jump to navigation

It’s Time To Buy — Just Ask NAR November 3, 2006

Posted by Geri in Buying a Home, Changing Market, Home, In The News, Marketing, NAR, National Association of Realtors, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Selling Your Home.
3 comments

There is so much discussion in the press and the blogosphere about NAR’s decision to start an ad campaign in order to counteract some of the doomsayers’ predictions of a precipitous fall in real estate prices.  Short on memory or steeped in drama, the media at first having denied the existence of a bubble, then backtracking and announcing it and their subsequent take on the “burst,” blasted the airwaves with a defeatist scenario.   The last time I checked, none of us had a working crystal ball.  If we did, I suspect we’d pick the winning lottery numbers or the next Microsoft and not waste our time in the business of selling or reporting on real estate. 

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan announced in mid-2005 that “at a minimum, there’s a little ‘froth’ (in the U.S. housing market) … it’s hard not to see that there are a lot of local bubbles.” President Bush said of the U.S. housing boom in early 2006 “If houses get too expensive, people will stop buying them … Economies should cycle,” and cycle they do.  The problem with all the prognosticating about a crash or hard landing for the real estate market is the probability of it becoming a self fulfilling prophesy.  Say anything often enough and people start to believe it, especially if it comes from a “credible” source.

It’s understandable then that the National Association of Realtors would take a stand on behalf of its constituency and attempt to counteract the negative press and stampeding mentality of those paid to publish bad news.

Selling On Long Island . . . The New Math October 24, 2006

Posted by Geri in Buying a Home, Changing Market, General, Home, Long Island, New York, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Selling Your Home, Uncategorized.
1 comment so far

Your home is currently on the market or you’re just about to list it for sale.  There are a few very important things you must remember if you want to keep it from languishing on the “failed to sell” heap.  With ever increasing numbers of houses available, yours has to appeal to a buyer on one of several levels.  They will either perceive it to be a real value, meaning it’s priced very well for what it has to offer, or it may be in a very desirable location.  The latter can mean a beautiful view, waterfront, a lovely development or a gated community with great amenities.  Sometimes it’s the home itself that pulls people in and makes for a faster sale.

You have but to drive down almost any street on Long Island to see multiple signs announcing to the world, “buy me.”  Because of the increased length of time it takes to find a ready, willing and able buyer, you have to be realistic if your motivation is get your home sold.  The days of multiple offers and bidding wars are a thing of the past and there’s a new mentality among the buying public.  They very often and after much thought, proffer a price only to refuse to then play the game.  It’s a one time offer and it’s not negotiable.  And sadly it’s happening more and more.  So think carefully before you feel insulted or turn it down out of hand, you might be chasing after them by next spring..

Sellers in Nassau and Suffolk counties who want to move on have to learn the new math.  Don’t overprice and be willing to entertain all reasonable offers.

Down Market — What Down Market? October 9, 2006

Posted by Geri in Billy Joel, Changing Market, Entertainment, Estates, General, Home, Long Island, New York, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Selling Your Home.
add a comment

All the doom and gloom predicted for the Long Island real estate market seems to have had little impact on the proposed sale of Billy Joel’s Centre Island waterfront estate.  What do you get for the $37.5 million dollar asking price?  If the 14,000 square foot, 5 bedroom home with eight fireplaces, a guest cottage, bowling alley, wine cellar and pool don’t tempt you, perhaps it’s location on 14.2 acres of prime property hugging the shore at Oyster Bay Harbor will cause your heart to flutter and have you reaching for your wallet.  

Not there yet?  There’s always the added cachet of owning the home of a star — and one of Long Island’s own.  But before you put the agent’s phone number on speed dial you might want to consider that even Billy Joel couldn’t build a dock on his property, though he made a valiant effort.   As a national wildlife refuge, no new piers have been approved on these waters for a very long time.

If you get past the inconvenience of having to dock your boat(s) elsewhere, you just might find a little homestead you could love.

If You Want It Sold . . . September 7, 2006

Posted by Geri in Blogroll, Changing Market, Long Island, New York, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Selling Your Home.
add a comment

There was a time when all you had to do to get a home sold was list it.  Nothing fancy, though some very classy marketing pieces were used by those of us who saw a value in it.  It set our listings apart from the crowd, but if truth be told, the market for home sales on Long Island was white hot.  Those were the years when you didn’t have to have great expertise to get the job done.  The frenetic activity by a buying public did it for us.

Then came the change.  As we watched the long touted “bubble burst” those in the industry for six years or less had no frame of reference for how to deal with a new environment.  Prices were coming down like lead balloons and with inventory increasing at alarming rates, none of the tried and true was working.  Buyers were sitting on the sidelines waiting to see how things leveled out, ignoring ads in local newspapers.  Equally ignored were the full color ads in local real estate magazines.  Even web sites, formerly drawing the eyes of huge numbers of potential purchasers, were sitting dormant.

In today’s real estate marketplace, at least here on Long Island, the single most important tool we have is pricing your home right from the start.   We need to assess where similar homes have been selling within the last two to three months and price yours aggressively.  The temptation to get you just a little bit more can wind up costing you tens of thousands of dollars as time and buyers pass you by.   

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.