Affordable Ways to Make a Home Sparkle
Daily Real Estate News | August 21, 2006
Source: Universal Press Syndicate, Michael Walsh (08/20/2006)


A home seller doesn’t have to spend a fortune on redecorating in order to impress buyers. But it does take a little creativity and a clear understanding of the main goal: to remove personal clutter and make everything else shine.


Here are a few simple (and affordable) suggestions for making a home more impressive to potential buyers:


Outside: Spread fresh mulch on the flowerbeds; paint the front door; and buy a new "welcome" mat.


The mudroom: Get rid of the litter box and the pet food bowls; put cleaning supplies out of sight; and hang coats in the closet, not on hooks.


The bathroom: Hide personal items such as athlete’s foot powder or laxatives; put toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet; buy a new shower curtain.

The closets: Ruthlessly thin out clothes and shoes; hang what’s left on matching hangars; and replace the light bulbs with 100 watts.


The kitchen: Get rid of all but the basics in the cupboards and clean everything off the counters.


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Realtors and auction houses are teaming up more and more as the cooling market leads to more homes being offered at auction.


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Farewell bidding wars. Hello opportunity. The continued stabilization of the real estate market and increased inventory of homes available is being welcomed by many with a sigh of relief. For home buyers, this means increased opportunity with a plentiful supply of homes to choose from. For sellers, this means being realistic when pricing a home, realizing that homes are not selling at the skyrocketing pace of the past few years. Many real estate analysts agree that this market is a much needed “catch of breath” from the red-hot pace of recent years.


Statistics:


Statewide: The median resale price of a single-family detached home in California for June was $575,800, an increase of about 6% over June 2005 and just under 2% for the month. Unsold resale inventory represented a 6.2 month supply, compared to 2.6 months for the same period a year ago. Median number of days till sale was 46 in June, up from 28 (revised) for June 2005.


Top Ten-Plus List: The ten California communities with the highest median home prices for June were: Beverly Hills, $1,877,500; Burlingame, $1,725,000; Manhattan Beach, $1,575,000; Los Altos, $1,543,500; Newport Beach, $1,347,250; Saratoga, $1,309,000; Mill Valley, $1,294,500; Palos Verdes Estates, $1,225,000; Orinda, $1,207,500; La Cañada Flintridge, $1,150,000. Northern California is half the list and everything over a million.


Sacramento/Capitol Region: Sacramento medians are flat and sales activity is down 38% from last year.


Interest Rates*: Thirty-year fixed rates were at 6.65% at the end of July, up a full point and a third for the year; 5/1 ARM, at 6.3%, have increased about as much from July 2005. There is some indication that fixed rates would by now have climbed even higher, except for a counter pressure – lenders are keeping rates as low as they can, to stimulate business as volume declines in step with sales activity. Loan application volume is down almost 30% nationally, year-over-year; raising rates unduly would cause an even steeper decline in the number of loans.


*Area interest rates are reported to be as follows:


Sacramento/Tahoe region: Coldwell Banker Home Loans reports that as of August 3, 2006, rates are trending down. The 30-year fixed with one point is 6.532% and the 5/1 ARM with one point is 6.098%, on all conforming loan amounts under $417,000 with a 30-day lock.


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