Home Staging Tips: Achieving Buyer Appeal with Roman Shades

REAL ESTATE TIPS

By Ronique Gibson

When selling a home, one of the most important rules of staging the space is to let buyers envision the home in its best light. When it comes to achieving buyer appeal, my clients often ask, “What will make our home feel inviting and warm to buyers?”

My answer? Any “extras” such as window treatments, decorative accents, and modern amenities will attract buyers’ eyes immediately.

Window treatments are considered fixtures and are typically sold with the home, unless negotiated out of the contract. With that said, buyers will love creative window treatments such as Roman shades that are versatile, beautiful, and can create a polished look to any window they grace.

Roman shades can be made from various material and textures
All Images via: Deb Barrett-Window Dressings

Roman shades are made of fabric panels that are raised and lowered with a cord system, via rings sewn into the back of the fabric. When they are raised, the fabric stacks into horizontal folds, giving a neat appearance even when they are raised or lowered halfway.

Because Roman shades come in a variety of styles to help control light and provide privacy, while adding color and texture to your interiors, there are options for any taste. Here are a few types to choose from:

• Unconstructed: The simplest of all forms; they tend to gather loosely.
• Constructed: More formal and tailored.
• Balloon: Have a whimsical and more feminine touch to them.
• Paneled: Constructed of layers of fabric to give more dimensions to your valance and are made in several pieces.

These balloon Roman shades keep a whimsical theme in the room

Bringing In Natural Light

Many of my home staging clients focus more on what color to paint the walls rather than actually seeing how much natural light comes into the room. Lighting is one of the most important factors when staging. Use your window treatments strategically to control lighting and to add a decorative touch to windows in the evening hours.

Layered Roman Shades give your room more eye-catching presence

Frame the View Outside

One of the best qualities of window treatments is their ability to frame the view outside of your window while still letting in natural light to your room. Virtually Staging Properties elaborates, “When it comes to staging, be sure to maximize the natural light in every room unless a particular room has a truly awful view that you are trying to hide. [Proper staging] means raising blinds and shades up and pushing curtains or drapes to the sides to let more natural light into a living space.”

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My advice is to thoroughly clean windows inside and out before a showing or open house. Open windows fully on a sunny day to reveal hidden spots and dirt on windows. Clean windowsills from dust and dirt and ensure window treatments are free of cobwebs and dust buildup that often is hidden in dark rooms. This will help draw potential buyers to look out the window at your stunning views, rather than focusing on unsightly grime around the windowsills.

For living rooms and public spaces, many of my clients prefer to keep the shades up to see the full beauty of the layering of Roman shades. In private spaces such as bathrooms and bedrooms, you can still enjoy their beauty pulled down in the evenings to provide security and privacy. I’ve definitely found that the right shades can be part of the thought process between, “This is the one,” and “Let’s head to the next house,” with potential homebuyers.

Home design expert Ronique Gibson writes on home decor, including window treatments such as Roman shades, for Home Depot. Ronique is the author of the ebook 111 Simple Tips for your Everyday Home, and has staged homes for many of her clients. Home Depot’s selection of Roman shades can be viewed online.

Are You Marketing Green Homes the Right Way?

REAL ESTATE TOPICS

By Courtney Soinski

When it comes to marketing your listings, it’s important to remember that your strategies and tactics for different types of properties should not be the same. Think about it, would you sell a traditionally built home like you would a green home with solar-powered energy? I think not.

Put simply, green homes compete on value with lower utility bills, while typical homes compete on price as well as features like granite countertops. When listing a green home, focus on the features that will boost its value to outdistance the competition.

cabe.info

Here are some top features to focus on when marketing green homes:

1. Lay off the Environmental mumbo-jumbo.

Keep the buyer’s priorities in mind when doing your sales pitch. Of course they care for Mother Nature, but the truth is, buyers care more about their home’s efficiency, keeping their family safe, and lowering utility bills. So focus on that.

2. Use the word “High-Performance”

When describing the features of the home you’re listing, try replacing the word “green” with “high-performance”. In the buyer’s point of view, it sounds much more accurate and not nearly as vague.

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3. Show buyers the green savings.

It’s easy for buyers to see the real financial benefits if they’re shown real numbers. On your listing, list the projected monthly utility bill savings, projected annual savings, and projected five-year savings. For example, if the home can save homeowners $175/month, that means they’ll also save $2,100 in one year and $10,500 over the span of 5 years.

