February 2015 Around Burlington Real Estate Report

Ask the Listing Experts>>>

Q. We’re going to make our move this year – when should we list?

A. Depending on a few circumstances, we suggest late winter through the end of spring.

Some towns in Chittenden County are low on inventory of homes to purchase, and we’ve been recommending to selected clients that they get on the market earlier, rather than wait till spring to take advantage. While the number of homes available for sale increased last year, there are spot shortages around the county.

Normally, April and May see a big increase in homes coming on, as the weather brightens and sellers get closer to the end of the school year – natural times to move. That’s also the time you can have more competition and pressure on your home’s price. You can’t control when your neighbors will sell – but there are times when you can see a financial advantage to getting there first, and being ready for that a little earlier, can pay off.

Call me to talk about what’s best in your case.

Dave Kleh
802.363.1820
[email protected]

Sell a place…

Downsizing? Moving closer to town? Retiring and heading south? Hitting the road (or the Intercoastal)?
Let’s say this is the year you’re going to make the move. You’ve thought about the options and have chosen your path. There are many ways to go, and many of them will involve selling your current home. Once you’ve made that decision, what’s the first step?
Purge! If there is one piece of advice we could offer to any of our clients preparing for a change of life move, it’s to start purging yesterday. Especially important if this is your first move in 10 or more years. Planning to go through your ‘things’ in an organized way will make the selling and moving process so much smoother. We suggest you think about the three R’s as a guide.
Reduce – start getting rid of items a day or week at time that have served their purpose.
Reuse – items that can be reused, but you no longer need, can be given away. Family and friends come in handy here.
Recycle – there are many great organizations in Vermont that will gladly accept your goods, and they will put them to use.
The sooner you start the easier it will become, and if there’s one thing we’ve seen it’s that you can’t start too early. And the bonus is that your home will show better and sell faster when the time comes.

3 Telling signs that you’re ready to sell…

1. You are browsing homes online in every spare moment.
2. You notice every ‘for sale’ sign within a 100 mile radius.
3. You’re desperately trying to ‘right-size’ your home. Contemplating expensive additions, or how you would spend your time if you didn’t have so much home to maintain.

Buy a place…

This month we break out the Crystal Ball as we attempt to answer the question ‘How much will I make on this house when I sell it?’
It’s a professional hazard we agents face every day. Logic says we can’t answer that question as no one knows all the events that will affect the outcome. But we know an awful lot about how to think about that answer, so we do our best.
National studies show that real estate performs at or maybe a little above the stock market over time. Local statistics will show vast differences though, especially depending on the time frame you look at. Even within an area as small as Chittenden County, you’ll find towns that outperform other towns.
Over the past 5 years in Chittenden County, single family homes and condo prices rose about 14%. That’s 2009 vs. 2014, and that accounts for many, many factors. Will that happen again in the next 5 years, with the home you’re thinking of buying?
Hard to predict with certainty, but we know while you’re there you’ll have a roof over your heads, a place to stash your stuff, and most likely a way to get some tax deductions! Toss in a likely historical rise in home equity over time, and that’s not a bad bargain!

What the color of your front door says about your home…

Great curb appeal starts at the front door. Sellers who upgrade their front door nearly always see a return on their investment and usually recoup double the cost. Check out our list to see what emotions are evoked by your front door color choice?
Yellow= Optimism, Clarity, Warmth
Orange= Friendly, Cheerful, Confidence
Red= Excitement, Youthful, Bold
Purple= Creative, Wise, Imaginative
Blue= Trust, Dependable, Strength
Green= Peaceful, Growth, Health
White= Balance, Neutral, Calm

See more tips on our Home Design Board at pinterest.com

Late February in Vermont. Awesome! Longer days. Sun moving north and higher every day. Spring skiing is right around the corner – the best ski season it seems to me anymore. Spring itself, almost here.
And yet it’s clearly still winter. Ice on the lakes and ponds, snow at (every?) elevation, and that chill that reminds us that we live halfway to the north pole. And the beginning of listing season has begun. For us in the business of helping people buy and sell real estate, we are gearing up for what should be a wild ride. My sense that 2015 is going to be a very strong real estate year is starting to show up in the numbers we track. If you’re thinking this is the year to sell – let’s get moving!
And here’s my thought for you this February – if this is your year to make a move – let us help you prepare – early! Rather than wait until full fledged Spring, we’re suggesting to many of our clients that they get on the market a month early this year. March rather than April if they can, or April rather than May in any event. There are many reasons it makes financial sense to do this as it can be smart to stand out before your neighbors become your competitors on the market. There’s a good time to get on the market, and always expert ways to prepare your home in a shorter time frame – and we’re experts at helping you find out what’s best for you.
So if Spring Fever means your home on the market this year – let’s talk about getting you started soon! We’ll prepare your Free Market Analysis, and we love to do on-site evaluations to help you wrap your head around the project do’s and don’ts. The time is now, and we’re ready.