How Bad is the Market?

2007 was a record year for me.  2008 hasn’t even been close.  I didn’t expect things to be this slow but it’s simply the story of supply and demand.  There is so much inventory available that buyers are overwhelmed.  They want to see everything to be sure they’re not passing by on a property that might be perfect for them.  Some of them are returning to the perfect property only to find out it has been sold. 

For many buyers they have a handful of “perfect” properties to choose from and they must make a decision on which one is truly the best for them.  Bottom line is that there are many homes priced right that are still being bypassed because of the amount of homes available for sale.

Think about it this way; a buyer loves 3 homes.  They each have good floor plans and are priced correctly.  They are updated nicely or they’re simply the cream of the crop in their price range.  If it’s a couple purchasing maybe one likes one home and the other one likes another home better.  They have to sit down and discuss which of the homes fit best with their lifestyle and budget.  They will only buy one of these homes so the others simply become runner-ups.

I have some of these runner-ups.  One of my listings is beautiful and I’d buy it if I were looking.  But would I?  If I were out comparing it to other available homes in the price range would this be my first choice?  In fact, there is a feature which could be an amenity to some and a detriment to others.  It is still beautiful, is in an excellent location, has been reduced around $40,000 and still sits.  In fact, we had offers in the beginning but at the time the sellers would not accept such low offers and their buyers still had to sell their homes and they weren’t even on the market yet.  So there has been interest but the timing and buyer’s situations weren’t right.  Now we’re at the end of our better selling season and no offers are coming in even with price reductions.

I have a Tinley Park property for sale that is also priced under the CMA value that is also sitting.  It is getting showings and most of the feedback is positive and mention that the buyers are still considering it.  But no offers and we’re on our 2nd price reduction.  This home is on a big beautiful lot that will appeal to many but might turn off some people that don’t want the upkeep.  It is very well maintained but has some original fixtures and decor.  We have talked about the sellers redoing at least one of the dated items to see if the investment pays off.

I also have a gorgeous Tinley Park townhouse for sale that is spacious and shows wonderfully but it is located next to a commercial property and the last appointment was cancelled when the buyers arrived and didn’t even want to go in because they didn’t like the location.  These sellers have taken their first price reduction.

I have many more listings and I have sold a lot of them but as the market slows down further it’s going to be even more difficult to sell.  There is still too much inventory for a small group of buyers.

To prove this point, I gave a Comparative Market Analysis for a Berwyn home and the seller was very unhappy to see that she would not get what she needs to sell.  She will most likely reluctantly continue to rent it out and look for a new tenant.  As an example, in a $25,000 price range there were over 100 properties up for sale in Berwyn.  Do you think there are 100 buyers right now looking in that price range?  I don’t think so. 

Let’s say there are 25 buyers looking in that price range right now.  That means even if they each purchased a property this month (which will not happen because that’s not the rate of buyers purchasing in one month in Berwyn) there will still be 75 homes left!  Think about that fact.  That’s a lot of homes still sitting on the market and having 25 buyers purchasing in that price range in one month is fiction.  It isn’t happening.  The true figure is probably 5-10 buyers.  Which means 90-95 homes still remain on the market, and that’s only if no other homes get listed.

The example above should explain the crisis sellers are facing now.  And it really comes down to price.  Your home doesn’t need to be completely updated as long as it’s the best home in its price range.  Buyers will let the seller know if that’s the case by writing up an offer to purchase.  If you’ve been at a certain price with no offers then you need to consider reducing price at intervals until you do receive an offer.  Marketing can only do so much to get your property out there, you have to make sure it is priced correctly with the help of your agent.

Southwest Suburbs Real Estate Activity Up

Looking at the dates of this post compared to my last post tells the story of the fact that I’ve simply been too busy to write.  And that’s a good thing since I haven’t come close to the sales I had last year at this time.  I really thought I’d be able to beat last year’s record sales but unfortunately, I just wasn’t prepared for the slow buyer’s market we’ve been through.

Much of my activity has been taking a lot of listings but I’ve also been out showing everything from condominiums to luxury homes.  Buyers are still taking their time and the inventory is still high.

