15 Home-selling mistakes that could cost you a lot of money.

If you’re thinking about putting your home up for sale, there is a lot that can go right in this market, as buyers are out in droves and red-hot demand pushing prices upwards for those smart enough to list their homes. But before you get a big closing check in your bank account, you should consider that there are some things that can go wrong – and how to protect yourself from making those errors. Here are the 15 biggest mistakes you can make when selling your home. After reading this, you’ll be ready for a smooth, efficient transaction that gets you top dollar for your home!

Mistake 1: Trying to sell your home by yourself

Without fail, there will be some homeowners who try to sell their homes, thinking it will save them money by not paying a Realtor. However, statistics prove this doesn’t work out in their favor, as the average For Sale By Owner home sold for $210,000, but the average home sold by a Realtor goes for $249,000 – a difference of $39,000, or 15.6% of the sale price! What’s more, FSBOs sit on market at least 19 days on market longer IF they sell at all, as 20% of FSBOs are taken off the market and relisted. With those facts in mind it’s no wonder 87% of homeowners choose to use a real estate agent to represent them, while the others keep making this costly mistake.

Mistake 2: Pricing your home unreasonably high

This is probably the most common selling mistake, though it’s perfectly understandable that everyone wants to get as much money for their home as possible. But homeowners would be wise to carefully consider the facts and statistics about the market and values of similar properties, not speculation or feelings. Remember that if a home doesn’t sell at all – or sits on market an unusually long time – it will cost the homeowner far more than they ever stood to make with an unreasonable price bump. The good news is that you can start with a listing price on the higher end of a reasonable spectrum to test the market, and lower it incrementally at designated points if it doesn’t sell or there aren’t enough showings.

Mistake 3: Fixing up a property too much before listing

Of course you should make necessary repairs before listing your home, but sometimes, over-conscientious homeowners go too far and start undertaking extensive remodeling projects. Unless they are cosmetic fixes, these won’t even come close to paying for themselves when the house sells, costing you time and a lot of money. In fact, even the repairs that offer the best return on investment – exterior siding, a new front door, a new garage door, or a mid-range kitchen remodel – only yield about 70 cents for every dollar you spend. And many of repairs will only get you back 30 0r 40 cents for every dollar out of your pocket! It may seem like a fine line between sprucing up and fixing certain things compared to what repairs aren’t cost effective, but we can walk you through it and offer recommendations.

Mistake 4: Making it to hard for realtors to show your home

How easy will it be for other real estate agents to show their eager buyers your home? If you decide it’s only accessible between 5:45 and 6:30 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and every second Saturday morning, you have a vicious barking dog roaming about, or the buyer’s agent needs to call three times to set a special appointment to see it, chances are they’ll move on to the other twenty houses on their list – which are simple and easy to see! Help the people who are working hard to get your house sold (and yourself!) by putting a lockbox on the property with standard and reasonable showing instructions.

Mistake 5: Not cleaning and de-cluttering your property

The very first thing you should do BEFORE you even have a Realtor over to sign the listing paperwork is go through your home and remove clutter, excess items, and a good deal of personal effects. It’s ok to leave some things, but the less you have in any room (absent of it being completely empty), the bigger and more airy it will look. Likewise, shelves, countertops, and even closets look much bigger and open when they only have a few essential items on them. With a warm but minimal presence, it will be easy for potential buyers to project their own personal things on the space – and actually envision their family living there. Once you’ve gone through and put about half or more of your items in storage (off site – not in the garage or crammed in closets!) then go through and give it a meticulous cleaning, or even better, hire a professional cleaning company that will scrub corners, whiten grout, and make your home look like new.

Mistake 6: Not getting professional listing photos taken

If an image is better than 1,000 words, then having the clear, stunning, and high-quality photographs of your home can boost your online viewings, potential buyers, offers, and even your sale price immeasurably. Therefore, I highly recommend that we arrange a professional real estate photographer to come in and present your home in the best light, and for higher-end or luxury listings, even employ a video tour and possibly aerial drone photos. 

Mistake 7: Not disclosing everything

Possibly the biggest mistake a home seller can make is not properly and honestly filling out their disclosures. Seller knowledge (or even suspicion!) of any material defects, problems, and issues with the property – or the neighborhood – WILL come back to bite you in a big way, jeopardizing any transaction and possibly even landing you in court. It’s always best to be 100% forthright and up front with your disclosures, and we can usually solve many of these concerns before they become problems by ordering the appropriate reports, making repairs, and providing in-depth research to the potential buyers. 

Stay tuned for part 2 of this blog, with the final 8 home selling mistakes!

