Real Estate Information Archive

In today's slowing Real Estate market it is more important than ever to have your property ready to sell before you start marketing the home.  Buyers have ample inventory to choose from and they are more critical than ever.  Some statistics show that approximately one in ten homes are selling.  In order to make yours the "one", let's take a look at what you need to do.

First of all, take a look around the property as if you are the buyer.  Forget that you love this house or that your babies have grown up in it or you spent $20,000 adding that custom deck.  From the front door back critique the house with objective eyes.  Does the front door needed paint or those flower boxes replanted?  As you go through make a list of all the things you meant to do but just didn't get around to.

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness" or so they say.  But this is so true in marketing your home.  Don't just burn candles or kill them with potpourri.  Actually clean the house till it smells fresh.  Nowadays you can find a good cleaning crew to give it the once over and you will be glad you did.

Pack away all the knick knacks.  You do not need to "decorate" the house for the buyer.  Chances are your taste and theirs are very different.  Clear off all the counters of anything unnecessary.  Pack away the toys and the dreadful stuffed animals.

Lastly clean up the yard.  Trim the bushes and rake the leaves.  The yard is the first and last impression a buyer has, don't you want it to be a good one?

For a complete list of "Getting your home ready to sell", please call The Melinda Duncan Team at 859-422-2035 or email at melinda@melindaduncan.com .

The Lexington Bluegrass Association of Realtors has released the statistics for the month of May.  Although sales were up slightly over the same month last year, the amount of inventory is overwhelming.  Last May 2006, we had 1,031 sales and this year we are showing 1,064 sales for the same month.  However, the amount of inventory went form 5,328 homes available to 6,957.  What this means to you as a consumer is there is rapidly becoming an overabundance of homes for sale and not enough buyers.

What we are finding on The Melinda Duncan Team is that buyers are looking at several more houses before making a decision and making lower offers than before.  Therefore, homes are staying on the market much longer and selling for a lot less.  As a seller, you are competing to get the few sales available.  For this reason, sellers must have their home in tip top shape and be priced right to be one of the chosen few.

The Melinda Duncan Team can show you our points of difference in getting your home sold for the most money in the shortest amount of time.  We offer the latest technology and a team approach to getting your home sold.  Please call us if we can ever help.

We sell houses big or small!

The newest statistics for the Lexington Bluegrass Association of Realtors have been released for January 2007.  We have all known the market has taken a down turn and the proof is in.  We have seen a change in the number of available listings slowly rising due to the fact that sales are down.  The change over January 2006 in residential sales was a 16% decrease and the average days on market increased from 73 to 92 days.  The townhome and condo market however, had an increase of 63% and the average days on market went from 92 to 94.

You ask what this means to you?  For sellers it means that now more than ever you must have your home priced correctly from the beginning.  No more leaving in room to "wiggle" on an offer.  Typically your first offer is your best and you should try to negotiate it out if at all possible.  10% of the homes are selling.  Do you want yours to be one?

For a buyer, now is the time to purchase the home you have been waiting for.  Sellers are becoming more conscious about pricing so you may now have as much room to haggle as you think but real estate is still a great investment.

Using The Melinda Duncan Team for your home buying or selling needs will give you the experience and know how a tough market demands.