My New Blog

In my first blogs about the Sumter, SC real estate market, I covered units sold through October and the average number of days on the market. This blog contains the updates for November 2007 and some further discussion about the Sumter Real Estate Market.

The number of units sold in November 2007 was 90 in Sumter County. During the same month in 2006, 110 units were sold and 142 units were sold in 2005. November 2004 had numbers very similar to 2007 with 91 units sold. The data follows:

Days on market decreased from 143.1 for the 2007 average at the end of October to 142.8 for the average at the end of November. The median home price stayed at $126,500 during November.

I hear quite frequently about all the homes available for sale in Sumter. This is further proof that nothing is selling. Right? WRONG! Our units closed year to date prove there are homes selling in our Sumter County. If that is the case, why are there so many real estate signs everywhere? In putting together information for this monthly update, I added another piece of data about the Sumter Market, the number of new listings. The number of new listings over the past 3 years is very interesting. The number of homes listed in 2007 has been significantly higher than the homes listed during the prior three years. Below is a break down by month of the number of homes listed.

You can see in the chart above that the number of homes listed in 2007 beats almost every month for the prior three years! When you add this up in year to date numbers, the increase stands out much more. Below is a chart showing the year to date number of homes listed:

As of November 30^th, 849 more homes have been listed than sold! This leaves Sumter in a buyer’s market and competition to sell tough. It isn’t impossible to sell a home, but a home seller has to be ready to compete for the available buyers. Tune in again soon, for home selling tips and also some logical explanation of the increase in listings.

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

2007 brought a year of change to the Sumter, SC real estate market.  We witnessed a shift from a sellers' market to a buyers' market.  As a Realtor®, I am finding many sellers' to still be in shock or denial.  Two areas critical to selling a home have changed in regards to selling in the current market and both are hard to understand at times. 

First, pricing is critical.  There was a time in the Sumter, SC real estate market a seller could look at the comparables and decide to list their house for more because of the features or sometimes because the sellers simply wanted to.  Chances were very good that a buyer would be found quickly and for the list price or slightly below.  Today, a house must be priced along with the comparables in order to get the buyers in to look at it.  (Many buyers realize that if a home is overpriced, there is a good chance the sellers' might not be willing to negotiate.)

Second is the condition and presentation of the home.  In a sellers' market, it wasn't as critical to get every last job complete around the home before placing it on the market.  Sellers became complacent and thought if a buyer wants the home bad enough they will accept it with all its quirks and faults.  The current market in Sumter, SC real estate lends buyers to eliminate homes quickly as they have so many choices.  A buyer can reject a house based upon the wall color; carpet color and any other factor as there are probably ten more homes in that price range to be seen. 

Given this change, I have been asked by clients what to do to get their homes ready to list.  The best I can tell them is to make sure their home is perfect.  Don't let a buyer find an excuse to rule out the home, let them find nothing wrong with it and then let it be the floor plan or some other characteristic that you can't control without spending an arm and a leg. 

Take a walk around your home Mr. Seller.  But don't do it like you live there, walk through your home like you are a buying looking to purchase.  Walk thru the front door and carry a camera.  Take pictures of every room as you walk into them and look around.  Write down notes about what strikes you in each room.  If this is hard for you to do, ask a friend to go along with you.  But ask someone that you trust and will give you an honest opinion.  Make sure you include the closets and cabinets in your walk thru.  Yes, people definitely look in closets and I have seen many people open and close drawers and cabinet doors and look inside!   After completing the inside walk thru, go through the garage and around the exterior of the home and look at it with a critical eye.

Include in your walk thru:

• Is the room Dark or light?
• Are there any odors in the rooms?
• Does the room feel large or cramped?
• Is the room cluttered? 
• Are there many personal items (pictures, etc.) around the home?  Can I as a buyer be able to walk in here and "make it their home"?
• Is the décor neutral or specific?  I love themes in kids rooms don't get me wrong, but I remember showing a house with a room completely done in Strawberry Shortcake down the ceiling fan, wall paper border and stencils on the wall.  It was perfect for the family living there, but it might not be so perfect for a buyer.
• Is the room clean?  Are there spots on the walls or the flooring?
• Are the light fixtures in good repair and all bulbs working?
• Is landscaping well maintained?
• Does the house need painting? 
• Does the exterior of the home need a pressure washing?

