Susan's Blog

I belong to the Sacramento Association of Realtors, and in addition to our regional meeting, we have local meetings covering specific parts of our county.  Each meeting is followed by a caravan of new listings in that area. 

I participate in 2 caravans a week in different areas, and for one of them we have a great feedback system.  We all pile into several cars, usually 3-4 people per car, and do a real caravan to each home.  After everyone has toured a home, we all gather in the kitchen and fill out feedback forms and leave them with the listing agent for that property.  We cover issues like problem areas of the house and yard, neighborhood, price, and recommendations for marketing it.  Then we all go on to the next house and do the same.

The listing agent then has in writing all of the comments of the other agents, and can go over them with his/her client to discuss what they can do to get a better price and faster sale.  I love this system, as it is tremendously helpful.

For the other caravan, some people go in carloads and others individually, not in a true caravan.  We run into each other now and then in some of the homes, but to get feedback, the listing agents have to call or email everyone whose card was left at the home and solicit feedback individually.  The problem with that is that the listing agents will call a week or so later,after we've toured 35-50 homes in two areas, and we can't remember which house it was that had the bad carpet or the evidence of leaks or whatever.

Does your local organization or office use one of these methods or something else to get feedback?

"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long
enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody."

-- Longfellow

There's no denying that the market is different now than it was a couple of years ago, but homes are still selling, and some agents are still making a pretty good living.  Why them and not everyone?  They keep at it, all the time.  And they have added more aggressive marketing practices - both in marketing their properties and in marketing themselves. 

I hear some agents complaining that they aren't getting any calls these days, while I hear others excitedly discussing how busy they are.  What are they doing right?  Knocking at the gate!  In fact some are knocking on doors, like in the old days, sending out cards, spending hours on the phone (calling prospects and former clients - not waiting for the phone to ring).  Some things work better than others and different things work better for different people.  But let's get to work and make things happen.  We can turn the market around, despite what the negative media says.

Are you with me?

Today I had to give two fellow realtors some harsh feedback on their listings. After the Orangevale Realtors meeting on Tuesday, we toured 10 homes, after which some of the listing agents requested feedback. Most of the homes were very nice and well staged so that they showed very nicely. Unfortunately there were a couple of homes that looked nice inside, but I won't be showing either of them to any of my buyers.  Fortunately, both of those listing agents were very professional and appreciated my honesty.  It also supported their advice to their sellers.

One was obviously the home of smokers. And it didn't just smell bad -- it was the strongest smelling home I had ever been in. It made my eyes water and I could only stay inside for a short time before I had to get some air. Others in our caravan agreed, and some of them wouldn't even stay long enough to see the whole house.  The listing agent says she has warned her sellers about it, but they apparently still smoke inside, so they might not be all that motivated to sell.

The other home looked lovely inside, but it was clear looking around the exterior that there are some structural issues that someone had made a half-hearted effort to address, but some of what they had done just called attention to the problems. I wouldn't show this home unless a whole-house inspection indicated that the problems were only cosmetic or if they were professionally corrected.

I like it better when I can give glowing feedback, but honesty is what the listing agents want and need, so that is what a try to give. I wish sellers could understand how important it is to make their house irresistible to buyers instead of thinking they can force buyers to accept their house with all its defects without taking them into consideration in the pricing. A defective or unattractive home simply will not sell unless it is practically given away. And that seller is often the one who will blame their agent when it isn't sold right away. Sigh!

This is an article I published in the Sacramento Union newspaper on September 14: 

Real Estate Remains a Strong Investment

By Susan Neal, Sacramento Union Real Estate Writer

Real Estate Broker and Realtor

Opportunities to make big, quick profits in residential real estate tend to come and go in cycles. When a local market is hot, families may find it possible to buy a house at an attractive price, fix it up, and watch its value rise in just a few years.

When the same local market is at the low end of the appreciation cycle, reaping a profit on the family home can take a good deal more time but the reward can be just as satisfying if price and location and carefully considered.

Even in uncertain economic times like these, history shows that real estate is one of the soundest investments a family can make. During the Great Depression of the 1930s when the stock market plummeted as much as 89 percent, housing prices dropped only 39 percent. According to most of the research on housing trends, prices continually stay at the same level as, and most often appreciate faster than, the rate of inflation. Housing prices actually rose an average of 10 percent during the recessions of the mid-1970's and early 1980s.

CENTURY 21 statisticians report that the rate of home appreciation since 1990 has been around five percent nationally, with inflation hovering around four percent. Homeowners, obviously, are still staying ahead in the real estate game on average.

And, with mortgage interest rates the lowest they've been in two decades, real estate today is a more attractive investment than it's been in years.

First-time buyers are the big winners in this environment. Drawing up a budget can help you and your family decide on what you can afford. Once you've determined a price and picked your desired community, shop around to find the best house you can buy for your money. This strategy can help you realize greater appreciation two or three years down the road.

This is also a good time to purchase a second or vacation home. A bargain cabin in the woods today might bring an excellent return when housing prices move upward. Affordable second-home prices also allow you to purchase a vacation home that can serve as a stepping-stone to a larger retreat in the future.

But appreciation isn't the only advantage to buying a home. The federal government thinks home ownership is so important to the future of our country that it allows mortgage interest to remain the last substantial tax shelter for families. Owners can also take deductions on their property taxes. And, the profit on the sale of your home remains tax free as long as you buy a house for a greater or equal price.

So before you decide that this is not a good time to invest in residential property, re-examine the financial benefits of owning your own home and put them to work for you.

 I read an interesting article on August 31st that paints a more realistically positive picture of the market than and pure doom-and-gloomers.  Note that it was published before the fed lowered the rates last week. 

According to the article in the Baltimore Sun, borrowing costs on home loans dipped to a three-month low that week, providing much-needed relief to home buyers who are facing a tight lending climate.

Freddie Mac reported a drop in the 30-year fixed rate to 6.45 percent from 6.52 percent a week earlier, while interest on 15-year fixed loans slipped to 6.12 percent from 6.18 percent.

Adjustable-rate mortgages, however, moved in the opposite direction. The five-year ARM settled at 6.35 percent for the week, up a notch from 6.34 percent the previous week; and interest on one-year ARMs averaged 5.84 percent compared to 5.6 percent.

Looked at in this regard, and with the additional interest rate help by the fed since then, we should be advising our buyers that this is definitely the right time to buy -- especially since prices are still down and will likely be moving slowly up again soon.