% in San Mateo. San Francisco, the only county not up over last year, was off a mere 4%.  

These trends seem to be continuing in the month of June, in spite of interest rates rising nearly a percent over the last three weeks.  Although interest rates have increased, they still are at historic lows. Multiple offers are still occurring primarily in the under $900K range. For example, a Berkeley 3 bedroom 2 bath home listed at $895K received 7 offers selling above list price.  A home listed for $1.5 mil. in Piedmont (3 bedroom 3.5 bath ) home  garnered 4 offers and also sold over list price. 

Open house activity appears to be strongest in San Francisco and the East Bay.  Most open houses are attracting double digit activity. The North Bay is mixed depending on location. Wine country open home activity lags in comparison to other Bay Area locations.

Now may be the time to buy or sell. If you are off for vacation, travel well.  If you are around, give me a call anytime.

Testimonial Chuck Baumann/Creative Environments

By Rick Rodriguez

I am particularly pleased to present the following testimonial submitted by my client Chuck Baumann.  Mr. Baumann is an experienced Real Estate Investor.  I have represented him in multi-family units, industrial property, and residential investment property.  I have also served in a Real Estate Management capacity for him.  Mr. Baumann hired me to manage an 18 unit Apartment building for him, and he was able to observe my interactions with his tenants; negotiate the sale of his property;make the transition of his multi-million dollar property a successful one!

Chuck Baumann Testimonial for Real Estate Broker and Transaction Manager: Rick Rodriguez

“Throughout my many years of real estate investing, I have had the opportunity to work with several good Real Estate Brokers, Rick Rodriguez is one of most professional and versatile Brokers that I've encountered. Rick's ability to understand the real estate marketplace throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and provide accurate and concise direction for investing has been invaluable in these challenging times.

He has been able to handle very large complex income property transactions for me and my  property management negotiations. I've found him to be spot on in providing accurate and thorough market analysis.  He has helped me navigate through the many levels of buying and selling investment real estate in today's market. I highly recommend  taking advantage of his knowledge and expertise on the many facets of buying, selling and investing in the Real Estate Market."   

Real Estate Market Report May 2009 by Rick Rodriguez

By Rick Rodriguez

There's a new trend in real estate. Recently released national statistics for existing homes show that sales prices rose 4.2% from February to March, which is much higher than the predicted 1.8%. Four facts stand out:

1. First-time buyers accounted for 53% of the transactions (stats based on contracts written before the new tax credit).
2. Distressed properties accounted for over half of the transactions.
3. Investors are starting to take advantage of great prices in some areas. Real estate-related funds are making a comeback. Some, such as Equity Residential Properties, are up 20%.
4. New inventory is shrinking fast as banks are beginning to offer programs for renegotiating existing loans rather than foreclosing.

The federal government is offering $8,000 tax credit to a 2008 return that never needs to be repaid. This offer is for first time homebuyers as well as anyone who hasn't owned a home for three years. Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors’ Chief economist predicts, “By early summer we should be seeing a positive impact on home sales resulting from the stimulus provisions.”

NAR President Charles McMillan reports that, “Record-high housing affordability conditions are helping markets recover, with home sales higher than a year ago in most areas of California, Florida, North Virginia and cities such as Minneapolis, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. The housing market heals from the bottom up as sellers trade up or down, according to their needs.”

San Francisco Bay Area Report

As we finished the first quarter of the year, there are some interesting observations to note. In those counties where average and median price are down 30% or more, inventory this year versus last is down, pending sales are up, sold homes are up, and months supply of inventory is down.  In those counties (San Francisco and Marin) where median and average prices haven’t dropped by 30% or more, inventories are up from last year, pendings and closed sales are lower, and months supply of inventory is up.  These counties are the only ones where residual inventory (inventory that is on the market over 30 days) is up over last year.  Months supply of inventory is substantially down over last year in those counties with the lowest median and average sales prices.  Those counties whose median prices are under $400K—Alameda ($305K), Contra Costa ($200K), Napa ($334K), Solano ($179K), and Sonoma ($349K)—all with one exception have MSIs under 5 months.  The national average is 9 months. Napa is the only exception with 7.2 months supply. However, when you consider that last year Napa had the highest MSI of all counties in the Bay Area with 18.4 months, they had the largest drop in MSI both in absolute and relative terms of any county.  Marin (10.1 MSI) and SF (7.5) had the two highest MSIs for March.  For San Mateo and Santa Clara whose median sales price are $520K and $415K respectively, months supply were steady or below last year’s MSI.  

