Category Archives: Selling a Home

Pending home sales soared in May, reaching their highest level in seven years, the National Association of Realtors reports.

About 1-in-4 home sales are reportedly pocket listings in some Northern California markets, and the California Association of REALTORS® is warning agents to tread carefully. CAR says that pocket listings or off-MLS listings are not illegal if the listing agent fully discloses the pros and cons to the home seller and follows the rules, but CAR says pocket listings “may not be in the best interest of the property owner ” particularly if a client does not know about the benefits of marketing his or her property through the MLS.” […]

Pending home sales rose in May to the highest level since late 2006, implying a possible spark as mortgage interest rates began to rise, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased 6.7 percent to 112.3 in May from a downwardly revised 105.2 in April, and is 12.1 percent above May 2012 when it was 100.2. Contract activity is at its strongest pace since December 2006, when it reached 112.8. Also, pending sales have been above year-ago levels […]

New home sales continue to climb, rising to 476,000 completed transactions in May, according to government data.

The average age of a consumer looking to buy a second home is 50, said Chris Kelsey, president of Long Cove, a private community on Cedar Creek Lake built to give Dallas-area families a close-to-home getaway.

Eager to sell your home? Be careful. Many people anxious to sell feel prepared–to find a buyer, negotiate a deal, pack up their belongings and relocate–only their home isn’t quite ready to put on the market.

With shrinking inventories, many home buyers are finding only competitive offers will win them the house they want. A recent article by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance highlighted several ways that home buyers can make more competitive “irresistible” offers. 1. Be preapproved: About three or four months before home buyers even shop for a home, they should review their credit reports to make sure they’re accurate and take short-term steps to improve their credit score, says Michael Corbett, author of Before You Buy! Corbett says buyers then should get a bank’s preapproval. […]

The housing recovery has “transformed the mind-set of many buyers and sellers who grew accustomed to the buyers’ market we saw for years,” says Rick Davidson, CEO of Century 21. “Buyer confidence is building back up and demand is strong… sellers are now in a more favorable position.” Eight-five percent of 365 home buyers recently surveyed by the real estate brokerage said they are willing to make compromises when buying a home in order to get a transaction complete. Tighter inventories of for-sale homes have prompted more buyers to get […]

Following the deadly tornadoes in Moore, Okla., last week, sales of storm shelters and safe rooms are reportedly soaring along “Tornado Alley,” and some lawmakers and city officials are even trying to mandate them in some areas. Many of the homes in Tornado Alley lack basements due to the high water table and red clay soil, which absorbs moisture quickly, according to housing experts. Moore, Okla., now has the rare distinction of being the only known city to be struck by two massive EF5 tornadoes in recent years — the […]

Social media may be the key to ramping up sales, according to a new survey. In 2012, 72.6 percent of salespeople who used social media for selling out-performed those who weren’t using social media, according to new research conducted by Jim Keenan, a social sales specialist. What’s more, Keenan’s firm found that social media users were 23 percent more likely to exceed sales quotas than their non-social peers, a result that could be further enhanced by leveraging tools like a Youtube SMM Panel. More than 40 percent of those surveyed […]