For Metairie Homes for Sale, Some Feature Plusses May be Minuses

There are many generalizations that can be truly instructive for homeowners with local homes for sale. The undeniable importance of “location, location, location!” is a good one; de-clutter! As a main order of business is another…as is the wisdom of researching neighborhood comparable.

Anybody with homes for sale in Metairie can usually visit the National Association of Realtors^® website for useful nuggets of that kind of information. However, one article that appeared there last week seemed to me to be less than real estate gospel—although it was thought-provoking. It dealt with features that might make some homes for sale harder to sell; features that most people might assume would improve rather than curtail a home’s appeal.

The article named seven otherwise “awesome” features that the author, Jamie Wiebe, thought belonged in that category.

First was a school next door, for the main reason that traffic tie-ups deter many buyers. That’s a pretty common complaint, yet even the author had to admit that younger buyers might see the advantage of having school within walking distance. This one is a tossup—but having school a block or two away would have to be a plus!

Next came middle-of-the-action location, meaning homes for sale on busy streets, because while “you might be intrigued by the activity,” future buyers might not. That’s true of any home for sale and any feature, of course; but it’s probably true that there is some degree of risk that the current popularity of being able to walk to frequent destinations (rather than drive or use public transportation) might fade over time.

More possible minuses were assigned to multistory homes for sale (which might be avoided by older prospects shunning stairs); big backyards and small backyards (fear of yardwork for the former, lack of privacy for the latter); a swimming pool (admittedly, a must in warm climates); and tile flooring (difficult to remove). That last one is where local readers with Metairie homes for sale might realize that citing these ‘drawbacks’ is not a uniformly useful exercise, since potential buyers who appreciate the beauty and easy maintenance of tile flooring might not be giving much weight to how difficult it is to remove. And come to think of it, people who garden might actually be willing to pay more for homes with big backyards! Just as people who hate mowing might…etc.

But we shouldn’t be too critical of the author’s approach. It’s always a good idea to consider the pros and cons of how a property will be greeted by the public. And the seventh feature is one I think every Metairie real estate professional will agree is questionable: over-the-top renovations. The risk of striking some prospective buyers as ostentatious is possible, but the higher probability is of pricing yourself out of the market.

Part of what I offer is marketing that emphasizes a property’s most marketable features in an unarguably positive light. Give me a call if you are interested in going over how your own home is likely to fare in today’s November market!

Want to know your homes value?   Click here:      Smart Home Price

Terez B. Harris

Keller Williams Realty New Orleans

504 975 1033

TerezHarris@KW.com

TerezSellsNolaHomes.com

8601 Leake Ave., New Orleans, La 70118

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Metairie Agent Investigates Home Prices ‘Starting at $115 Million’

I’ll admit it: the tease was irresistible. There was no good reason why I should take the time to read on, even though it was near the top of the Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate section. This was not likely to be the kind of relevant background information that would be useful in my daily Metairie real estate dealings.

But the tease was not something I could just skim past and forget. The words were dangling there on the screen; almost a dare:

          “Where Home Prices Start at $115 Million.”

It wasn’t just the $115,000,000 home price that aroused curiosity. After all, this was the WSJ Real Estate section—where there are almost always stories about properties somewhere or other in the world with asking prices that numb the mind. It was the idea that there could actually be anywhere on Planet Earth where home prices start north of one hundred million!

Think of what the comparable reports would look like!

Now, I was fairly certain the answer wouldn’t be Metairie —home prices here tend to be considerably more modest. But the way the tease was worded, it seemed likely they were talking about somewhere in the U.S., because the home prices were in dollars. A whole lot of dollars.

Before clicking on the READ MORE box, I tried to guess the answer. Somewhere in Silicon Valley? Downtown Manhattan? Connecticut? Palm Beach? None of these seemed likely, if I recalled earlier articles about the haunts of the famous and newly down-and-out who are having to give up their mansions (often because they are scraping the bottom of the barrel, down to their last $10 million). Those estates usually have home prices in the $ single million range. I decided there must be some gimmick, wherever it was.

So I gave up and clicked:

Los Angeles.

Bel Air, to be precise—“in a new development.” And the gimmick is that this is a three-home development, “The Park Bel Air.” And it seems that none of the homes is actually built yet. These are spec homes in an 11-acre development “currently under construction.” Asking home prices do start at $115 million “and go up to $160 million, with upgrades and custom furnishings.”

I spent a minimum of time musing over what kind of upgrades would bring in the extra $35 million, and skipped down to the part where, elsewhere in the L.A. area, there is a spec home with an “unprecedented” asking price of over $500 million. The head of a New York-based appraisal firm was quoted as saying, “It’s almost as if there is no shame in wildly overpricing a listing anymore.” And down there near the very end, the article admits that there is only one thing missing from the phenomenon. Buyers.

