Blog
This blog is for buyers and sellers in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond! Come back every Wednesday for new Real Estate tips and discussions!
Home Staging Tips
Do a Deep Clean
As for the interior, start to unclutter and pack your unessential belongings. When someone comes to view a house, they want to envision Quick read more or view full article their own family photos hanging on the walls, not see yours. Make your space as neutral as possible. Not only that, but the more you organize and pack up, the bigger your rooms will look!
A few tips:
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Remove all items from bathroom and kitchen counters. Items like coffee pots, toasters, hair dryers—all of these items can be stored elsewhere or packed up. Show as much counter space as possible.
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Potential buyers will open the closets, so organize them! Make them look clean and uncluttered.
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Try to pack each room by about 30-40%. Let your potential buyers imagine their life in your house—it is far easier to do this when everything is clean, organized, and open.
Choose Your Rooms
Decorate!
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Set the dinner table—this will give your space a warm and inviting feel.
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Replace all broken light bulbs and shades. All showings will be happening during the day with the lights on and the windows open, make sure those elements are in perfect working order.
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Add a little nature to every room: whether fake or real, adding that outside touch goes a long way!
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Place mirrors in rooms to open the space up more.
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Use your own belongings to stage, but avoid anything that is too personal such as family photos, religious or political items, or anything that falls into the risque realm.
Increase your Curb Appeal
Even though we have all heard the saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover," many of us still do that anyways. It is the same with houses—your house may be spectacular inside, but if the outside looks outdated, messy, or neglected, you will be missing out on a handful of potential buyers. Not only that, but having a well-maintained landscape can add up to 10% to the value of your home!
Gardening and Ground Maintenance
Add some color and decoration Quick read more or view full article by planting some new flowers around your home. This will give your exterior a fresh and inviting boost! Replace or clean up outdoor plant containers and place them strategically on the porch or patio.
Water Features
Fix any irrigation issues you may have, get the sprinkler repaired, yes it is expensive, but the buyer won't want to adopt that added expense. Additionally, any leaky faucets or places where the outdoor plumbing is faulty, address those and get them repaired prior to showing your house.
Clean Up Your Space
Straighten up your furniture and discard of anything that is broken. Again, add some color to these spaces by grabbing some flowers. Make this space as inviting as the rest of your property, after all, prospective buyers will be imagining their life on that patio.
What is a Seller's Market?
The Roaring Fork Valley's housing market is currently tipping towards what is called a Seller's Market. Due to high demand, prices of homes are beginning to increase as people looking to buy is exceeding the number of available houses on the market.
Key Factors of a Seller's Market:
Economic/Situational - In many cases, a seller's market occurs when there is a boom in local labor opportunities. People are coming in for work and the demand for housing increases. In this case, it is more situational as we are dealing with the pandemic. With more people working remotely, and more people wanting to flee from their metro apartments, we are starting to see an influx of new buyers and an increase in the demand.
Interest Rates -
Quick read more or view full article
In a seller's market, it is common to see interest rates start to trend downwards, thus creating more buyer interest as home affordability rises. For many first time buyers, this is a very beneficial and helpful trend. However, fluctuations will always occur, which further incentives buyers to make their purchase before the rates begin to rise again.
Low Supply - When a seller's market occurs, there is usually a lower inventory of available real estate. With a higher demand for properties, this makes selling your home easier than if it was a buyer's market. In this situation, the seller has the advantage. Whereas the buyers are not so fortunate as more often than not, there are multiple buyers looking at the same property, the perfect recipe for bidding wars.
Thinking About Selling?
If you are in a position to sell you home, perhaps you have been sitting on the fence about it for a while, selling now is a good idea. Take advantage of the demand, chances are you will have multiple buyers interested and can receive multiple offers. If you have any questions about selling your house and the process that takes, please feel free to reach out!
Why You Should Order A Home Inspection Before You Buy
Buying a home is one of the most exciting things you can do in your lifetime! It is easy to get caught up in that excitement between finding your new home, going to the showing, and making an offer. However, there is one key step that can easily be overlooked, and that is getting the house inspected.