So You’re Selling Your Home August 31, 2006
Posted by Geri in Blogroll, Long Island, New York, Real Estate, Selling Your Home.add a comment
So you’ve made the decision to sell your home. You understand, or you think you do, that prices are not as high as they were last year or the year before, but you’re confident. You know it will sell. You choose an agent to represent you and she/he comes over with the paperwork for you to sign and takes some photos. Depending on the confidence level of your Realtor(R), the stark reality of this market may or may not have been explained to you. This is the simple truth. Price it right and it will sell.
You have to recognize that buyers have more options than they have in years. They’re definitely in the driver’s seat at this moment in time and you’re going to have to do something to attract them. There are two places you can be in a declining market, ahead of the curve – giving you the benefit of more exposure or behind it, causing you to constantly play catch-up with an inventory gaining speed as it rushes down the hill. Trust me, the latter will cause you pain. It means you’ll more than likely have to drop your price more than once until your home is perceived as good value by the buyers.
There is a perception out there that we, as real estate professionals, make the market. Let me state unequivocally, we do not. Buyers, comparing your home to others currently available make a value judgment. If they determine your property offers as much or more than competing houses, they’ll make an offer. If not, you may frustratingly sit waiting for the phone to ring and wondering what is going wrong. If you find yourself in this scenario, have a frank discussion with your broker about what it will take to make your property competetive. Time, in a declining market is not on your side
Everyone Loves Long Island August 30, 2006
Posted by Geri in Blogroll, Long Island.1 comment so far
My business has me in contact with people from all over the world and the one surprising constant is those who have visited or lived here for any period of time love Long Island. I’ve heard things like, “it’s the one place I remember with great warmth,” or “I miss living there. What a great place!” Though my feelings are the same, it’s harder to define. For all of you who raise your families here, you know the benefits of the schools, libraries and Long Island’s natural resources. 
I both live and work here and will share my experiences about both.
The Current Real Estate Market August 30, 2006
Posted by Geri in Buying a Home, Changing Market, Long Island, New York, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Selling Your Home.1 comment so far
If any of you have bought or sold a home on Long Island in the last five or six years, you’re aware of the incredible ride the real estate market has taken during that time. There was one two year span during which prices increased fifty three percent, forcing first time home buyers to explore other alternatives. Acquiring their piece of the American dream seemed elusive.
Some buyers, to break into the market, gave up their visions of a verdant backyard space for the confines of a condo or co-op development, just to stick a toe into the real estate waters on Long Island. Prices on those in many areas were astounding, with numbers upward of $500,000. Those were lean times for the uninitiated, but the tide has turned. Those same buyers are today holding most of the cards as prices tumble from their astronomical highs.
For sellers it’s been another sort of adjustment. Having expectations that their family’s home would fund a comfortable future, no matter what part of their evolution, they are now confronted with a new reality. They are not likely to get prices that their friends and neighbors got two short years ago and they are slow to adapt to the new math. Because real estate professionals find themselves in uncharted territory, they’re often not much help to a floundering public. What should your home sell for? The honest answer is, “we just don’t know, but it’s worth no more than a buyer is willing to pay for it in this market.” Unfortunately because agents are afraid to lose a potential listing, they sometimes take houses on to market at prices they know the market won’t substantiate. This creates two problems; one is that inventory is ever climbing since properties are taking much longer to sell, and two, they’re faced with unhappy sellers who refuse to see the light and assume it must be the fault of the agent representing them.
The market we currently find ourselves in, much like the rest of the country, is in transition. It’s normal and has been long overdue. Real estate is and always has been cyclical. So if you’re looking to buy, you’ll benefit from the change. Selling today, though you’re likely to get less than two years ago, can be a wash. If you’re both a seller and buyer, you just might make it up at the other end.
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