This November’s Metairie home prices are certainly bargains—particularly when compared with The Park Bel Air’s. There are other advantages, too: they are actual homes that are already actually built, instead of just planned. Give me a call: we can actually go visit them!

Want to know your homes value?   Click here:      Smart Home Price

Terez B. Harris

Keller Williams Realty New Orleans

504 975 1033

TerezHarris@KW.com

TerezSellsNolaHomes.com

8601 Leake Ave., New Orleans, La 70118

 Free Reports:

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Home Trends

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Skin Deep: Sometimes Surfaces Matter for Selling your Metairie House!

Suppose you finally came to an important decision—that this October is going to be the right time for selling your Metairie house. If you had been biding your time, watching other Metairie houses being listed and closed throughout the summer, you may also have been getting a head start on some major maintenance or remodeling projects that you knew would be needed once you put your own place up for sale.

You may even have cleared away some extraneous furniture or décor items that had accumulated through the years, and made sure the landscaping was in good trim. If you had done those things—de-cluttered, spruced up, cleared the decks, etc.—you would have been just about ready to contact an agent to get the show on the road…

But what if even all the prep work nonetheless left you with the feeling that the old place still wasn’t quite ready. What if something still seemed to be missing: something you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but something that you just knew was needed to pep up the showings that would soon be taking place.

Selling a house to yield its maximum value can be more art than science. One of the skills that’s quite important is being able to envision what prospective buyers see. Especially with older properties, selling a house that to you seems filled with comforting familiarity might seem worn out (or just plain used) to others. Although many prospects do prefer older neighborhoods over newer ones, most folks also have a contradictory impulse: they appreciate the allure of the new. They may hanker for the mature landscaping and established community structures of older neighborhoods, yet simultaneously would prefer a place that seems freshly renewed.

Fortunately, taking a few steps to make an older property ‘new again’ needn’t be hugely expensive:

·         Cabinets – It’s relatively easy to put a fresh face on worn cabinet doors and drawers to rejuvenate a tired-looking kitchen. You can find a wide range of reasonably priced panels that fit many cabinets. Sometimes the same effect can be achieved by re-staining—or simply changing the cabinetry hardware (goes for stainless or brushed nickel to achieve the look the majority of today’s Metairie buyers prefer).

·         Appliances – Full kitchen remodels can be more expensive than is really practical, but sometimes much of the same effect can be achieved by simply replacing an old range, oven, dishwasher or refrigerator. Re-facing appliances that are perfectly serviceable (especially stainless surfaces that can’t be rescued) is another budget-wise option.

·         Tired-looking sinks and fixtures can all but ‘sink’ the prospects of selling your Metairie house. Sometimes the addition of stylish faucets and some fresh caulking can transform a kitchen or laundry room.

As you close in on the time for selling your Metairie house, sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can help you see what still needs to be done—or, importantly, what doesn’t! It’s a very good reason to give me a call!    

Want to know your homes value?   Click here:      Smart Home Price

Terez B. Harris

Keller Williams Realty New Orleans

504 975 1033

TerezHarris@KW.com

TerezSellsNolaHomes.com

8601 Leake Ave., New Orleans, La 70118

 Free Reports:

 7 Seller Tips for 2015

Home Trends

Smart Home Price

 Name Your Selling Price

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Metairie Real Estate Observers Greeted with Multiple Surges!

If you are a Metairie real estate observer, last week was the time of month when you typically look for the major data releases which detail how residential sales and prices performed in the previous month. Metairie observers weren’t disappointed: last Tuesday, the key National Association of Realtors^® report came in right on schedule, with national media interpretations appearing close on its heels.

The NAR decreed that September’s existing-home sales numbers, which showed a 4.7% increase from the month before, indicated a resumption of the momentum that had momentarily faltered. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5,550,000 completed transactions was hailed as a strong rebound, marking the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year increases.

          Realty Today agreed that the “more than expected” sales pace “suggests that the housing market continues to show strength compared to the rest of the economy.” In fact, the increase did contradict expectations from some observers. Their school of thought had been based on the common sense conclusion that if residential real estate price rises continue to outpace wage growth—as it has—the pace of sales would certainly slow. That prediction ran head-on into these latest figures. So much for common sense.

The financial press, which views real estate news from their own perspective had a slightly different take—one that was equally positive. “Good news abounds,” wrote CNN Money. “After years of flunking, the American housing market finally merits a B+ grade.” The financial publication’s ebullience was based on data which indicated that building activity was picking up “at the fastest pace since the recession.” That meant that the real estate sector had turned an important corner, with “the housing market…finally starts to be a real boost to the U.S. economy—and stock market—instead of a drag.”

