Archive for January, 2008
How Many Houses Do I Need to See in Connecticut Before Finding “The One”?
January 31st, 2008 categories: Home Buyers
This is one of the most common questions home buyers have and it’s the question I never have the answer to. A related question would be “How long will it take for me to find a house?”
The answer can vary so widely. I personally haven’t had any buyers look at just one and buy, nor have I had anyone look at over 100 houses. I can tell you that the answer is directly related to your (the buyer) motivation level which can be determined by answering these questions:
How soon do you need to find a house?
If you are living with family and “can take your time to find the right house,” then you can look at 50 houses, as long as you want to spend the time doing it.
Why do you want to buy?
| Discussion: 1 Comment »
Your House Isn’t Selling? Blame the Hartford Courant-Part 2
January 26th, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Real Estate Market
I didn’t think I would have more to say on the issue of the Hartford Courant’s reporting of the housing market but I was wrong. I’d like to add a few points.
The Hartford Courant and other media are largely ignored by Realtors. Most won’t write a letter to the editor or won’t call to complain, they’ll just mutter amongst themselves how uninformed the reporting is. I don’t even think most read the paper, at least not for their reporting on the market.
I do read the paper but it just makes me mad - ask my husband. And I won’t write a letter to the editor because I think it’s a waste of time. If their reporters are not going to check basic facts with the local board on a question of how many transactions in 2007 had seller concessions when they’re making a claim that seller concessions are inflating prices by 1-3%, they’re not worth a call.
| Discussion: 2 Comments »
Your House Isn’t Selling? Blame the Hartford Courant
January 25th, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Home Sellers, Real Estate Market
The Hartford Courant has been waging a campaign against you - home sellers. They want to scare off anyone thinking about buying your home. Why? I can only speculate that the worse it gets for you, the more they get to write sensational headlines.
How can I make such a claim? Your honor, allow me to present my evidence.
Since the beginning of the year, they have written 7 stories (maybe more) about the housing market with a negative focus. This doesn’t include articles about mortgages, home builders, foreclosures, subprime, recession etc - just housing prices. So, just about every four days, there is one negative article about housing prices.
Realtors Group Sees Flat Sales in ‘08, January 8, 2008
Home Sales Drop Sharply, January 9, 2008
Market Pulse, January 13, 2008
Report Stirs Fears About Area’s Housing Market, January 15, 2008
Biggest Decline in Home Sales Since 1982, January 25, 2008
No Consensus on Housing Market, January 6, 2008
I could find some fault with most of these articles but this next one is the worst.
Truth About Home Prices, January 20, 2008
This article really gets me in just how irresponsible it is. The premise is that seller incentives, cash to buyers at closing for closing costs or repairs, are skewing the overall sales prices in CT.
It’s impossible to tell how much seller incentives and givebacks affect those numbers. But cash givebacks of even $2,000 to $5,000, if they are typical across the board, could skew the overall sales price data by 1 to 3 percent.
| Discussion: 8 Comments »
Send an Animal Abuser to Jail and Get a Best Friend
January 23rd, 2008 categories: Pets & People
There aren’t too many types of people lower than animal abusers.
Here’s the story- in short, he took a power drill and drilled several holes in a dogs head. It all started when the dog escaped from a cage in the basement and bit an 8 year-old boy. Although not in the link I attached, I found further details surrounding the dog bite - the boy was playing with the two dogs that resided in the home and the play got out of control.
In a fit of rage, the father, rather then drive to the hospital to see his son, drove to where the dog was, pulled out a drill and attacked the dog while it was trapped in its cage. The dog was euthanized due to its severe injuries.
Note: the boy had been bitten in the arm and was only in the hospital for a short period of time. He was fortunate - most dog bites occur to the face. Young boys are most at risk for dog bites.
Furthermore, police commented that the dog was living in deplorable conditions in the basement of the home prior to the abuse. Another dog was found in the home and neither was vaccinated; both were also malnourished.
I don’t think animal cruelty cases are prosecuted enough - animal cruelty is one of the known precursors to other types of crime including child and spousal abuse.
Here’s what you can do:
1) Attend the Hearing that is scheduled for Thursday, February 14th at 9AM at Bristol Superior Court. (131 North Main Street, Bristol, CT 06010 ). A large show of public support to prosecute Mr. Cruz to the fullest extent of the law would help make an important statement about the serious nature of this crime. Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 5 Comments »
Pass the Hand Sanitizer? Viral Marketing for Home Sellers
January 21st, 2008 categories: Real Estate Market
Do you know what viral marketing is? Would you know what a real estate agent was talking about if they were saying your house is being viral marketed? Most importantly, would you think it was a good thing?
I ask/comment because I came across another agent’s website touting her brilliant marketing plan for sellers. She uses Viral Marketing! Great, what is it though?
Sometimes real estate agents get a little caught up in lingo that we forget other people don’t know the meaning of words/acronyms we use everyday like PUD, DOM or absorption. That doesn’t mean that as a seller, you shouldn’t be interested in having your agent use viral marketing to sell your home.
Someone who is much smarter than me (insert Seth Godin), describes viral marketing by differentiating it from “word-of-mouth,” which is something we all get.
“Viral marketing is a compounding function. A marketer does something and then a consumer tells five or ten people. Then then they tell five or ten people. And it repeats. And grows and grows. Like a virus spreading through a population. The marketer doesn’t have to actually do anything else. (They can help by making it easier for the word to spread, but in the classic examples, the marketer is out of the loop.) The Mona Lisa is an ideavirus. ” Read the rest of this entry »
| Discussion: 5 Comments »
