By Pete Sabine
Our local real estate market is one of the hottest I have experienced in my 35 years of selling real estate. The current real estate “Seller’s Market” trend is driven by a lack of supply of available homes for sale, low home loan interest rates and strong buyer demand for homes in our area. How long will this trend last? Most likely through the remainder of 2020 and into the first quarter of 2021. Beyond then requires a crystal ball. Here is the formula for selling your home at 10 to over 20 percent above the fair market value list price…Preparation. Presentation. Pricing. Read More: http://petesabineteam.com/sell-home-record-high-sold-price. Preparation prior to offering for sale. Obtain property inspection reports. Complete recommended repairs related to systems operation (appliances, mechanical, etc.) and safety hazards. Obtain a proposal from a professional home staging company. The proposal should include recommendations for interior and exterior paint colors, landscaping, light fixtures, flooring, plumbing fixtures, and cabinet hardware. Beware of Realtors who “self-stage” homes. Hire a professional with liability and workman’s comp insurance and controls their own inventory of staging furniture and accessories. Follow the recommendations of the staging proposal to update your home. Have your home professionally cleaned including windows and tune up your landscaping. Presentation preparation. Have your Realtor hire a professional photographer and videographer to capture the essence of your home. Home buyers scan for homes online and your home must present well with a high level of emotional appeal or most buyers will not make the effort to visit your home. No showings equal no sale. Price your home strategically. Review recent Sold Properties that are nearby and “like-kind” in size, location, and condition characteristics. This data will set the current “fair market value” of your home. Review Pending Properties of similar homes that recently went into escrow. Focus on the List Price of these properties to provide insight of the price point that attracted buyers to make an offer. Review Active Properties currently for sale in your targeted price range. Determine how well your home will compete with homes priced 10 percent above and below your target List Price. Buyers base their decision to buy a home driven by its emotional appeal and supported by a perception of fair market value of the List Price when compared to other available homes for sale with similar intrinsic qualities. Set an Offer Date to review purchase offers 7 to 10 days from your MLS debut date. The offer date strategy ensures that all buyers currently in the market will have a chance to view and bid to purchase your home. It sets the stage for multiple offers with offer prices above your List Price. Hire a skilled negotiator. Your Realtor should have a proven track record. We have been selling homes in your area since 1985 with over 1000 successful sales. Call us to win with us! Pete Sabine & Leslie Whitney. 925.297.5335. Compass. #01866771
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By Pete Sabine
Conventional wisdom says people should wait until the spring to get the most from a home sale. Inventory usually increases to meet Buyer demand in the spring when the weather gets warm and daylight savings begins. This often leads to multiple offer competition breaking out in coveted neighborhoods. A home in a great area with high buyer demand can sell in few weeks or in some cases, a few days. If you cannot wait until the spring to get your house on the market, consider offering your home for sale during the holidays. It may not seem like the most ideal time, but it does have its benefits—provided you position your home in just the right way. There’s Less Inventory But that does not mean people do not buy homes at other times of the year. In fact, there are homes listed during the holidays that could command more money when the inventory is limited. If you play your cards right, you may even be able to sell your home quicker than in the spring. One of the reasons is the lack of competing homes for sale during the holidays. The limited range of homes available to buy means you might be able to command a higher asking price for your property. Do your research about the supply and demand, stage your home properly, price it competitively and you could receive an attractive purchase offer and be on your way to your next home. Buyers Are More Serious If your house is for sale in the winter and someone is looking at it, chances are that person is serious and is ready to buy. Anyone shopping for a new home around Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s is undoubtedly going to be a serious buyer—they are not going to spend their precious time around the holidays seeing how the other half lives. Putting your home on the market at this time of year and attracting a serious buyer can often result in a quicker sales process. That Warm and Cozy Feeling The holidays are often a time when people gather around the fireplace with hot chocolate and enjoy entertaining friends and family. Homeowners who put their houses up for sale during the winter months can stage their house to give off a cheerful and cozy vibe that appeals to many buyers. Buyers tend to be more emotional during the holidays and many will make a buying decision based on how they feel about vibe of the home for sale. An Appealing Neighborhood One of the traditions of the holiday season, particularly around Christmas, is that many homes are adorned with festive lights and decorations that can pull on the heartstrings of a buyer. Duty Calls The end of the year is typically when people are notified that they will be moving because of a job transfer. Those people are going to need a home as soon as possible and they will be searching for a new home during the holidays. These buyers cannot wait for the spring, which is why listing your home during the holidays can get the home sold quickly. Hiring an experienced Realtor who will attract serious buyers during the holidays. We know how to set the stage for your success. Call us to win with us! Pete Sabine and Leslie Whitney. 925.297.5335. Discover more real estate pro tips. Find our podcasts at FiveStarRealEstateTeam.podbean.com. Compass #01866771 By Pete Sabine
There are two main parts to the law and two major deadlines. New rules for transfers of inherited property will begin Feb. 16, 2021. New rules for taking a favorable assessment on a home purchase begin April 1, 2021 and the replacement home must be purchased within 2 years of the sale date. The main provision of Prop 19 allows the owner of a primary residence who is 55 years of age or older, or severely disabled or who lost their home to wildfire disaster, to transfer the taxable value (its tax basis) of that residence to a replacement primary residence anywhere in the state. If you sell your home, with a taxable value of $100,000, and buy a new primary residence in California, you will be able to keep the benefit of that basis for your new home. Prop 19 allows for the easier movement of a primary residence’s taxable value. The old law only allowed a basis to be moved between two counties if those counties opted into the law. Prop 19 on the other hand, allows for that movement “anywhere in this state.” Additionally, contrary to prior law, Prop 19 allows a primary residence’s tax value to be moved three times as opposed to only once. So, if you are over 55 years old, it is easier to move and keep the tax benefit of their original home. The law provides that if the taxable value of a home is transferred to a replacement that is “of equal or lesser value,” then the taxable value of the replacement primary residence will be the same as the taxable value of the original. The basis of your original home gets transferred exactly to your new home. If you transfer your basis to a replacement property that is of greater value, then the basis for your new home is calculated as follows: the taxable value (basis) of your original primary residence is increased by the difference between the cash value (sales price) of your original residence and the cash value (purchase price) of your replacement residence, and that new number becomes your replacement home’s basis. As an example, if your current, original residence has a tax value of $100,000, but a cash value of $500,000, and you buy a replacement primary residence for $1 million, then the tax value (basis) for the new home will be $600,000 (the original tax value ($100,000) plus the difference in cash value between the two properties ($1 million minus $500,000). Even though there is a step up in basis that recognizes the increased value of my new home, it is kept down by using the basis of my original residence as a starting point. While Prop 19 still covers the transfer of a family home between parents and their children, including through inheritance, the tax value can only be transferred if the property continues as the family home of the transferee. If you inherit your parents’ property, you can only keep their tax basis if you continue to use that property as your primary residence. If you want to use the property as an investment, you will not get the benefit of the property’s original basis. The reduction in tax income resulting from the easing of tax basis transfers for older homeowners has been offset by an increase in tax income from inherited investment properties. Some will save money because of Prop 19 (homeowners over 55 who move within California), while others will pay more tax (children who inherit property for use as an investment). Please consult with your tax professional to understand your specific tax issues. Call us to win with us! Pete Sabine & Leslie Whitney. 925.297.5335. Discover more real estate pro tips. Find our podcasts at FiveStarRealEstateTeam.podbean.com. Compass #01866771 |
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November 2024
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