4. Sell on the needed, not the nice.

Instead of using the term “eco-friendly”, try using “non-toxic” or “low toxins” because that registers more in the mind of a homebuyer. Also, as an example, you may want to explain that by using non-toxic paint in the home, their family is not breathing in harmful chemicals like in regular paint. These chemicals have even been documented to be harmful to your health.

At the end of the day, it’s all about selling on the value of the home. You can reach and target homebuyers efficiently by always selling based on the client’s needs. Be clear, concise, deliver relevant facts about the home’s features, and show the growing value that these features provide. Know your audience, deliver the right message, and go sell green homes!

7.3 Million Boomerang Buyers Poised to Recover Homeownership in Next 8 Years

REAL ESTATE TOPICS

In 2015, the first wave of 7.3 million homeowners who lost their home to foreclosure or short sale during the foreclosure crisis are now past the seven-year window they conservatively need to repair their credit and qualify to buy a home. More waves of these potential boomerang buyers will be moving past that seven-year window over the next eight years corresponding to the eight years of above historically normal foreclosure activity from 2007 to 2014.

While millennials have gotten a lot of attention lately as the generation whose below-normal homeownership rates are changing the landscape of the U.S. real estate market, the boomerang buyers — who are primarily Generation Xers or Baby Boomers — represent a massive wave of potential pent-up demand that could shape the housing market in the short term even more dramatically.

“The housing crisis certainly hit home the fact that homeownership is not for everyone, but those burned by the housing crisis should not immediately throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to their second chance at homeownership,” said Chris Pollinger, senior vice president of sales at First Team Real Estate, covering the Southern California market. “Homeownership done responsibly is still one of the best disciplined wealth-building strategies, and there is much more data available for homebuyers than there was five years ago to help them make an informed decision about a home purchase.”

U.S. Census data shows homeownership rates for those ages 35 to 44 — roughly Generation X — were 11 percent below historical averages in the third quarter of 2014, while home ownership rates for the below age 35 cohort — roughly the Millennial generation — were 10 percent below historical averages.

RealtyTrac analyzed foreclosure, affordability and demographic data to provide predictions of when and where these boomerang buyers are most likely to materialize. Nearly 7.3 million potential boomerang buyers nationwide will be in a position to buy again from a credit repair perspective over the next eight years. Here’s how those emerging boomerang buyers break down by market and by year.

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Markets with Most Potential Boomerang Buyers

Markets with the most potential boomerang buyers over the next eight years among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 250,000 were not surprisingly in some of the nation’s largest markets that were also hardest hit by the housing crisis. These are primarily in the Sun Belt and Rust Belt.

Markets with Highest Share of Potential Boomerang Buyers

A similar set of markets show up in the list of those with the highest rate of potential boomerang buyers as a percentage of total housing units, with markets that were once epicenters of the foreclosure problem showing up in the top five.

Markets Where Boomerang Buyers Most Likely to Materialize

Markets most likely to see the boomerang buyers materialize are those where there are a high percentage of housing units lost to foreclosure but where current home prices are still affordable for median income earners and where the population of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers — the two generations most likely to be boomerang buyers — have held steady or increased during the Great Recession.

There were 21 metros among those with at least 250,000 people where this trifecta of market conditions is in place, making these metros the most likely nationwide to see a large number of boomerang buyers materialize in 2015 and beyond. For all the markets on this list potential boomerang buyers represent at least 5 percent of all housing units, house payments on a median priced home require 28 percent or less of the median household income, and the population of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers combined has stayed steady or increased between 2007 and 2013.

California pending home sales register first annual increase in nearly two years

REAL ESTATE NEWS

For release:
January 23, 2015

California pending home sales register first annual increase in nearly two years

REALTORS® say improving economic conditions and buyer urgency point to better market in 2015

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 23) – Pending home sales posted higher on a year-over-year basis for the first time since January 2013 and as expected, declined from the previous month due primarily to a seasonal slowdown toward the end of the year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today. 

Additionally, with the specter of a better economy, greater job growth, and increasing household formation, C.A.R.’s new Market Pulse Survey found that many REALTORS® expect market conditions to improve in 2015, as does C.A.R.

Pending home sales data:

• Pending sales were up 2.6 percent from the 69.1 index recorded in December 2013.  The yearly increase was better than the six-month average of -4.3 percent from June 2014 to November 2014.

• California pending home sales dropped in December, with the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* falling 21.9 percent from 90.7 in November to 70.9 in December, based on signed contracts.  The monthly decline was in line with the seasonal slowdown in pending sales observed at the end of the year for the last two years.

