Saratoga Springs Real Estate Blog

Albany Real Estate Days On Market Report

The chart below depicts the average days on market for Albany NY real estate.

There is some good news reflected here.  It appears that the trend to quicker sales that started in Feb and Mar has continued for 4 months now. 

After peaking at over 90 days in the beginning of the year the Albany real estate market appears to be reaching a more balanced state.

Don’t assume however that we will return to the appreciation rates of the last few years. 

Properties still need to be priced appropriately in order to sell.  For more information on how to price your property for sale see my real estate asking price post. 

How to Properly Price Your Home For Sale.

News Flash!!!  Saratoga Springs Real Estate buyers respond to property prices!

After reading Michael Cook’s post I was reminded of the graphic below which shows how real estate buyers respond to the asking price of the property.  It shows in graphic detail why you should price your property to sell and not the price you may have sold for a year or two ago!

The middle bar is also considered the average asking price as described in Michael’s post.

On the left side of the triangle you can track how your asking price compares to the average for similar homes in the area.  The prices vary from 15% below the average to 15% or so above the average.

On the right side of the triangle is shown the quantity of buyers who will view your property for any given price as compared to the average.  For example, at the average asking price you’ll get about 60% of the potential buyers for your type of home to view the property.  The other 40% just aren’t motivated to look at your home for a variety of reasons.

Here is how you can use the graphic to your advantage when pricing your home to sell!

You pick where you want to price your home on the left side.  Lets say you take Michael’s approach from when he left Michigan (I used to live in Michigan too, but a long time ago) of 2.5% below the average price.  Take this point from the left to the same point on the right side of the triangle and estimate the % number.

2.5% below the average means that you’ll get about 65% of the potential buyers to view your home.  If you price your home 10% below the average you’ll get 75% of them and so on.

Likewise, if you price your home above the average (let’s say because you think your home is special etc….) the numbers drop off quickly.  At just 10% above the average you’ll drop to 30% of potential buyers viewing your home.

What’s the bottom line?  Buyers are price sensitive.  They always have been and always will be.

Work with your Realtor to price your home appropriately to bring you a buyer in the time-frame that fits your plans. 

IMPORTANT - once you’ve priced your home and put it on the market you can’t use this triangle for price reductions.  You are then chasing the market - a bad place to be!

Can Someone Give ME $12 Million Bucks???

I read with interest (and amusement) Kris Berg’s commentary on the most recent donation of $12 million to Redfin.  They’re certainly going to need it to support their strategy of “investing” approximately $40,000 per transaction.

My trusty calculator figures that they’ll burn through this pile of cash in about 300 transactions.  As documented by Greg Swan, Redfin sold 500 homes in the last 17 months.  At that rate they’ll need some more suckers - er “investors” - in little less than a year.  Unless they put the brakes on. 

It seems to me that at that rate they’ll need to re-think their business model a little bit.

Here are a couple of items that stand out about their strategy - at least to me - how about you?

They claim that their “flat fee listing” of $3000 is new stuff and will shake the world!

Really???  What on earth am I going to get for $3000 that makes sense?  Just google “flat fee listing” on your nearest keyboard and I’ll almost guarantee that you’ll see a few sites where a flat fee listing can be had for about $295 - less in some areas I’m sure.

It’s been my experience that most purchasers of flat fee listings come to the conclusion that they have no idea about the needed additional marketing, negotiation skills, showing & preparing skills in order to sell a home.  Not to mention not having the slightest idea of the first piece of paper that is required to successfully close on the transfer of real estate.

Do we really think that an owner of an upper-value home wants that sort of hassle?  I’m sure their time is better spent elsewhere!

It’s an interesting conundrum (please excuse the word, I just love to use it!).

Just go to Redfins site at www.redfin.com and you’ll see what I mean.

Their heading is “Find, Buy and Sell Homes Online”.  Supposedly you can use their mls interfaces to find a property then use one of their agents for the transaction.

Then right below that and throughout the explanations of how the system works to your advantage there is great emphasis put on their agents.  How great they are, how many homes they’ve sold etc… 

As an aside also note that they don’t yet have a page rank - apparently not much of that VC capital going to SEO efforts …

So are they really selling homes “online” or is it just a different entry door to access agents online? 

You can access agents through this blog!

You can view mls listings through my other sites and contact agents there too!

Hey, wait a minute, can someone give ME $12 million bucks???

Can You Identify This Historic Saratoga Springs Location?

Do you know this historic Saratoga Springs landmark?

If so, leave a comment and let everyone know how knowledgable you are about local history.

Here are a couple of hints.

1. Popular for wedding receptions
2. Caters to executive visits and conferences
3. Within walking distance of many fine restaurants
4. Located in the heart of Saratoga Springs
5. Dates back to 1873

Let me know by email or comment if you recognize this location!

Buying And Selling Real Estate In Upstate New York? Planning On Using A Realtor? See What Everyone Else Is Doing.

