Advantages to Selling Your Home in the Granby and Simsbury area this Fall Two Culprits That Make Selling Your Granby or Simsbury Home Tougher Selling Your Home in Granby and Simsbury Can be a Fall Success Story 
Whenever a home lingers on the market, the likeliest two culprits are either a price that’s too high to be competitive, or a home that’s not in top showing condition. If you were unsuccessful in selling your home in town this summer, it would be particularly disappointing given the strength of the selling season. The NAR reports that in July alone, sales of existing homes jumped 17.2% compared with July 2012. At the same time, some sellers reported the reappearance of multiple offers.The good news? Selling your home in the fall or winter is not as difficult as most people commonly assume. In fact, selling your home in the  Granby and Simsbury area during the coming months can offer certain benefits. In what many people assume is an “off season,” fewer homes are on the market — less competition. At the same time, buyers in these seasons tend to be more serious about buying. Pricing is almost always the overriding issue. Home values haven’t fully recovered from the peaks registered before the residential housing crash. Nationally, median prices are on the rise…but even so, they are still 7.3% below the high water marks reached in 2006. If you bought or appraised your home in 2004 – 2006, you might have to set your asking price slightly lower than the number you heard then. Selling your home with dispatch might depend on it.Showing condition matters, too. Selling a home is different from living in it. To be competitive with the other Granby and Simsbury  homes for sale, the property should be spotless for every showing. Removing excess furniture, art, and personal items such as family photos or trophies is important for creating a home that appears spacious and airy. It also lets buyers more easily imagine their own families living in your home.Don’t let the lack of a summer sale discourage you. When you set your asking price correctly and provide an immaculate showing environment, you’ll give yourself a strong chance of selling your home in the Granby and Simsbury area during  the cooler weather months. If you would like to talk strategy, call me today for an in-home assessment!
Stephen Simard is a Realtor with Alliance Realty in Simsbury, lives in Granby, and is proud of the great schools and towns in the Farmington Valley. Contact him at www.StephenSimard.com

Economic insight and analysis from The Wall Street Journal.

• July 19, 2013, 9:00 AM

Will Rising Mortgage Rates Halt The Housing Rebound?

REAL TIME ECONOMICS HOME PAGE »

By Brenda Cronin

Could rising mortgage rates derail the housing market’s slow healing? Economists in the latest Wall Street Journal survey are divided on the question. Among those surveyed, 40% said the rise “won’t have a noticeable effect,” 35.6% warned “it will slow sales” and 24.4% said “it will slow home-price gains.”

There’s no doubting the housing market’s contribution to the overall recovery.Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in starting two days of congressional testimony, on Wednesday told lawmakers that  “housing has contributed significantly to recent gains in economic activity. Home sales, house prices, and residential construction have moved up over the past year, supported by low mortgage rates and improved confidence in both the housing market and the economy.” The Fed chief seemed to place himself within the no “noticeable effect,” camp, but added, “Housing activity and prices seem likely to continue to recover, notwithstanding the recent increases in mortgage rates, but it will be important to monitor developments in this sector carefully.”

In the Fed’s periodic report on regional economic conditions, issued Wednesday, the central bank sounded a relatively upbeat note, saying “Residential real estate activity increased at a moderate to strong pace in most Districts.” The beige book continued, “Most Districts reported increases in home sales.”

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have jumped in the recent months, climbing in the most recent week to 4.37%, up more than a percentage point from the 3.35% level of early May. However, even with the climb, rates are lower than they have been in decades.

That historical perspective is important, said Stephen Stanley, of Pierpont Securities, who noted “rates were so incredibly low before they can rise significantly and still be incredibly attractive by historical standards.”

Mr. Stanley said the housing market’s healing is likely to continue because—despite the rise in rates—the fact that home prices are going up…is an overwhelming incentive for people.”

John Lonski, ofMoody'sMCO +1.17% Analytics, sees rising rates affecting sales, and points to mortgage applications for home purchases to support his point. During the four-week period ended July 12, those applications were down 5% from their 2013 high, during the four weeks ended May 3, Mr. Lonski said. “This tends to suggest that higher mortgage yields will at least slow the housing recovery.”

He added, “It doesn’t mean that home sales are about to collapse or contract. But they will be slowed by costlier mortgages.”

Can a Comparative Market Analysis Help You? To get the most accurate estimate of how much you should list your property for, your real estate agent can provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). A CMA is an informal estimate of market value, based on sales of comparable properties in your area. It generally takes into account various aspects of your home, including size, features and annual costs. Reviewing comparable homes that have sold within the past year, along with the listing or asking price on current homes for sale, should help you determine a fair sale price for your property.

CMAs can include homes that are currently for sale and those which have recently sold. They can cover areas as narrow as one or two streets surrounding your home, or as broad as an entire subdivision.

Most real estate agents will give you a CMA for free, hoping you'll list your home with them. Each CMA contains valuable information on several recent sales, including:

• How long each property stayed on the market
• How close the sale price was to the asking price
• Notes comparing each home to yours, i.e.; number of bedrooms and baths, approximate square footage, sizes of major rooms, amenities such as fireplaces and pools, age of the home, property taxes and more.

The CMA is an informative selling tool, but like any tool, it doesn't work by itself. For this reason, the CMA will always need to be interpreted by a professional or with complete objectivity by the seller or buyer.
Search Farmington Valley homes here.

Remember, too, that the CMA is also a buying tool; it is considered just as seriously by the buyer and his or her agent. As you and your agent are going to use the CMA to ask the highest possible price for your home, the buyer is going to use it to find reasons to either choose or eliminate your home, and to arrive at the lowest price possible.

I can provide all the information and comps you need in the Farmington Valley, Granby, Simsbury, East Granby, West Hartford, Bloomfield, New Hartford, Suffield and all towns surrounding Hartford County. Search homes here.


Article by Market Leader