Happy Holidays

Another year almost in the books and a brand new one on the horizon.  We’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of our clients for choosing to work with us.  It has truly been a pleasure and a privilege to serve you.  We hope your remaining days of 2009 are filled with fun, laughter, and lots of LOVE!  And may your new year be one of great optimism, hope, success, and happiness. 

Many Blessings,

the Riewer Group

Potts home “Sold” in 39 days!

Please excuse our blogging absence, we’ve experienced some technical difficulties on our website but now all is good.  Wow!  Look at all of this Omaha snow.  It sure is beautiful but ooh so cold.  But even under these conditions Tim and Jodi are happy because their beautiful home sold in just over a month and now their dream of living on an acreage in the country is only days away.  Definitely not an opportune time to be moving but when you’re chasing your dreams life’s big and little inconveniences just don’t seem to matter.  Thank you thank you Potts Family!

Cha-Ching

Well they did it.  Today the Senate passed a bill to extend and expand the home buyers tax credit which should be a wonderful thing for the real estate business.  Maybe this will jump start things and it will actually have legs.  The 8K dollar tax credit basically stayed the same except now you have until April 30 to sign a purchase agreement and July 1st to close the deal. They also expanded the bill to help current home owners who buy something new during the same time period.  The expanded credit goes up to $6,500 and you must have owned your home for at least 5 consecutive years during the past 8 years.  We still need Mr. Pres to sign it but in this case that is just a formality.  All the precise details are not out yet but if you’d like to read more about it here’s an article.   http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hJJraNRE6DjWj2orF7SYJ12PADEAD9BPKTA80

Will they or won’t they

With time running out I think most of us Realtors are hoping for the 8K tax credit or maybe even something better to carry into 2010 but it’s far from over.  Most of our clients that can, have taken advantage of it but an extension would certainly help a lot of people who have not been able to capitalize on this great incentive.

Direct from the Nebraska Realtors Association here is the latest:

Update on HomeBuyer  Tax Credit from NAR:
There has been movement, but this is far from a done deal. 
Senate leaders of both parties,  key Senate Finance Committee members and staff, and tax credit sponsors Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson have agreed on extending and expanding the housing tax credit.

However, there is no agreement on how to attach this tax credit to the pending Unemployment Insurance bill, or whether to offer the tax credit agreement on another bill, or whether to bring the agreement to the Senate floor and vote upon it as a separate, stand alone bill.

And after Senate action, the tax credit must go to the House of Representatives for action.

Should I lower the price of my home?

So when do I know it’s time to consider lowering the price of my home?  This is a very tricky question that many sellers and their realtors constantly struggle.  And the answers are not clear cut black and white.  Some obvious factors to consider:

1.       Are we in a buyers or sellers market?

2.       How much of a hurry am I in?

3.       Have there been adequate showings and if so what was the feedback?

4.       How is my home currently priced to similar homes (high end etc)?

5.       Has my home been adequately marketed?

We have a current listing that has been on the market for a month.  The home is in wonderful condition and its location is good.  We have hosted an open house 3 of the 4 weeks and feel we have marketed it very well through signage, advertising, and electronic means.  We have had average traffic with no real follow-up interest.  We are still in a buyer’s market as there are 6-7 months of inventory for this style home in this price range.  And we are closer to the high end price range (our comparables indicate that similar homes priced 5K-8K below us have been selling, however, not in large numbers).  We definitely struggle with this question because the home is nearly perfect.  At the same time our client would love to sell her home before the holidays.  In our final analysis we conclude that the market is telling us we are priced a bit too high and to have the best chance of selling in the next 6 weeks is to lower the price.  How much did we lower it?  Will it work?  Obviously there are no guarantees but no matter what the outcome, we’ll let you know how it turns out.  This can be as much an art as it is a science.

New Listing SOLD in 4 days!!! OOPS NOT!  My buddy Shanny told me before I ever started in this business that the most frustrating part is that things, unexpected things, out of your control things, will happen and blow up deals.  And that is why we ride an emotional roller coaster that can drive a man or woman over the edge.  We had a verbal agreement and we were all thrilled.  24 hours later not so much.  We will not sulk nor whine but will forge ahead with greater determination because this is a wonderful home and that is what we do!