Equity and distressed housing market data:

• The share of equity sales – or non-distressed property sales – dipped for the second straight month in December.  Equity sales made up 89.8 percent of all sales in December, down from 90.5 percent recorded in November.  Equity sales have been more than 80 percent of total sales since July 2013 and have risen at or near 90 percent since mid-2014. Equity sales made up 84.4 percent of sales in December 2013.

• Conversely, the combined share of all distressed property sales edged up in December, up from 9.5 percent in November to 10.2 percent in December. Distressed sales were down 33 percent from a year ago, when the share was 15.6 percent.

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REALTOR® Market Pulse Survey**:

• In the fourth quarter of 2014, the vast majority (87 percent) of REALTORS® expected market conditions to either improve or stay the same over the next year.

• More REALTORS® (61 percent) closed a transaction in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to the first quarter (53 percent).

• In an indication of stabilizing home prices, fewer homes (24 percent) sold above asking price in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to 46 percent in the first quarter.

• Homes selling below asking price rose from 19 percent in the first quarter of 2014 to 48 percent in the fourth quarter, indicating home sellers’ expectations moved more in line with buyers’ expectations toward the end of the year and competition between sellers attempting to appeal to affordability strapped home buyers increased.

• More than half (58 percent) of properties received multiple offers in the fourth quarter of 2014, down from 69 percent in the first quarter.

Know Your Prospect. Build Your Business.

REAL ESTATE TIPS

by Rebecca Chandler

Today, marketers know more and more about their target audiences. They’ve become increasingly proficient in securing information via big data collection and we’ve helped them all along the way by sharing more of our habits through social media, apps, preferences, etc. While some may cite privacy concerns, it could be argued that the better the marketing community knows you, the better they can serve you through advertising and offers that are more closely aligned with your wants and needs. And, conversely, you are presented with fewer ads for things in which you have no interest.

As a real estate professional or small business owner, you may not have big data at your fingertips, but chances are, the profile of your prospective buyer or seller is right there in your head. As I’ve coached agents in designing their marketing campaigns over the years, I’ve found that defining the prospective client very specifically is the first step in a successful and profitable campaign. As you plan, start with these questions.

• Geographic Profile
  • Where do they live?
  • Where do they work?
  • Where do they shop?
  • Where do they go for entertainment?
  • What does this look like on a map?
  • What are the words used to describe these areas?

Once you’ve defined the geographic profile of your target audience, you can use this information both offline and online. For example, once you know where your prospects live, work, shop and play, you can place advertising on the real streets of those geographic locations. That may mean a billboard, a direct mail campaign, or a locally distributed real estate magazine, like The Real Estate Book®. Use lead generation tools like text codes to measure the effectiveness of your ads. Interrupt the offline habits of your prospect. Don’t wait for them to search for you online. You’ll be one step ahead of the competition.

Use the geographic profile online to define keywords that you will use on your site, and online ad buys. For example, you can very easily and inexpensively purchase ads from Facebook, Yahoo, and Google using these keywords to drive more traffic to your site.

As a next step, think through the demographic and behavioral profile of your prospect.

• Demographic Profile
  • What is their age range?
  • What is their income range?
  • What is their family like?
  • Are they permanent or seasonal residents?
  • First home? Move up? Downsize? Second home? Investment home?

• Goals and Objections
  • What are their main goals?
  • What are their most common challenges?
  • What are their most common objections?
  • Are their expectations sound?

This information allows you to first, develop a voice for your marketing story, and secondly, overcome any fears they may have, increasing the likelihood that they will reach out to you versus your competition. For example, if your target prospect is a young family with children, your social media campaign might include school information or a calendar of events catering to families. If your targeted prospect is an empty nester, then you would include information on selling your home quickly and the advantages of a condo in a great walking neighborhood, for example.

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If your prospect’s most common objection is commute times, then include traffic pattern information. The fact that you are well-versed in helping them through their most common trepidations will make them much more comfortable relying on you in their home search.

While this exercise may seem like common sense (and it is), actually going through the steps and definitions will help you make sure your marketing plan is focused and effective.

For more tips on designing successful marketing campaigns for real estate, contact your local Real Estate Book representative.

TECH INDUSTRIES INFLUENCE ON HOUSING SHIFT

REAL ESTATE TOPICS

Tech Industry's Influence on Housing Shift

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2015

Changes in the technology industry are redefining the housing markets where tech dominates the landscape. For example, as San Francisco became an urban bedroom community for workers in Silicon Valley, home prices and rents there have soared, outpacing most other major metro areas across the country. With the median rent hitting $3,200, many San Franciscans were forced to move to Oakland and Berkeley, putting upward pressure on housing costs in those markets as well. 