In a few counties we are beginning to see price stabilization. Alameda, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sonoma counties have seen a small rise in average price over the last 90 days.  Median price has varied only a few percentage points in each month this quarter in the majority of Bay Area counties.  We could be close to the bottom of price swings. How long will we stay at this level is difficult to predict. This is particularly true of the lower price ranges, which have dominated sales activity in the first quarter.  A recent article in USA Today estimated when each state would see a housing recovery. California was one of a few states to begin recovery in 2009.  The recovery begins with price stabilization. Just to show you how crazy it has become in the lowest end of the market, a 3 bedr. 1 bath home in Oakland listed for $195K received 17 offers.  Most of our multiples offers occur in the under $800K price level. Even in the most challenged real estate market in our lifetime, we are still experiencing multiple offers.  This rarely occurred in past down-cycle markets. I think that the building buyer demand, historically low interest rates, the significant price drops over the last 2 years, and the REO/short-sale markets have created this rare anomaly (opportunity).  Special thanks Avram Goldman that aided me in compiling these statistics!

If you’re considering making a move, let me know so we can negotiate wisely.

Real Estate Market Report December 2008

The real estate market tends to settle a bit during the holidays, but don't underestimate the number of buyers still out there looking.  Today, I showedbuyers a property in San Ramon, and while the property didn't exactly meet their needs--they are anxious to find a home and close by year end! 

Here's what is happening on the national market: Sales of single-family homes decreased by 5.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, the Commerce Department said. September new-home sales rose 0.7% to an annual rate to 457,000; originally, the government said September sales climbed 2.7% to 464,000

My advice for buyers: Continue to be aggressive with offers.  Don't hesitate to write an offer on homes listed on the market for some time.  Lenders may not accept or even counter an offer; however, in some cases, Lenders are being flexible.

My advice for Sellers: Don't even think about putting your home on the market unless you absolutely need to sell.  If you need to sell, make sure your property is presented to the marketplace in impeccable condition.  Call me for a consultation!

Investment Market:  The multi-family investment market appears to be real active in several parts of the country.  I hear a lot of investment is going into Texas at the moment.  In California, cap rates above 10% while not impossible, are difficult.  For a detailed explanation on what cap rates are, and how they are determined, call or email me!

Real Estate Market Report November 2008

This story caught my attention today!  It may be useful to you in assessing the real estate market.  As always I welcome your comments and suggestions:

 By: Robert Kleinhenz, Ph.D. Deputy Chief Economist

The stock market may have been on a roller coaster ride in recent weeks but conditions in the California housing market better resemble “Up” and “Down” escalators. On the “Up” side, seasonally adjusted sales of existing detached homes have increased consistently since late last year. At 502,190 homes sold in September, sales have increased 97 percent from the cyclical trough of 255,340 homes that occurred in September 2007. Sales in September rose 2.3 percent compared to August sales of 490,850 homes, and exceeded 500,000 homes for the first time since early 2006. California sales now stand 9.9 percent ahead of last year’s sales pace on a year-to-date basis.

However, a significant share of homes sold were distressed sales with sizable price reductions, bringing us to the “Down” side of the market story. The median price has decreased by ever larger record margins since the beginning of the Credit Crunch in August 2007. With half or more of all sales statewide considered to be distressed sales, the median price for September was $316,480, falling by a record 40.9 percent from the September 2007 median of $535,760.

As noted in past columns, changes in the mix of sales can strongly influence the direction of the statewide median. This occurred in early- to mid-2007, when the statewide median continued to increase because of an increased share of high-end homes, even though median prices of most individual markets were declining. That trend reversed with the onset of the Credit Crunch and has been partly responsible for recent slide in home prices.

The statewide median faced a three-pronged attack in recent months. First, the share of the market under $500,000 climbed sharply from 43 percent in August 2007 (when the Credit Crunch first hit) to 76 percent in September of this year. The gain in share was driven by a succession of very large year-to-year increases in sales. Second, this market segment -- the fastest growing by far – had also experienced the largest price declines, further pulling down the statewide median price. These price declines were largely due to the presence of distressed sales in this market segment, where as many as three in four homes sold were some type of distressed sale. Finally, sales in the market above $500,000 lost share because of a string of year-to-year decreases in sales, partly because sources of jumbo mortgage lending had dried up since the beginning of the credit crunch.