             The Wall Street Journal gave Metairie real estate watchers an even more upbeat takeaway—going so far as to apply the rarely-invoked ‘surge’ word…twice! “U.S. Existing Home Sales Surge in September,” greeted WSJ readers on Wednesday. It was “a big increase” that put the real estate “market back on track for its strongest year since 2007.” Elsewhere, over the picture of a North Dakota roofer hard at work, another headline blared, “Home Construction Rebounds amid Surge in Multifamily Units.” With all that ‘surging’ going on everywhere, Metairie readers might have begun to worry about keeping their balance…

But they needn’t have worried—economic writers wouldn’t be performing as expected if they didn’t include at least some hand-wringing. The Journal didn’t disappoint on that score, either. They found one economist, Richard Moody, who complied. “I have this list of things that worry me about how we can sustain this,” he fretted.

If you are a current or prospective Metairie homeowner, national real estate performance is of more than passing interest. I’m here to help you transform your own personal Metairie real estate projections into real performance!

Want to know your homes value?   Click here:      Smart Home Price

Terez B. Harris

Keller Williams Realty New Orleans

504 975 1033

TerezHarris@KW.com

TerezSellsNolaHomes.com

8601 Leake Ave., New Orleans, La 70118

 Free Reports:

 7 Seller Tips for 2015

Home Trends

Smart Home Price

 Name Your Selling Price

Would you like more information?

We would love to help you with your Real Estate questions.

Buy-a-Home vs. Rent-a-Home Choice has Great $ Impact!

The answer to the question about whether any individual or family would be better off if they rent or buy a home can differ depending upon when the question is posed as well as the particulars of the available properties in either category. Even when the financial calculations make it clear that to buy a home in Metairie would result in significant savings, it’s possible that credit problems or simple cash inaccessibility render the choice moot—for the moment, anyway.

The reason a family budget is universally recognized as the single best way to get a handle on finances is because if you don’t know how much you’re spending in any given area, you won’t know when it needs to be curtailed. Given the size of monthly rent or mortgage outflows, it’s a pretty good idea for anyone with a long term outlook to know what the rent vs. buy a home trade-offs are. The answer to that can be spectacular enough that a change in plan is called for.

For some time, one of the national real estate web sites—Trulia—has posted a calculator that yields an approximate answer to the rent or buy question. It is aimed at metro areas only, and concedes it’s at best an approximation, but when you enter “US Average” for the location, it comes up with a percentage difference. Right now, for the U.S. median home price of $180,800 and median rent price of $1,545, “buying a home” comes up as 44% cheaper than renting!

Now, there are a whole bunch of assumptions that should have us taking that answer with a shaker or two of salt. This assumes, for instance, that were you to buy a Metairie home with the national parameters you would be the happy beneficiary of “today’s mortgage rate,” which Trulia presents as 3.6%. Yes, this rate is actually being offered in some places to borrowers with spotless credentials, but counting on it would be iffy for most folks. Yet if you substitute 3.9%, buying a home is still 43% cheaper; a 4.2% loan makes the answer 41% cheaper.

Likewise, because the tax advantage gained when you buy a home is so stark, your income tax bracket can tip the buy vs. rent comparison greatly. If you move down from the assumption of a 25% tax rate (seems unlikely for the $180,000 median home buyer), even with a 15% tax rate, buying is 41% cheaper.

Sooooo, it looks like it’s always a very good idea to buy a house instead of renting it, right?

Wrong! The most important factor is the one that makes the most sense: “how long you intend to live there.” Its starting point assumption begins at 7 years. Move that down to 3 years and—all else being equal—the calculator comes up with buying being only 19% cheaper. Assume 2 years, and the buy vs. rent answer is that the costs are about the same. And at 1 year, renting is 37% cheaper than buying!

The precision of these percentages are unlikely to be spot-on for any given local individual or family, but the answers are probably useful anyway. It does indicate that for anyone planning on staying put locally for at least 3 or 4 years, taking a closer look at the rent a home/buy a home financial impacts will be worthwhile. I can help with current realistic Metairie specifics, so why not give me a call?

Want to know your homes value?   Click here:      Smart Home Price

Terez B. Harris

Keller Williams Realty New Orleans

504 975 1033

TerezHarris@KW.com

TerezSellsNolaHomes.com

8601 Leake Ave., New Orleans, La 70118

 Free Reports:

 7 Seller Tips for 2015

Home Trends

Smart Home Price

 Name Your Selling Price

Would you like more information?

We would love to help you with your Real Estate questions.

There is one overriding quality you must demand when you hire the Metairie agent who will be your partner and representative. It’s a quality you and you alone are qualified to judge. And it should be the final determinant—the last factor you consider before you make your final agent choice.