Seattle and Denver are two other cities where the tech industry is driving gains in residential prices and rents. The higher salaries of tech workers have fueled these increases. Office and retail real estate have changed as well, in terms of the amenities offered, to appeal to tech workers and the decreasing size of workspaces. 

Moreover, the tech and creative industries are driving younger and hipper workers toward walkable urban centers in close proximity to public transit. With urban workspaces in high demand, experts say suburban office parks may have to be repurposed.

Source: "How the Tech Industry Is Redefining Real Estate," Realty Times (Jan. 13, 2015)

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One Cool thing...BABY BOOMERS

REAL ESTATE TOPICS

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REAL ESTATE TOPICS

Will 2015 be better for California’s housing market?

Number of underwater borrowers shrinks 28.5% for the year

Despite a tepid year, the California housing market stayed in line with 2014 predictions and hopefully set the pace for a better 2015, according to PropertyRadar’s December Real Property Report.

Single-family home and condominium sales increased 7% to 27,770 units, up from 25,964 in November, but down 11.4% from 31,340 in December 2013. Total sales for the entire year fell 11.7% from 2013 and were the lowest since 2007.

“As we predicted early in 2014, sales volume stayed near 7-year lows throughout 2014 because prices rose too far too fast in 2012 and 2013,” said Madeline Schnapp, director of economic research for PropertyRadar. 

However, Schnapp added that although prices are likely still too high, 2015 may fare slightly better thanks to mortgage interest rates trending lower and loosening lending standards.

Median home prices have been stagnant for most of the second half of 2014, with December no different.

The December median price of a home was nearly unchanged at $385,000, down $2,500, or 0.6% from $387,500 in November.

The number of homeowners in a negative equity position fell 1.1% to 987,000 in December, from 998,000 in November. In December, approximately 11.4% of California homeowners owed more than their home was worth, down from 1.4 million, a decline of nearly 28.5% from a year ago.

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“The California real estate market continues to show steady improvement,” said Schnapp. “Nearly one in three homeowners with negative equity in 2014 saw their finances improve significantly as they transitioned from negative to positive equity this past year. Many homeowners are now free to participate in the real estate market or refinance their homes.”

In addition, foreclosure starts, notices of default, increased 8.1% between November and December but are down 14.3% from December 2013.

The monthly increase is likely due to increased volatility around the holiday season. Foreclosure sales gained 6.9% for the month but were down 21.6% for the year. 

Top Ways to Improve Your Home for $100 or Less!

REAL ESTATE TOPICS

Top Ways to Improve Your Home for $100 or Less!

by Courtney Soinski

You may think that improving your home will deflate your wallet, but this is not always the case. To help you out, we have created a list of our top favorite home improvement projects that can be done for under $100. After all, who DOESN’T want to save money?

The Office Stylist

1. Turn a Closet into a Home Office.

This project will help you save money and will even add an extra room to your home. Just unhinge the door then remove the closet’s hanging rods and replace them with shelves. A deep shelf should be used for the desktop and place 2 shallow shelves above for storage

What you need: One 20-by-24-by-¾-inch and two 12-by-24-by-¾-inch white melamine shelves, metal standards, and shelf brackets, all by Elfa, about $95;The Container Store

This Old House

2. Upgrade your Lighting

In your living room, make room on your end tables with matching pendant lamps on either side of the sofa.

What you need: Two Eden pendant lamps with drum-style fabric shades, about $99; CB2

This Old House

3. Doorway Display

Create a unique look by installing a shelf above the doorway and paint it to match the trim. Add a touch of flair by displaying pottery or other types of décor.

What you need: 40-inch-long 1×6 red oak shelf and two 7-inch Classic Oak Brackets, about $32; Rockler

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Progression by Design

4. Boost your Windows

Did you know you can make your windows look even bigger than they actually are? Use hanging drapes at ceiling height to upsize small windows.

What you need: Pair of 108-inch Brimfield 4-in-1 Panel Drapes in Carafe, about $70; JCPenny

Mountainize

5. Add Stained Glass Window to your Bath

It’s no surprise that stained glass makes any bathroom look elegant. If you can’t find a window to fit perfectly, you can easily hang one from chains in front of the existing window.

What you need: eBay store Bell Antique Mall has Art Deco windows similar to shown, starting at $69; Ebay

This Old House

6. Wall-Mount Bedside Table

You can easily install a wall-mount end table in your bedroom by using wood corbels with a slate roof shingle on top.