However, I’ve had some of my listings sell that were sitting on the market.  Yes, most of them had to take price reductions in order to sell.  Some had to take a low offer on top of the price reductions.  I was lucky enough to have a very quick sale on an Oak Lawn home for sale that received an offer the first day it was on the market.  However, in a better market it would have received multiple offers.  The sellers even gave it an entire weekend before accepting the offer.  Of course, they’re still happy.

I do have a couple of homes that have not had any showings and that has never happened to me in the 25 years I’ve been in the business.  I knew one home was overpriced when I took the listing but I still wasn’t prepared for the complete lack of interest.  It was a unique home that was difficult to comp out so I thought I’d give it a chance.  But it’s been over 2 months without one showing and not even a phone call or Internet inquiry.  I have marketed it aggressively but still no interest.  I will not renew this listing once it expires as the sellers will not reduce price and are not motivated.

So it just goes to show that if you price your property correctly for current market conditions you have a great chance of a quick sale.  Maybe not a day or even a week, but possibly a sale in the first 30 days of listing.  And in this market that is pretty good!  Most areas have an average of around 100+ average days on market.  Of course, each town is different as are different price ranges.

Remember, real estate sales start to slow down towards the 3rd quarter and truly our last months for more robust sales are July and August.  Families with children want to be in their next home before the next school season begins.  So if you’re still considering listing your property this year you shouldn’t wait any longer.  Give Judy Orr a call at 708-536-8200 for a free market analysis.

ePERKS Sues Blogger

Click the link for my original post about the real estate lead generator that sues a blogger.

When I wrote that post Vlad Zablotzkyy had not received any papers yet from Ben Behrouzi. Well, now he has. ePERKS went through with its threats of a lawsuit.

And the real estate 2.0 crowd is up in arms. There are many bloggers around the nation that are coming to aid Vlad in his defense. We don’t feel the lawsuit has merit but that’s just a part of it.

The lawsuit was filed in California and Vlad lives in New Jersey. Vlad has to hire lawyers to defend him and fly out to CA. Will it be a quick court appearance or multiple visits? No one is sure at this point.

Fellow real estate agents, mortgage brokers/loan officers, bloggers and anyone else that values our freedom of speech is asked to donate whatever you can for Vlad’s defense. It will all add up so don’t be embarrassed if you can only give a few bucks. Go to the Paypal button on the top right of the sidebar on this site that is under the CENSORED? eJERKS logo.

We’ve got to show this lead generating company that it should not bite the hands that feed it (and I hope the action of this company will cause its demise). Clicking the eJERKS logo top right of this page will bring you to the popular Bloodhound Blog which has all the information and links you’ll need to see just how this company is run.

Real Estate Blogger Being Sued by Lead Generator

This might not seem significant for a real estate buyer and seller but I think it should be.  Most do not understand exactly what lead generating sites do.  In a nutshell, these sites are created to appear at the top of search engines when buyers and/or sellers do a real estate related search on their search engine of choice.  Because of the deep pockets these lead generating sites have (such as HomeGain, House Values and more) they appear at the top spots in the search engines.

Buyers and sellers don’t know what kind of sites these are and fill out forms to get more information.  What happens with their information is that it is sold back to the “local real estate agent” that will then contact the potential buyer/seller.  What prospects don’t know is that the agent(s) they’ll be referred to are paying a pretty penny to get these “leads.”  Yes, that’s exactly what you are - a paid-for lead.

I tried this many years ago (before I had my own websites) with HomeGain and another company.  I lost over $1,200.00 on HomeGain and didn’t get one good, qualified lead.  The other company was a pay-for-lead type of situation and I actually got credited for a bad lead or two until I simply stopped accepting any of their leads as once again, I did not get one good lead from them.

That’s just an explanation to non-real estate agents so they can understand what these lead generating sites are about.  Now for the story.

A real estate blogger is being threatened by yet another of the many real estate lead generating sites, ePerks.  You can read about it here: Real Estate Blogger Being Sued by ePerks (be sure to follow all of the links so you can get the whole story).  The blogger being threatened is Vlad Zablotzkyy and his original post about his personal opinion of ePerks was followed by comments from others that feel burned by this company.

There was also a barrage of anonymous positive comments popping up coming from the same ip address (same computer network).  Vlad figures these came from ePerks employees.  Read through the entire story from the link posted above to get all of the threats and downright nastiness posted against Vlad by once again, someone that would not post their identity, making true libelous allegations against Vlad.