A Time to Sell; Why it’s a perfect time to list your home in the Sacramento region

Have you thought about selling your home but you’re not sure if it’s the right time? Well right now we’re in the midst of the perfect storm of economic and market factors in Sacramento that make this one of the absolute best times to sell. 

From red-hot demand to a severe shortage of inventory, and rapid price appreciation over the last couple years, homes that are listed now are usually selling quickly, for top dollar, and with multiple offers. 

So if you’re on the fence about whether to sell now, or have considered moving up to a bigger, nicer house, here are three things you’ll want to consider:

Demand is way up

There is no doubt that Sacramento has a shortage of affordable and middle-of-the-market housing, and that shortage is manifested with a fervent demand by homebuyers. Interest rates are still favorable, job and income numbers are strong, and the region is still growing steadily – all reasons why people are looking to buy homes.

With new construction lagging far behind what you might find in comparable metropolitan cities around the country and low housing inventory (we’ll cover this next), there are only so many options or houses for sale to choose from.

Further fueling demand is the fact that rents are rising in the region. More renters than ever are paying at least 30% of their income towards housing expenses, and in 2015, we saw the first year that home ownership was only half as expensive as renting, as renters paid an average of 29.9% of their monthly income toward rent compared to an average of 15.3% for homeowners.

Older Millenials – 80 million strong - are starting to enter the housing market en masse, and Sacramento is no exception. Millennials now make up about a third of the home buying market and roughly about 30 percent of the population in the region.

Add it all up and 2016 will be even more expensive for Sacramento renters, creating a surge of demand for home buying and further stimulating the housing market. Good evidence of this is the fact that it took 12 less days for homes to sell this February compared to last February.

Housing inventory is really low

Sacramento is in the midst of one of the most profound housing shortages we’ve seen. We’ve seen a short supply of homes for sale before, but the market was padded by hundreds (and even thousands!) of short sales, foreclosures, and other distressed properties for sale that constituted almost the entire low end of the market. But now, with the banks working through most of their distressed housing inventory. In fact, in January 2016, conventional sales were up 11.6% compared to only one year earlier (meaning that distressed property sales were a smaller share of the housing inventory.)

But at the same time, overall inventory numbers have shrunk. The inventory in January 2016 was a jaw-dropping 27% less than in January of 2015, which was incredibly low to start with. Inventory further declined in February 2016!

While we might expect a seasonal uptick in homes listed for sale in the spring and summer months, as we can predict every year, the number of homes for sale are still astoundingly low in the Sacramento area.

Home values have increased

Demand is high, supply is low, and that can only lead to one thing: rising home prices. But the good news is that this housing recovery isn’t driven just by an imbalance of supply and demand, but a strong housing recovery fueled by an economic strength in a growing region, including downtown redevelopment and organic job growth.

In fact, the median home price in Sacramento rose by 11.2% over the past year and there’s not a lot of evidence that will stop any time soon. The median price of homes as of February 2016 is up 6.7% compared to the same month a year earlier, and the average price per square foot is also up 6% year-over-year. Sacramento was named one of the 10 hottest real estate markets in the country to watch in 2016, and the confidence seems justified, as the median home price in the Sacramento region went up by 2.5% just between January and February!

What about Placer and El Dorado Counties?

These general trends seem to extend into Placer Country, El Dorado County, and most of the greater Sacramento area. In fact, housing inventory is 17% lower than it was last year at the same time. The median price of homes in Placer went up by 2.5% over the last month, as well, and year-to-year values are up 11% from February 2015.

Neighborhood and City Spotlight: Granite Bay, California

Granite Bay is one of the most desirable places to live in all of northern California, with a high quality of life enjoyed by residents that includes a fantastic location, affluent neighborhoods with luxury homes, a strong school system, low crime rates, and easy access to fine dining, golf, and plenty of outdoor recreation.

A Profile of Granite Bay

The beautiful community of Granite Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California. Spanning a total area of 21.6 square miles, Granite Bay lies in the foothills only 25 miles from the Sacramento capital, an easy commute for those who wish to work downtown.

22,204 residents call Granite Bay home as of 2014, a rise of 13.67% since the 2000 census.

Granite Bay enjoys a reputation as one of the nicest communities to live in both California and the United States. In fact, it just ranked highly for:

Ranked #6 Best Cities for Teleworking - Large Metro Areas

Ranked #7 Best-Rested Cities 2011

Ranked #7 Healthiest Cities

Ranked #8 Stressful Cities 2012

Granite Bay’s Golden History

The community where Granite Bay now sits was first sprung forth in the 1850s as a Gold Rush settlement. In fact, it was first known as “Granite Bar,” a mining and panning community just south of Horeshoe Bar. Roads were developed to connect the camps, and irrigation provided by the North Fork Ditch allowed workers to settle down in the area and start planting almond and olive orchards.