The September median price was last in the low $300,000 range in early 2002, and there is no sign that home prices will soon flatten out. In fact, the median price fell nearly 10 percent (9.6 percent) from the August median of $350,140. Finishing on an “Up” note, lower prices and favorable interest rates should lead to improved affordability in the coming months.
 

The Carbone Family Testimonial

"Our experience with selling our home through Pacific Union and Rick Rodriguez was a very positive one.  Rick was referred to us by a neighbor who had known him for years.  Circumstances allowed us to sell our home in a short amount of time due to Rick’s perseverance and his dedication to his clients.  The summer of 2008 was a rough year to try to sell a home in one of the older neighborhoods of Hayward, and for Rick, we threw him a challenge.  He came through for us despite some obstacles, and he never hesitated to keep us abreast of the real estate outlook.  We trusted him to guide us through what could have been a “nerve wracking” selling process and he did so quite professionally.  Rick consistently kept in touch by phone, emails, and personal visits.  We owe him a depth of gratitude for enabling us to get to a place we most wanted to be in this time of our lives. Rick Rodriguez really means it when he says 'you can depend on me to serve you with care, dedication and professionalism'!"

 The Carbone Family

Real Estate Market Report October 2008

As we all know, we are in one of the most challenging real estate markets ever, which is being affected partly by the lending industry, and also by the plethora of negativity in the marketplace. In fact, we've been on something closely resembling a roller coaster ride, and it appears with the government bailout we can get off the ride for a while.  Though much of what I hear is negative, mostly it appears there is a lack of confidence, and not necessarily that home prices in all price points are free falling. 

A friend said to me recently "be fearful when everyone is greedy, and greedy when everyone is fearful," he was quoting Warren Buffet, the iconic stock investor and billionaire; and also the protagonist in major stock purchases this past week.  What amazes me is the temerity of Mr. Buffet?  In the face of what many consider the 2nd largest financial mess of the century, Buffet goes in and buys huge positions in major banking instituitions.  It proves he takes his own sage advice.  And perhaps, we can all learn something from how the Billionaire Buffet operates.  There's a lesson in there for us if just for a moment we examine the above Buffet quote!

I'm not ready to buy into the "we are out of the woods thanks to Uncle Sam" theory, and from what I'm seeing, reading, and hearing there's a ways to go.  But, I believe the Government's action will serve to begin mending the problems of the past.  More intervention may become necessary, but I'm confident that the Federal Reserve understands the problems and is dealing with them proactively!

Undoubtedly, future lending standards will be nothing compared to the past. Liquidity in the mortgage market is essential to the health of the housing market. And though home loans are still available, qualifying requirements have become more stringent.  Consult an expert!  Call  Donna               (925) 627-2561        for the latest on interest rates and loan  programs.

National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun is closely monitoring the credit situation. NAR advocates “legislation that will benefit Main Street by restoring market liquidity to the financial markets.” Yun notes that interest rates are historically favorable and predicts they will stay under 7% throughout 2009.

National stats show that in August existing home sales fell 2.2% and new homes fell 10% compared to August 2007. New home building start-ups are down. Right now, the slow down on building new homes may help the sale of existing homes. Remember that sales are dependent on supply and demand. In fact, existing home sales currently pending in escrow are up 5.3%.

My featured links for this month:

http://listing.loopnet.com/15892535

www.RickRodriguez.net

www.BancroftRow.com

Selling Successfully

In these rough and tumble times in the real estate world, I often hear the question "can I sell my property, Rick?"  I always answer emphatically--YES!  It can be done but you need first class marketing, a massive on-line presence, direct mail strategies, and networking to get the job done.  And, not all Brokerages can deliver this formula of success. 

Today, much attention is paid to the initial presentation to the marketplace, and then a blitz of activity in the 1st weeks of marketing is essential.  I also place an extraordinary amount of time considering the positioning of the product.  In other words, where on the marketplace shelf will this property sell for the most money and in the shortest time.  Take a look at this sample to see what I mean: My focus with this property was to enhance its number one asset : curb appeal.  This was accomplished in this superb photo taken by a professional photographer.  He was able to capture an incredible image of a 50+ year old home in original condition.  Aside from the exterior maintenance, and occasional painting, the property was in average condition.  Yet nonetheless, the property, presented with meticulous attention to its best presentation sold immediately once it hit the market this year.  Of course, the owner sought professional advice, and with a strong understanding of the market, and where it (the market) was headed: I was able to accurately position this property for a fast sale!  So, in order to "sell successfully" in this marketplace hire a Broker that not only delivers the best marketing strategies for your property, but also understands how to position your property for immediate success!