As a Realtor, I could write a book about all of the craziness I’ve seen in this business. Let me tell you about a little house that that still has me scratching my head.

A few years ago, on a usually warm spring day, I pull up to a quaint ranch home in a perfectly tucked neighborhood just outside of Monaca. I arrived a few minutes before my appointment, & admired the adorable English-garden feel of the front flowerbeds as I worked my way up to the door. The lockbox in which the door was hung lead into a sunroom adorned with wicker furniture & floral-printed cushions. A floppy, overbrimmed sunhat had been precariously hung on the back of a thatched chair.

Before my client arrived, I zipped through the home getting my bearings & flicking on the lights. As I pulled open the curtains, streams of late-afternoon sun highlighted the brightly colored walls of each room.

The kitchen- a bright sunflower yellow. Fiesta wear & a collection of tea kettles – never meant for an open flame.

The living room – lavender – overwhelming yet pale at the same time. White distressed miniature tables tucked in the corners. Floral prints framed & perfectly placed in line with white door trim.

The master bedroom – periwinkle on each wall as well as the ceiling. A matching blue bedspread peppered with petite white flowers.

My client arrived, & even she, too, commented that it was as if each corner of each room was staged by a team of English-accented, tea-drinking grannies.

We work our way down to the basement where we see a throng of floral wreathes – rows upon rows – so many that each exterior door could have been decorated with a different one each month without repetition.

They were, however, hanging on a pegboard wall, & on that wall was a little tiny knob. Upon closer inspection, that tiny knob seemed to open a not-so-tiny door. My client was reading the label on the hot water tank, I called her over, “Laura, there must be extra storage space behind here!” Being ever so careful not to disturb the collection of floral garlands, I turned the knob & tugged the door open a bit. There wasn’t enough light in the basement to spare for this secretive space. I tugged the door a big more, reached for my phone & shone the light inside.

What I expected was a collection of teddy bears or plastic totes of quilting scraps or anything else that matched the grandma-esque cottagey vibe. But what I saw was not any of those things. What I saw through the crack of light was a large tree stump – one from a tree that could have been 100 years old. It was flat, stable & came up about knee high. & there right in the middle of this stump, pitched at a 45-degree angle was the handle of a full-sized ax that was driven right into the center.

What the heck?! Why did this granny cottage have a hidden room in the basement?! Why did this hidden room look like it was made for beheading chickens or dismembering bodies?

Needless to say… the death room wasn’t mentioned in the property description.

If you ever need help selling an English cottage with a beheading room – I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

I monitor 5 different counties: Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence & Mercer to give you some broad strokes of insight. There’s a lot of different numbers to take into account when painting a statistical picture of our current real estate market.

I’m seeing that the average sales price in Beaver & Mercer counties are relatively the same as week prior – up just a touch at 2%. The biggest jump I’m seeing is in Allegheny County. The average sales price took a 25% jump from last week.

There’s a lot of trends that I’m seeing all along Western PA. In each county I’m evaluating, the median listing prices are increasing over last week. I find that the median price (rather than the average sales price) tends to be a better number to keep an eye on.

The actual number of total homes that sold is down in each of these counties varying from a 30 – 53% decrease. The sales price vs listing price ratio has dipped in each county as well – except in Lawrence County which is holding steady at 98%. That means if you’re looking in Lawrence County for an average $150,000 home, a reasonable offer is going to be around $147,000.

Available inventory in each of the counties is very quickly increasing, meaning that there’s more options for our buyers to look at & consider. However, Butler county – although still growing in inventory over all – isn’t seeing as big of a jump as the other counties. This is very likely due to the highly competitive Cranberry Township market. The properties in the Seneca Valley school district tug on this number a bit & is keeping it below the 120% + growth we are seeing elsewhere.

In short, there’s more & more options every day for buyers. Sellers have to put a little more effort getting the condition of their property up to par before listing, & they have to temper their listing prices to be more in line with the shifting market. However, those that do & those who hire a professional Realtor who can properly market their homes can expect a hefty dose of interest. Those are the sellers that are still sitting pretty with multiple interest.

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

Let’s be honest – there’s a lot of BAD information out there. Real estate is HIGHLY local. What we experience in Pennsylvania is going to be vastly different than what my California counterparts are going through on the west coast. Advice that I give to my sellers in one area will not match my recommendations for a seller who lives 3 miles away.

If you are comparing your home with your neighbor’s house that listed & sold in September, you’re going to easily outprice your home in today’s market. We’re waiting for the data to catch up to what today’s trends are. So, when looking at comparable homes, a Realtor should be looking at the last 30 days, if possible. It’s sometimes hard to get a good sample size with that limited date range. The best way to get multiple interest is to price conservatively & have a Realtor that wow’s you with their marketing.

When I’m viewing a home, sellers ask all the time what they can do to make their home more appealing to buyers. My advice varies depending on the property. Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense for them to do anything at all. Sometimes it’s unlikely that they would reap any financial benefits if they were to update the bathroom, for example.

There is one thing, however, that doesn’t cost you a dime that you absolutely should do. Remove any Political Signs.

I’m not trying to squelch your freedom of speech, but I have buyers that can look past brightly-painted walls. Typically, buyers can ignore the abundant number of personal pictures that pepper your hallway.

We’ve had, though, 3 buyers who specifically mentioned that they wouldn’t put an offer on a house because of the heavy political affiliation of that & the neighboring homes. You want your home to appeal to anyone who is able to afford it, & removing politics from the equation helps you to do that.

VIDEOS RELATED TO THIS TOPIC:
Politics and selling your home – YouTube

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

If you have a choice to listen to your drunk uncle Bernard’s advice about buying a home because he purchased a house 20 years ago & knows how it should go… or… listening to me – I would hope that you take a smidgen of this information into account.

The bad news is that even though the market is shifting, it’s still not the time to go in with low-ball offers. And how do we determine if your offer is reasonable? By pinning it against the Listing Price vs Selling Price for that area.

There’s a big difference between negotiating well for yourself & putting yourself completely out of the running by making unrealistic demands for a seller to consider. My advice: Go in fast, go in fair & get things cinched up before another buyer has a chance to show interest. As soon as there are multiple offers – you no longer, my dear buyer, have the upper hand. As soon as there is multiple offers, the negotiating ball is in the seller’s court.

We just recently experienced a very small tick down in interest rates, but they are still higher than what we’ve gotten spoiled with the last 2 years. There is a way, however, get a rate that’s 2 % LOWER than what everyone else is being quoted. The best news about a rate buy-down, you can build it into your offer so that the seller pays for it.

Here’s how it works: Let’s say that you were quoted an interest rate of 6%. When negotiating on a property, you can ask the seller to give back about 2.2% of the sales price & dedicate that amount to your rate buy-down.

With a full-price offer, & taking the buy-down into consideration, the seller is still selling their home for almost 98% (again, we’re currently at 96.5% in Lawrence County) So the seller still makes out. & When you close on the house, your rate – for the first year is 4%, not 6%. The second year – instead of 6%, you’re at 5%.

This gives buyers 2 years to stabilize their income & slowly grow into the 6% interest rate. If your Realtor isn’t familiar with this program, ask them to reach out to me, & I can put them in touch with a lender who can explain it to you & break down your numbers.

SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEO CONTENT ON THIS TOPIC:
Advice for Multiple Offers – what buyers & sellers need to know! – YouTube

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com