By the 1950s, two large cattle ranches encompassed Granite Bay, enjoying its green pastoral hills and abundant water. Building of subdivisions like Granite Bay Vista started in the 1960s, but the area didn’t get its official name until July 28, 1987.

Granite Bay derives its name from both the area of water in adjoining Folsom Lake and its unique geological origins. In fact, the entire area sits on a foundation of granodiorite from the Cretaceous age. Fossils from ocean sediment dating back 80 million years have been discovered in Granite Bay, often during construction.

Affluence, Income, and Employment in Granite Bay

Granite Bay is one of the mist affluent communities in Sacramento and Northern California. The average household income is $160,578 and the median is $123,631, well above the U.S. household median of $51,393. The economy of Granite Bay is always thriving, providing a strong tax base for community improvements. The medical industry is the leading employer in the area, accounting for 2.3% of all jobs, with plenty of careers in finance, computer tech, and tech manufacturing.

However, living in Granite Bay comes with a high price tag, as it’s been named one of the 25 American cities in the nation with the highest cost of living, a whopping 97.9% higher than the U.S. average.

Safety and Community in Granite Bay

Granite Bay is considered a very safe, family friendly community with low crime rates. In fact, the overall crime rate there is 36% lower than the national average and Granite Bay is safer than 56% of all cities in the U.S. Crime is actually diminishing, not increasing, in Granite Bay, as the number of total crimes in Granite Bay has decreased by 3% this year.

Part of the reason Granite Bay is so safe and family oriented can be attributed to the positive impact of the Granite Bay Community Association, of GBCA. Established in 1987 by residents who wanted to preserve the rural quality of life of the community, the volunteer organization still is highly active in many facets of life there, issuing newsletters, aiding residents, providing information and developments, and coordinating meetings, gatherings, events in conjunction with local government.

Education and Schools in Granite Bay

Granite Bay is one of the state’s highest performing districts for standardized test scores, with only one public high school, Granite Bay High. Residents of the community are extremely well educated on a whole, with 96.8% of all residents over 25 years old having earned their high school diploma or higher, 54.2 earning Bachelor’s degrees or more, and an impressive 23.5% achieving a graduate or doctoral degree.

Real Estate, Sales, and Home Ownership in Granite Bay

Due to the high quality of life in the area and prosperous community, Granite Bay real estate always moves quickly and sells for top dollar. The median home cost in Granite Bay is now approaching $660,000, which is still down from the high point when home values were well into the $700s during the boom. But the market has rebounded nicely, with 24.3% appreciation over the last year.

There are 7,694 households in Granite Bay, with 89.8% owned by the occupants, 12.1% rentals, and 4.1% vacant. While it may seem like many of the neighborhoods in Granite Bay consist of newer, modern homes, in fact, 42% of homes in the area were built between 1970 and 1989, and another 26% between 1990 and 1998.

Granite Bay is a hot bed for luxury real estate and million dollar homes, with approximately 25% of all listings priced over $1,000,000 at any given time, and 1% over the $2,000,000 mark.

Recreation and Entertainment in Granite Bay

There’s no shortage of fun and healthy activities for the whole family in Granite Bay, including visits to Quarry Ponds, Otow Orchards, Rickey Ranch Pumpkin Patch, local farmer’s markets, fun runs and races, and swimming, hiking or boating at Folsom Lake. American River recreation will set you up for a day of rafting or kayaking, and golf enthusiasts can swing away to their heart’s content at the Sierra View Country Club, Granite Bay Golf Club, or public 9-hole Rolling Greens Golf Course

Chez Daniel, Farm Haus Fresh, Back Wine Bar and Bistro, Hawks, Vaiano Trattoria, Source, and Bernardos are just a few of the signature fine dining venues in Granite Bay

Notable Granite Bay Residents

Maureen Reagan - Daughter of Former President Ronald Reagan lived in Granite Bay until her passing

Eddie Murphy – Actor and comedian

John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston - Actors.

Summer Sanders - Multiple gold medalist in swimming at the 1992 Summer Olympics, TV Sports commentator and personality

Steve Sax - Retired MLB baseball player (primarily second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Oakland Athletics)

Tobin Esperance - Bassist of band Papa Roach

Jeff Keith - Singer of band Tesla

Chris Webber - Retired Sacramento Kings power forward and center

Jason Williams - Orlando Magic, former Sacramento Kings point guard

Shareef Abdur-Rahim - retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player and current Assistant GM for the Sacramento Kings

Rick Adelman - former Sacramento Kings head coach

Dusty Baker - Cincinnati Reds Manager, former San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs manager and MLB player

Steve Cook - Former professional ten-pin bowler and member of the PBA Hall of Fame