Why am I posting this in a local real estate blog?  Because ePerks believes they can overrule our First Amendment rights by threatening a lawsuit against one person’s opinion and the fact that the person posted his opinion on the Internet.  ePerks tried making a deal with Vlad by having him remove all offensive comments, posted by other people who had bad experiences with ePerks, too. 

Vlad certainly has the capability to remove those posts but why should he?  Why should he be strong armed into censoring his blog from real people’s experiences with this company?  Is this not the United States of America where freedom of speech is so revered?

Will this lawsuit actually be brought forth?  Although Vlad received a letter from an ePerks attorney asking him to cease and desist he has yet to receive any court papers.  However, this has definitely affected Vlad and his family.  If this case does make it to court it will cost Vlad money to defend himself.  He has had many sleepless nights over this.

Will ePerks win such a lawsuit?  Seems highly unlikely to me.  Vlad was stating his opinions and others followed.  If this right cannot be held up in our own courts then we’re all in big trouble.  The Internet is here to stay and we’ve seen similar situations, although I haven’t followed up on any of them (a developer was suing a real estate agent for defamatory statements made on a blog).  Some other company sued a blogger (non real-estate related).  Another suit by a website traffic generator against a blogger was thrown out.

It is many people’s opinion that these lawsuits simply bring more negativity to the plaintiffs than the little guys who made a blog post or two about it.  In Vlad’s case, his blog is not considered the top 50 real estate blogs so doesn’t get the amount of traffic that the top blogs would get.  What kind of damage would Vlad’s opinions (and others who commented) really cause ePerks?

In fact, ePerks actions is creating quite a backlash towards them in the real estate community.  Real estate agents and others in the field are banding together to get the word out.  Some are wishing they could have read about ePerks before shelling out their own money to them.  There are now negative posts on top blogging sites and platforms such as Active Rain, Bloodhound Blog, Agent Genius and many more.  Hopefully, the word will keep spreading.

Remember, folks.  If you’re looking for a local real estate agent on the Internet, do a search and don’t fill out forms on these large portals.  Look for a few websites run by local agents or brokerages and find the site you find is the best (easiest to use, offers the most information such as a full MLS search such as this site, etc.). 

Keep in mind, if you continue using these lead portals it might cost you more down the line.  You might be contacted by agents that can’t generate their own leads and might not be up on today’s market and that’s why they pay for these services.  So you might be paying in the long run yourself by utilizing these lead generating portals.   

Buyers That Only Work With Listing Agents

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Spring Cleaning Time

Even though it might not feel like Spring in the Chicago Suburbs it really is and it’s that time of year again when we need to declutter and clean up, especially those that already have their homes on the market or are considering listing their Chicago suburb homes for sale this year.

I’ve shown many homes that I think the sellers should have cleaned their windows, at least from the inside.  Cloudy and dirty windows don’t present a very good picture of the home and are noticeable by all.

It never ceases to amaze me how some sellers show their properties.  Dirty floors, carpeting full of stains, filthy walls and a bunch of clutter.  Then they wonder why their agent isn’t bringing the offers in.

The competition is fierce!

If you’re selling your property and don’t understand this fact then you might be “selling” your place for a long time.  Homes sitting on the market for months and even years make buyers uneasy.  They feel there is something wrong with the home even if the only thing wrong was the price the seller originally started at.

Your home needs to stand out from the rest

This means it has to be the cleanest and showing as close to a model as possible.  It also means that regular maintenance should have been done over the years.  A new furnace, windows or roof are not improvements that the cost is tacked onto the home.  These are everyday home maintenance updates and are expected to be done at certain points in a home’s life.

If a buyer has a choice of two similar properties in the same price range it’s only natural they would choose the property with the most improvements such as newer mechanicals and other updates.  A buyer should not be charged extra for these kinds of normal wear and tear replacements.

