My New Blog

Today, I was out and about showing buyers’ homes. I have to admit, in the middle of showing these homes I was thinking about writing a blog! I should be focusing on finding the home for my client and I am thinking I need to go home and write about what I was seeing and experiencing.

First, if you want to sell your home. DECLUTTER! Squeezing through between furniture is not appealing to a perspective home buyer. Second, seeing every surface full of candles, books, magazines, etc does not appeal to that home buyer either.

Second CLEAN, CLEAN and then CLEAN some more. Dust moldings, clean the cold air return and change the filter, dust the ceiling fans, remove the collection of stuff from light fixture covers, dust the light bulbs (yes, it does make the house brighter), clean the carpets before marketing, wash down the cabinets, clean the track for your shower door, polish the kitchen sink, scrub the hardwoods and vinyl, pressure wash the exterior of the home including the concrete and then walk through your house room by room and LOOK! Start at the doorway, look around the ceiling, then start looking down the walls and around the floor, if you see anything wrong take care of it because the buyers will see it too.

Third, if you want to sell your home vacate! No I don’t mean move out, I mean if you know there will be an agent bringing a potential client, LEAVE!!!! I understand this might be an inconvenience, but so will making a house payment if you have to relocate before selling your home. Having the seller at the home during a showing makes the buyers feel very uncomfortable. If the buyers are uncomfortable they will never be able to “feel” the house and get that connection. Yes, you answered the door and felt ackward too so why not step out for a few minutes and give your home the best chance.

Forth, secure your home, PLEASE! Today I walked through two homes that had money, yes, cash, dollar bills laying around!!!! Yes, we screen potential buyers and we try to walk through every room with them, but this doesn’t mean we are watching them every second. You have strangers walking through your home, please protect yourself and put valuable away. This lists includes not only money, but jewelry, prescription drugs, guns and other items of value.

Yes, as Sumter, SC Realtors®, we are trying our best to sell your home and to protect your property when we show your home. Please cooperate with us and prepare your home for sale and protect your family.

I was inspired to start blogging on the Sumter, SC Real Estate Market by a report I heard on the TODAY show and by a potential out-of-town client. The national media has done a wonderful job of convincing buyers and sellers that the real estate market is the same anywhere in the United States. This has proven to be untrue not only in Sumter, but also in many other areas across the country.

Yes, Sumter has entered into a buyers’ market, but we are not seeing drastic price cuts like many areas of the country. It is very easy to understand how we went into a buyers market when you look at the actual numbers and the charts of these numbers. Homes going on the market for sale are outpacing sales at a phenomenal rate in Sumter County.

With the close December, we found that 90 units closed during the month. That brought the total units sold for 2007 to 1492. This puts 2007 between 2004 and 2005 numbers for units sold.

Units Sold Year to Date

Homes are still selling at a good pace in Sumter, but when you look at the inventory of available homes that are listed in the Multiple Listing Service® for sale; the answer to all the “For Sale” signs in yards becomes very clear.

December proved to be a month with a large number of homes coming onto the market. 189 homes were listed for sale during December. Only November (150 listings), March (187 listings) and April (188 listings) had fewer listings. Below is the chart showing the number of listings by month during 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

While 2006 and 2007 both show significant increases in listings over the prior two year. New listings by month during 2007 outpaced every prior year with the exception of two months!!!! When you look at listings as a total over the year, you can see how the extra listings added up so quickly in 2007. Below is the updated chart for the number of homes listed year to date.

New Listings By Year

In 2007, we had an increase of 46% more homes listed than during 2005. But we saw a decrease in units sold of 4.7%. The final result for 2007 is 950 more homes were listed than were sold during 2007!

When comparing list price to sold price, on average homes sold for 96.75% of their list price. Most Realtors® in Sumter would agree that we have seen appreciation level out over the past year, but we are not seeing the drastic reduction in pricing that some areas in the country are seeing. Again, there are some areas with falling prices, but they are local markets.

For buyers, it is an excellent time to be out looking for your next home. Interest rates are still low and the inventory is high. If you are selling, your home needs to be in top notch shape and ready to show at a moments notice. Yes, the bargaining might be tougher than it was a few years ago, but when you purchase your next home, you will also get to negotiate more on it.

(c) 2007 Kim Peasley-Parker, All Rights Reserved