By Ron Rovtar
The K Company Realty
Boulder County CO
The K Company Realty
Boulder County CO
303.981.1617
What should I spend on improvements before I list my home?
Spending a little money to get your home looking fantastic for buyers can improve your sale price and help you sell more quickly.But please spend carefully!
And never take on big projects without speaking to a real estate agent, appraiser or other expert about your potential return on investment.
Sellers seldom recoup costs of major remodels or other expensive improvements made shortly before listing.
So think about small projects with big impacts. Replace outdated fixtures. Handle deferred maintenance. Freshen up the paint. Plant colorful flowers. Refinish the front door.
But, if you’re still itching to go big, consider this research. For years Remodeling magazine has published this respected annual study comparing the costs of major home improvements to average returns when selling.
Whatever you decide, good luck with your home sale!
What should I do now to prepare for listing my home later this year?
There are a number of tasks you can start now to make your life easier when you list. Here are some of the most important:1. Start your fix-up, cleanup, declutter effort now. Handle deferred maintenance. Replace worn or outdated fixtures. Touch up paint (or repaint). Clean and organize neglected spaces like the mechanical room and garage. Pitch items you won’t take with you moving day. This post will help.
2. Collect all the documentation pertaining to your property, including house plans, surveys, plats, mortgage paperwork, warranties, receipts, HOA documents, and anything else you can think of.
3. Start thinking like a marketer. What are your home’s best features? Why do you love this home and neighborhood? What convinced you to buy the property? Write answers down.
4. As spring approaches, take photos of blooming flowers and trees if the blooms will be gone when you list.
5. Tell neighbors and friends about your moving plans. They may know buyers.
6. Talk to real estate agents! Sellers often put this off, then hire the first agent they contact because life is getting hectic. Choosing the right professional for your situation is key to getting the best result.
Are we suddenly in a buyers’ real estate market?
Ever since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a drop in existing home sales during December, the media has been abuzz. Everyone wants to extract meaning from the decline.Some attribute the 10.2 percent year-over-year tumble to a range of factors –– the government shutdown, decreasing consumer confidence, and reduced inventory.
All of these factors probably contributed to the drop in sales, both nationally and in Boulder County where single-family home sales declined by about 17 percent, from 267 last December to 221 this year.
A few prognosticators see the drop in sales as the start of a shift from a seller's market to a buyer's marker.
Let's not jump the gun!
December tends to be an inconsistent month for real estate closings simply because of the holidays pose a major distraction for buyers and sellers. So the prognosticators should be very careful about drawing conclusions based on sales during this one month.
In this case, the more telling statistic was the one for median home prices, which continued to rise.
Along with fewer sales, NAR reports a 2.9 percent year over year rise in median December home prices nationally.
For all of 2018, the IRES MLS reports a 4.9 percent year-over-year rise in the median price of a single-family home in Boulder during 2018. The median sales price for a house in Boulder during 2018 was $954,650. (Median prices elsewhere in Boulder County rose faster than in the city of Boulder.)
The median sales price in Boulder during December rose a whopping 27.1 percent year-over-year, which makes one more than a little suspicious. A closer look helps explain why this number is so confusing.
First, just 43 houses sold in Boulder during December, 2018. That's an extremely small sample.
But, more important, December 2017 had the lowest median sales price of the year at $775,000. The 2018 December median was $985,000, the fourth highest for the year.
Apparently, luxury homes did better in Boulder during December 2018. This does not mean home prices in general went up by a great amount.
Nonetheless, it is hard to call it a buyers’ market while prices continue rising. But it has been a long run for sellers, and buyers could use some relief. We will see what 2019 brings.
You can read the NAR report at this link.
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Ron Rovtar is a broker associate at The K Company Realty in Boulder, CO. Please call Ron with all your real estate questions at 303.981.1617. To learn more about Ron, please visit his website. You can connect with him on Linkedin. For more about life in Boulder County and nearby, check out Ron's "Live In Boulder facebook page. Ron Rovtar does business as Front Range Real Estate, Ltd. E-mail Ron.
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