Most buyers are very visual

This means they can’t see beyond your home overstuffed with furniture, personal photos and collectibles.  I just showed buyers an Orland Park townhouse for sale that had wallpaper on every wall.  My buyers didn’t want to deal with it.  The listing agent called me back after I delivered the feedback and told me the sellers would be willing to remove it if that was the only deal breaker.  It wasn’t the only thing my buyers didn’t like but these sellers should just remove the wallpaper and their place will be more appealing to the masses.  Some buyers won’t indicate what turns them off and will just go to the next property.  Remember, there’s plenty of places up for sale right now - more inventory than buyers.

Again, compare two similar homes priced the same.  One home is so clean you could eat off the floor.  The next one is dirty and dusty.  In today’s market of plenty, which would you choose?

Cleaning and decluttering is the least expensive means of showcasing your home

You have to pack things up when you move so why not start now with things you don’t use much, especially decorative items.  The rule of thumb today is to remove at least one piece of furniture from every room to make the rooms appear larger.  I did this in the last home I sold and was even pleased myself with how nice the rooms looked with less “stuff.”

One owner of a Tinley Park townhouse for sale had piles of towels and laundry in the bathroom and bedroom.  He knew we were coming so why didn’t he put it away?  We couldn’t see the bathroom for all of the laundry piles.  He also had baby proofed his fireplace by putting a huge piece of fabric over it, hiding it from potential buyers.  He called me himself for feedback and I told him point blank that he wasn’t showcasing his townhouse properly.  He thanked me and said he would do what I said.  I’m not sure why his own agent couldn’t convince him but I know sometimes sellers need to hear it from someone else.

But you still have to live there until you sell

Yes, and you might also be amazed at how nice a decluttered place can be.  We get used to our own stuff and sometimes it comforts us.  But it only turns off potential buyers.  You need to consider selling your home a temporary situation and live a bit differently.  You can unpack your treasured collectibles in your next home and might even appreciate them more after living without them for awhile.  You might need to deep clean more often than normal.

Lose the convenience of your kitchen counters being cluttered with your favorite small appliances.  Get them out of sight.  If you don’t have room in your cabinets then pack away things you don’t use often to make room for the things you currently use that are on your counter.

Kids need to be given rules to keep their rooms clean and some toys might need to be packed up.  Pet beds and eating areas might need a good cleaning and the pets themselves might need more baths so they don’t make your place smell bad.

I’ve shown homes that were clean until we got into the laundry/utility room.  Piles of laundry or items stored haphazardly, making the home feel like there isn’t enough storage space.  We’ve been hit with damp, mildewy smelling old laundry.  This is simply unacceptable when you’re trying to sell.

By the way, keep in mind that people open cabinets, drawers, refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, etc.  If your possessions are stuffed in or fall out when a closet door gets opened it just gives the impression that your home isn’t big enough or doesn’t have enough storage.  Get rid of the junk!

Consider both the interior and exterior

The term “curb appeal” has been around for a long time and should be self explanatory.  Take a step back from your house and look at it through the eyes of a buyer.  If things need to be spruced up and/or cleaned up, whether it’s the lawn and landscaping or the front door, porch and sidewalk then take care of whatever you can.  This is the introduction and first impression of your home that buyers get.

Ask for unbiased opinions

Listen to your real estate agent’s suggestions.  Ask a good friend or relative to give you the truth.  Listen to your agent’s feedback after showings and take the feedback seriously.

In today’s market homes need more than to be priced correctly.  They need to be the best showing house in the price range they happen to fall in.  It’s only logical - buyers make offers on the best home for the price.  If you haven’t done your spring cleaning, it’s highly unlikely your home will be chosen.  In fact, by not following this advice you could lose thousands of dollars.  Is that worth the time and effort it takes to clean?

Sellers Need to Understand Today’s Market

It is amazing how many overpriced properties are out there right now. Sellers and their agents are living in the past (although some agents take an overpriced listing hoping the sellers will realize the facts and end up reducing). Listings do bring agents buyer calls so I understand how agents take a nice property even if they feel it’s a bit overpriced. But so many homes on the market today are grossly overpriced.I have been showing Orland Park real estate recently and have been dumbfounded by some of the high prices on the homes I’ve shown. I’m working with first-time buyers and it’s easy for them to see which homes are priced correctly and which are ridiculous. There is also so much inventory it gets confusing for buyers. And they’re more likely to make lowball offers because they see the long market times, especially when the home is vacant.

Buying a Home Through Auction

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