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Dickson
Realty
188 Hwy 50
Zephyr Cove, NV 89448
| Direct: |
775.588.9022
530.544.9022 |
| Fax: |
775.588.6062 |
| Toll
Free: |
800.923.9022 |
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FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS BY SELLERS
The list below are questions we often hear from Sellers.
If you have a question that is not answered here, please click
on the question mark at the bottom of this page and ask us.
We’ll respond to you immediately and put your question
on this page to help others as well. |
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What
is the best time to sell my house?
The best time to sell anything is always when there
is no competition. The general consensus among many
owners, however, is that the best time to put a
house on the market around Lake Tahoe is in late
spring... when the snow is gone and flowers are
in bloom. Evidence suggests otherwise. There is
more competition in the late spring and summer than
any other time of the year.
We thought it might be a good idea to look at the
numbers, so we’ve looked at sales by the month
for the last three years. This reveals that Buyers
are here looking for homes all the time. The months
with the least amount of Buyer activity year after
year are late October and November, which appears
as January and February sales because of the normal
60-day period of escrow. Even then there are normally
about 200 or so Buyers throughout the South Lake
Tahoe market in this “slow” month.
Over time the greatest number of sales normally
occurs in late summer and early fall. This appears
to be more of a function of increased inventory
instead of increased demand. This is demonstrated
by quarterly and monthly sales comparisons from
year to year. When combined over a three-month period,
the number of sales only varied by 9 from any one
quarter to another.
The Lake Tahoe real estate market has year around
demand. Anytime is a good time to put a house on
the market, and when considering competition as
a factor, there is always less competition in the
late fall and winter than any other time of the
year. |
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What is the average time on the market?
There is no average time on the market. Time on
market for homes in Lake Tahoe ranges from seconds
to years. The length of time a home remains on our
market is almost always a function of price, or
a Seller’s motivation, which is usually synonymous
with price. A reasonably priced home always sells
quickly in our market.
The number of days on the market (DOM) does appear
in our statistical database (the MLS). This number
as reported also includes the length of escrow.
We can certainly calculate these “averages,”
but this does not give you a fair or accountable
picture of time and market activity. All these such
“averages” really do is suggest the
number of Sellers who were motivated to sell and
those who weren’t.
Our professional practice training is that “absorption
rates” are the best indicator of market time.
This is what our Real Estate Market Ticker©
is all about. The “ticker” is found
on our home page; it calculates home sales by price
and time, which indicates market-wide acceptance
of homes within a particular price range. For example,
if one is looking for a home priced between $650,000
and $699,000, and there are 6 sales in the last
6 months of homes priced in this range, the market
is absorbing one such home per month. This is an
an absorption rate of one. If there are currently
16 homes listed in this $650,000 to $699,000 price
range, then there is 16 months of inventory. (This
is calculated by dividing the absorption rate into
the number of available homes.)
Six months of inventory represents a neutral market.
Anything more than that represents a “Buyer’s”
market, anything less is a “Seller’s”
market. An inventory of 16 months in the example
above represents a strong “Buyer’s”
market.
Inventory is competition to a Seller. It is an opportunity
for a Buyer. We always suggest to Sellers that they
consider absorption rates and inventory in their
pricing strategy and value instructions to us. If
it is a Seller’s wish to sell their home quickly,
they may want to consider a lower, or more reasonable
price in a high-inventory market. In the other hand,
Buyers should certainly consider market conditions
in tailoring an offer. |
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How much more will my house be worth if I paint
it and re carpet?
New paint and carpet are considered
cosmetic touch-ups. As a general rule this very
much helps to sell a house. It often will increase
value, though not always. New paint and carpet certainly
improves the look and feel of a home to a Buyer.
It often can make a difference as to a home selling
faster.
A Seller may not be able to change their home’s
location or its floor plan, but a Seller can do
a lot to improve their home’s appearance.
And he/she should. The look and “feel”
of a home generates a greater emotional response
than any other factor. A Seller may price their
home to sell, but a prospective buyer reacts to
what they see, hear, feel and smell. We always help
a Seller with anything we know that will help increase
the value of their home.
In our second-home market, where almost 65% of all
homeowners live elsewhere, sometimes it is difficult
for a Seller to come here to get their home on the
market. We are happy to order and supervise your
home to be cosmetically touched up and made market
ready for you. We have reliable and reasonable paint
and carpet contractors who are eager to be at your
service. |
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Why
hasn’t my house sold?
There are only two reasons why a house fails to
sell: it is either underexposed or overpriced. We
make an unconditional guarantee to a Seller that
their home will never be underexposed.
We do not control price, the Seller does. We certainly
do everything we can to help a Seller with his/her
pricing strategy, but the value position and market
introduction is always the Seller’s decision. |
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If my house sells immediately, does that mean it’s
underpriced?
Not necessarily. A quick sale is the result of successful
teamwork between us and the Seller. The only way
this such successful teamwork evolves is through
meaningful communication. It means we’ve listened
effectively to a Seller and understood his/her needs
and expectations. It also means that the Seller
has listened to us and has instructed us to place
their home on the market at the highest reasonable
price possible. “Reasonable” here being
the key word.
The sales statistics, absorption rates and inventory
data that we provide to help a Seller’s value
decisions are almost always indicative of “reasonable
price.” At this point in our discussion to
a Seller, the Market is the message and we are the
messenger. It is extremely rare, if not impossible
that market indicators and our information will
allow a Seller to instruct us to place a home on
the market that is underpriced.
Normally a home that sells right away is because
it is priced properly. If a home receives multiple
offers immediately, that might indicate that a home
could sell higher, though not always. Sometimes
the best method of handling multiple offers is to
request each party to re-submit... with each party
being made aware that there are competing offers.
Though this strategy can produce a higher offer,
there is a downside as well: it can cause one or
both Buyers to go away.
An immediate sale, even with a multiple offer, may
more often reflect a lack of inventory, rather than
indicate a price that is too low. Inventory, or
the lack thereof, should always be a factor in a
Seller’s pricing instructions. The market
message, and us, are your check and balance that
a Seller’s home will never be undersold. |
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What about cleaning?
A clean house sells faster... and for more. Pick
up, straighten, unclutter, scrub, scour, dust....well,
a Seller needs to get the idea. If a Seller’s
living room feels crowded, they should take out
every piece of furniture they can get away with.
If the home still isn’t ready to appear in
House Beautiful, then it should be cleaned some
more. A Seller should remember they are not just
competing with other people’s homes - they’re
going up against newer and completely remodeled
homes as well.
In our second-home market, where almost 65% of all
homeowners live elsewhere, sometimes it is difficult
for a Seller to come here to get their home on the
market. We are happy to order and supervise your
home to be professionally cleaned and made market
ready for you. |
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I
have an old roof... should I replace it?
If it leaks and is in need or significant repair,
then yes. It is quite difficult to sell a house
at top dollar if it has a roof in poor condition.
If a Seller’s home has an older roof, or a
shake roof that does not leak, then we normally
recommend that the home be put on the market with
the roof as is. |
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