After completing the walk thru inside and around the exterior of the home, sit down and review your list and if possible print out your photos.  With a red pen, circle what you see in the photos.  What catches your eyes?  Are there areas that need to be tidied up?  Is three cleaning that needs to be done?  These are items to work on if they are not positive.  Take your notes and your photos and make a list of projects to complete.  Not sure where to start, call me and I will be glad to assist you in the walk thru and creating your home selling to-do list.  Selling a home in the current Sumter Real Estate Market is possible; you just need to have your home showcase ready.

Hello everyone on ActiveRain!

My name is Buster Brown.  Mom is taking the trying to take the day off so I decided to give blogging a shot.  See she has been working and blogging from home for the past couple of weeks and I spend a lot of time in the office with her so I figured I would give it a try.

I am an American Eskimo and some people would say I am spoiled.  But that is just their opinion.  I prefer to say I am well loved.

I knew today was special.  We had Belgium waffles (one of my favorites) and bacon for breakfast.  It was spectacular.  I even got two waffles!  I was full after one, but I was not about to leave the second one behind!  After that hearty breakfast, I curled up on the couch for a little nap and some tv time. 

Uncle Billy came over to see me again.  He was over yesterday and brought me some treats and a new squeaky Milk-Bone toy.  Today, he came over just to bring me treats.  Mom went over to his house to help him with something, but I know he came to see me.  What else is he going to do with those dog treats he keeps buying? 

After Mom came back from Uncle Billy's she and dad decided to take a ride around Sumter.  I looked at my leash with my saddest eyes and they fell for it.  So I was able to go for a ride in the truck!  What a great day!  We headed towards town and then they went downtown.  They kept saying something about not a lot of people would be out because it was Christmas and it would be a good day to take pictures.  All I know is, I got to walk around town on my leash and see if other dogs had been around that area.  Mom was mean and kept telling me no and dragging me away from all those plants that I needed to identify as mine. 

We came home after that and ate some lunch and I am absolutely exhausted.  I am going to stretch out on the couch and take a little nap.  Until the next time I can sneak on here, take care and I wish you all the best holidays and may you have a wonderful and prosperous 2008!

Buster Brown

When I started real estate in 2005, I heard many comments about the builders being greedy and raising the prices of new construction because they could. Builders are like any other business, they know they will increase their sales if they can keep their home prices lower and compete.

I had just started selling real estate in Sumter that summer, but I could see many things happening that were hitting the bottom line of new construction prices. The subdivision where I live in is a prime example of one cause of home price increases. When phase II was started the lots were selling for $20,000. After the first section of phase II was sold out and the next section started, the price of lots jumped to $25,000. What had changed? Time, the increased popularity of new homes, and many other factors.

New home construction prices have been driven by several factors:

• Summer 2005 and other code changes for Sumter County. These code changes might seem small, but several small changes can add up to $1000s in the price of a home.
• Material prices. Building materials is an international business. We receive many wood products from not only around the US, but also from Canada. With disasters like Katrina and the Florida hurricanes, material prices were driven up and have not yet returned to pre-disaster levels. This has hit the entire United States not just Sumter. (Have you priced any wood at Lowes lately? Boards are not cheap…)
• Oil Prices. The increase in oil prices has increased the cost of transporting building supplies as well as the cost of building supplies themselves. There is a tremendous amount of energy and raw materials consumed to produce brick, vinyl, piping, lumber, nails, screws, shingles, paints and finishes. Manufacturers are passing along this price increase to their consumers.
• LAND PRICES. This is the largest single factor as we have seen the price of lots increasing steadily over the past several years. This has eaten away at builders profits as well as driven the cost of homes up tremendously. It has eroded the buying power of most home buyers.

Builders would love to have the ability to lower their prices and sell more homes, but given the market and its current conditions, they are not able to do this. Will these factors ever change? I know everyone involved in new home construction would love to see it, but “if” is the big question.

© 2007 Kim Peasley-Parker, All Rights Reserved