Santa Cruz Real Estate
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In an increasingly competitive Real Estate Market it can not be overemphasized how important pricing is. Price it right and you will sell your home, price it even 5% above market value and you are reducing your market of potential buyers by half. When a home is priced just 15% above market value it only has a 20% chance of selling. In other words, if the market value of your home is 750,000 and you decide to "test the waters" at 850,000, you are doing significant damage to the possibility of selling your home. Overpricing will attract fewer potential buyers and the home will sit on the market for longer. Once a home sits on the market for too long it becomes stigmatized and agents stop showing it to their buyers. Another problem with overpricing will come from pressures from lenders. If you do find a buyer who is willing to meet your price, chances are they still need to obtain financing. Lenders look at the fair market value to determine the amount they will finance and often require the buyer to make up the difference in cash.

Some of the factors that influence the price of your home include:

• Physical Qualities: location, floor plan and style
• Market Conditions: interest rates and availablility of financing, buyer and seasonal demand, state of the economy and recent property sales
• Competition: number, pricing, condition and location of comparable properties on the market.

Remember that the price you paid for your home or the proceeds you "want" from the sale have no effect on the value of your home! For more information on pricing and current market trends see Preparing to Sell Your Home on my website.

We’ve had some great weather the past month or so, and I was thinking that after the rain stopped the real estate market would pick up a bit. May and June were good months, but in general, the real estate market is still slow. Why you may ask? It is a conundrum most of us realtors are trying to figure out. There are lots of factors that play into the big picture. The most glaring fact is that there were 1220 single family homes on the market in June and in June of 2005 there were only 744. That is about 500 more homes for sale, and yet the number of closed escrows are down 25 sales at 210 in 2006 from 235 in 2005. Interest rates are good at 6.67% for a conforming loan, but not under 6% like last year. This year we are paying $50 for a tank of gas rather than $25 in 2005. All those issues seem to be spooking the buyers. With the inventory so high sellers are having to be pretty agressive with their listing prices and we are seeing price reductions in all price ranges. It’s the beginning of a warm and sunny summer, and since the July 4th holiday, the market has become busier with more of the typical summer activity. That’s when all those out of towners here on vacation fall in love with the area and want to move to Santa Cruz. The bottom line is that houses that are priced right are still selling, but buyers are taking their time and being pickier about details and location.