If you are thinking of selling your home this year, the time to start planning is now. I'm not one to sugar coat reality. The Phoenix real estate market has changed. What was insanity during the summer of 2005 has returned to something more normal in 2006. This is a good thing. We are starting to see things level. I no longer have to write an offer on a property in the driveway so I can compete with 20 other buyer's. I firmly believe buying a home is not something one should do on impulse.
Days on market have tuned to weeks and pricing has actually dropped slightly. In the Phoenix area, the median price of an existing Valley home fell January to $257,000 from $260,000 in December. While a record high of 10,700 homes sold in August, 5,260 existing Valley homes changed hands in January.
What does this mean if you are planning to sell? The inflated prices we saw last summer are gone. Sellers who insist on over-pricing their homes will become frustrated while they sit on the market unsold. Last summer, because a house could sell in just days not weeks, most REALTORS left marketing by the wayside. Now, in order to sell a property, good agents have returned to their marketing plans to help sell a home.
All of this requires planning. Preparing your home for sale, knowing what repairs should be made, staging your property, ordering marketing materials, and more. These are all things your REALTOR can help advise you. In fact, talking to an agent a few months before you plan to sell is a great idea. He or she can walk through your home letting you know what, of anything, you can do to increase the value of your property. The REALTOR can also help you devise a timeline to prepare you for what should be done when.
Now is also the time to keep your finger on the pulse of your neighborhood. Pay attention to the prices of houses as they go on the market, how long they stay on the market, and what they actually sold for. You can be the best informed seller in your neighborhood. Just click here, if you live in Maricopa county, and I will set you up to receive an email when homes in your neighborhood are listed for sale or sell.