Think that Realtors don’t add value?  Well, I agree, some don’t, but most do. Do your research before selecting a Realtor.  Make sure they know what they are talking about!And don’t use you brother in law if he only works part time! Part time is no time! Here is the result of a survey taken about whether or not Realtors are important when buying and selling real estate.  The results of course show how many people voted for that category. How important are real estate agents when buying and selling a home today compared to 10 years ago?
Crucial.
39%
Not as necessary in the home search, but critical for negotiations and paperwork.
25%
Not necessary anymore thanks to the Web.
7%
Didn’t need them before, don’t need them now.
5%
Commission structures should be changed.
23%

Saratoga Realtor gets a FREE Car? Slimy? You Decide!

I read with interest Jonathan Daltons post on Realtor incentives - specifically the offer for a free red Corvette on top of the regular sales commission!

I too get an unreasonable amount of e-mail flyers touting all kinds of properties in a variety of locations - do other agents assume I don’t have access to the MLS, or that I need extra special help finding out about new listings - especially theirs which always seems to be the “ultimate deal”?

But sorry, I digress, this posting is about the car - and other incentives…

Personally I don’t show homes to clients based on the commission involved. An extra commission won’t get more showings from me unless the home fits what my client needs.

Here is how I have always been able to achieve a satisfactory home search.

I invest a fairly significant amount of time learning about my clients needs and wants. A need is different than a want and does not carry the same weight in the purchase decision.

For example, a family may want a gourmet kitchen but they eat out most of the time, so whats the point?

A single Mom may want a formal dining room but really needs a larger family room instead.

It’s only by getting to know the client that you can satisfy their needs.

Here is specifically how I go about it.

During interviews I take notes (do all Realtors do this before they drive clients around)? During these discussions - which start during the first phone call - I start having them describe their next dream home. I compile a list of the home characteristics.

Then we have a watershed discussion. I have them identify the 5 most desirable characteristics and that is what we look for in a home. If other “wants” are in the home then that is a bonus - for them.

Getting back to the free red Corvette - it’s certainly an attention grabber - but I’m not sure how my clients would feel about showing them a house just because I can get a car. Something just seems a little slimy about that - but maybe that’s just me.

However, I will show houses that are fairly priced and in good competitive condition regardless of the commission. Sellers should concentrate on the home price and condition - that is always the real value - regardless of a buying or selling market - or the red Corvette!

How do other Realtors feel about it?

Saratoga Springs Best Place to Live?

Well Money Magazine has done it again!

Don’t you just love it when someone else (who likely hasn’t even been in Saratoga Springs) “ranks” your hometown based on sometime obtuse and occasionally misleading statistics?  Anything to sell subscriptions…..

And you probably guessed it - we don’t rank at the top!  Wow, what a news flash!

But what do we love about Saratoga Springs and the surrounding areas that Money Magazines “statistics” generally miss?

Before we get into that lets’ review some of what Money said about us…

1. There are 3 cities in New York State that made the top 100, Baldwin, Eastchester, & Nanuet - that alone deserves a chuckle…
2. Sales tax, income tax are higher than the “Best Places” average - no earth shaking news there either…
3. Job growth is about 1/2 the average but at 7.69% is fairly healthy - at least we don’t have the growth issues of some cities.
4. Median home prices are a little lower than average.
5. We are better than most in reading and math.
6. Our air quality index is among the best - personally I like breathing!
7. The number of people who ride or walk to work is 3 times the average of the “Best Places” - maybe that helps with #6???

So what did they miss?

How about the races right around the corner?

How about the 4 seasons we have here?  Anyone interested in enjoying the great outdoors will love it here.  Yes we have our share of damp weather but the lovely trees that grow here have to drink something!!!

How about the Adirondacks?

What about the crime rate?  Yep you guessed it, just about as low as you can get! 

Personally I love it here, and when you are raising a family I can’t think of many more enjoyable locations for children.

What do you think?

Selling in Saratoga? Get Lost!

The big day has finally arrived!

You’ve cleaned out all the closets, thrown away stuff you never thought you’d get rid of.  The garage is cleaned out to ridiculous proportions – there isnt’ a leaf to be seen in the corner – not to mention any oil stains.   The deck has been power washed, paint has been touched up.  Even those things that you wanted to do since you moved in years ago have been finished!

You’ve got the house looking so great you think maybe you don’t want to sell it after all.  Besides, you can hardly believe that any buyer is going to realistically believe that your house looks like this all the time – but they don’t have to – they just need to fall in love with it – and make an offer that’s acceptable to you!

So what the next thing to do?  Just relax – and when a realtor calls to show your house?

Get lost!

That means that when there are potential buyers looking at your house they don’t want you around.  That isn’t being mean, it is putting all the variables to your advantage.

These buyers are going to look, poke around, open your closets, pull out the kitchen drawers, operate the sink faucet (funny how many buyers really do that) and generally see if that can detect the feeling that says “this is home”.

The last thing they want is the owner hanging around watching them and “answering questions”.  Believe me if they have questions they’ll ask – it’s the primary indicator of interest in your home.

Think about the last time you went into a retail store?  Did the clerk ask you if you have any questions?  Chances are you didn’t – and you don’t want them hanging around either.  You’ll browse and when the time is right you’ll ask questions.

Give your buyer the same comfortable feeling by being out of the house when they arrive!

What do you think?