Now it’s true that in many instances, this quality isn’t even one you have to think about. That’s true when you have previously worked with a Metairie agent who did what she or he had promised. When you’ve bought a home or sold one, been helped through successful negotiations, dealt with the unexpected snags with a minimum of disruption—and finally wrapped up the closing paperwork on schedule—you probably need search no further. It couldn’t be easier: pick up the phone, and voila! Your agent is on the job!

But if you’re new to Metairie; or previously had only a so-so experience with a Metairie agent; or if your Metairie agent is no longer available for some other reason, Job One before any selling or buying begins in earnest is the only part of the process that you will have to undertake completely on your own: identifying the agent who will serve you best.

When you choose a lawyer or accountant to represent you, a number of factors come into play that isn’t involved in choosing a real estate agent. With other professionals, their fee structures can be crucial. Although hiring the best lawyer in town can be out of reach for strictly financial reasons, that’s not true in real estate. If you’re buying, your agent’s fee come out of the seller’s proceeds—in other words, all town real estate agents, from best to worst, cost you nothing! If you’re selling, most agents work on substantially similar percentages. Another factor that plays a greater role in choosing candidates in other professions is convenience—where their offices are located. With real estate, everyone who actively works in the Metairie area will make your location (or the addresses of your prospective next home) the focus of activity. The agent’s own location isn’t a determining factor.

So what is that final determinant? After you have interviewed the agents who seem initially qualified—what should be the decisive factor?

It’s trust.

In the momentous enterprise that lays before you, the overriding factor has to be the degree of trust you feel in the individual who will be your teammate. It’s why you are the only one qualified to make the choice.

The process of buying or selling a home involves laying out your highest hopes and deepest reservations about home ownership—and trusting that between the two of you, the best opportunities will be uncovered, the best bargains struck, and all will be protected by properly executed documentation. Trust is the feeling you have for how the two of you interact—how the chemistry is there or is not. It’s how comfortable you feel when you are communicating, because you should trust your agent’s insight into your needs and goals, so that you can depend on the guidance he or she provides.

I hope when your next real estate venture is close at hand, you’ll make me one of your interviews. And if we’ve worked together before—welcome back! 

Selling Your Metairie House in Fall includes Planning for Success!

            It’s October­­­; a time of year that has a lot to recommend it. In many parts of the country, it’s the season when Mother Nature goes full throttle with the Technicolor. Sunsets can be outrageous. In some parts of the country, leaves can bid adieu with displays that put rainbows to shame. Fall weather turns the air a bit crisper. All in all, to a lot of folks, fall is the favorite time of the year.

            Selling your Metairie house in the autumn, on the other hand, can present some special challenges. Selling your house in the springtime, for instance, doesn’t include clearing the garden of the remnants of summer growth (that is, unless you let it go the previous year!). The plusses and minuses of selling your house after the peak spring-summer real estate rush is over can be debated at length. What isn’t debatable is that to take full advantage of selling your house this time of year, you should be aware of a few specifics:

• Keep up with the season

… leaf fall for yards with deciduous plants can require almost daily attention during some periods. You’re the best judge of when the debris crosses the line from pleasantly natural into downright unsightly­­—but in any case, it’s a good idea to make a quick inspection part of your daily routine.

• Keep up with the weather

… leaf fall is one thing, but windy fall storms can turn a well-kept garden inside-out in a few hours. After a storm passes, be prepared to hose off the traces of muddy puddles and do some organized sweeping. It can make a big difference when you approach a house with a clear walkway (vs. one that looks like a typhoon just passed!).

• Pet areas

…they can be more difficult to manage in autumn and winter when Mother Nature can keep them indoors for longer periods or make their favorite hangouts less accessible. Being more flexible and attentive to their needs than in summertime is often necessary.

• Prepare the mechanicals

…if sudden chills descend, knowing that your heating setup is ready to go into action assures a welcoming environment for prospective buyers. If it hasn’t been in use since last spring, a system may produce some unpleasant side effects the first time it’s fired up. If yours one that needs a yearly checkup by the utility company, better not wait!

• Anticipate success!

Selling your Metairie home in fal­l­ and winter may take a little extra vigilance when the weather acts up, but buyers at this time of year can be more eager to close on their new home. Be organized for success, which can mean everything from having a year’s worth of utility bills ready to show­, to scoping out where you’re headed next.

Selling your Metairie home efficiently takes some organization and planning. A good first step is to get in touch with a Metairie real estate professional who will pitch in and help every step of the way. In other words—call me!

Want to know your homes value?   Click here:      Smart Home Price

Terez B. Harris

Keller Williams Realty New Orleans

504 975 1033

TerezHarris@KW.com

TerezSellsNolaHomes.com

8601 Leake Ave., New Orleans, La 70118

  Free Reports:

 7 Seller Tips for 2015

Home Trends

Smart Home Price

 Name Your Selling Price

Would you like more information?

We would love to help you with your Real Estate questions.