What you need: Two 6-inch oak Legacy hand-carved corbels, about $80; Van Dykes Restorers. 7-by-13-inch salvaged shingle, about $5; Recycling The Past – Architectural Salvage

InvitingHome.com

7. Add Detail to your Bedroom

Pump up the color and detail in your bedroom (or any other room) by installing a chair rail. Then, paint the wall below a soothing color. This project is an easy and inexpensive way to improve your home.

What you need: Enough red oak Colonial-style moldings to wrap the walls of an 8-by-10-foot room, about $75; Baird Brothers

REAL ESTATE NEWS

U.S. existing home sales rise in December, down for 2014

BY LINDSAY DUNSMUIR

WASHINGTON Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:51am EST

A sign marks a house for sale by the owner in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, January 24, 2010.

(Reuters) - U.S. home resales rose slightly in December but fell overall for the year, the first annual drop since 2010 and another sign that the housing market recovery remains uneven amid expectations of a pick-up in 2015.

The National Association of Realtors said on Friday existing home sales increased 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.04 million units last month

The National Association of Realtors said on Friday existing home sales increased 2.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.04 million units last month.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales rising to a 5.06-million-unit pace.

For all of 2014, existing home sales fell 3.1 percent to 4.93 million. That was the first annual drop in four years.

The housing market has struggled to maintain momentum since stagnating in the second half of 2013 following a run-up in mortgage rates.

However, a decline in mortgage rates, an easing of lending standards and the resurgent health of the U.S. economy over the last few months has spurred optimism that sales could strengthen this year, particularly among first-time homebuyers.

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That key group made up 29 percent of buyers in December as well as for the year as a whole, well below the level needed to boost growth in the housing market.

"This is mildly disappointing. There are so many factors to push this up," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun told reporters.

The median existing home price was $209,500 in December, a 6 percent jump from the same period a year ago. Prices have risen mainly due to a tightening housing supply.

At December's sales pace it would take 4.4 months to clear all available houses from the market, down from 5.1 months in November. That is the lowest inventory level since January 2013. A six months' supply is seen as a healthy balance between supply and demand.

(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Paul Simao)

How to Write Captivating Copy for Lead-Getting Listings

REAL ESTATE TIPS

by Courtney Soinski

TweakYourBiz.com

Are you constantly trying to come up with new ways to get more leads? Believe it or not, attention-grabbing and well-written advertising copy makes a huge difference for your listings and how they reach consumers. According to professional sales coach and broker, John D. Mayfield, remember this acronym phrase: “G.E.T. C.A.L.L.S.”

G: Grab the Reader’s Attention

This is, in my opinion, one of the hardest parts about writing successful advertising copy. You want the very first sentence of your ad listing to be bold and attention grabbing. It will pull that potential homebuyer in, and hopefully, it will give them enough curiosity to read on.

E: Entice the Reader with Information

Instead of listing basic information about the home, use words that will paint a picture. That way, the consumer can actually visualize the kitchen, flooring, windows, master bathroom, or whichever element you’re choosing to describe.

T: Truth in Advertising

In your listing’s advertising copy, be sure you stay completely truthful. If you misrepresent or exaggerate when writing about the property, you will give them the wrong idea. You don’t want consumers to feel they were misinformed, especially if they decide to come visit the property and find out that it wasn’t what they were expecting. That’s a total turn-off.

SmallBizTrends.com

C: Close the Sale

Don’t be afraid to ask for a consumer’s business in your listing. This can be something as simple as telling them to contact you for more information about your services or to schedule a private showing. If you advertise on RealEstateBook.com, you can even create a virtual tour for consumers to view. If they request more information on our site, we will send them an email lead with the property and agent information, and you will receive an email with their contact information.

A: Ask the Seller What They’ll Miss About Their Home

This may be something you’ve never thought about, but it can really work. When you think about what you would miss about your own home, they will most likely be the absolute best features. Include it in the ad copy. After all, who better to ask than the resident?

TopRankBlog.com

L: List Key Features

In this section, make sure you point out key aspects about the property that consumer would whole-heartedly want to know. These features can be things like bedrooms, bathrooms, schools, location, price, central air-conditioning, or even flooring type.

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L: Look at Other Ads

By taking a stroll through other successful advertisements, you’ll gain some insight on what really works. You may even become inspired in writing your own descriptions. It’s great to look at the competition, but just remember to use your own words and no copying! You might even find something you’ve never tried before.

S: Spend Time Preparing & Writing Ads

This is one of the most important pieces of advice I can give for writing advertising copy – take your time and don’t rush through it! When you think about all that you, as a real estate professional, invest in advertising and marketing your listings, it’s important that you think it through. Remember to not put it on the back burner of your to-do list, and don’t forget to proofread and check for grammar!