When will home prices rise again?

[clifp]

Yes that is very nice calculator. It is amazing what a modest difference in price appreciation say 3% to 4%/year makes in the payback period.

 

[Delawaredave5]

It is amazing what a modest difference in price appreciation say 3% to 4%/year makes in the payback period.

I do not understand whether/how inflation is represented.

The appreciation you put in the slider should be appreciation after inflation - correct ?

If so, 3-4% is probably more than modest - I think RE historically appreciates at 1-2%, after inflation.

I'm amazed at range the programmer put on the slider -- 30% appreciation on the upside, and 10% depreciation on the downside -- that person "drank the punch" that RE always goes up........

 

[MichaelB]

Case-Shiller data out this morning show 3 month increases in 19 of 20 metro areas. Only Las Vegas still in the red.

It also shows in most areas home prices are in line with longer term trend lines of inflation or inflation plus 1% (using 1987 to 1990 as baselines).

 

[Martha]

I watch so much HGTV that I already know how I'll stage the house when I sell .
Remove half the furniture
Clean closets and remove half of clothes
Hide all personal items
Float candles in the pool
Bake cookies
Set the table
Hide every small appliance in the kitchen No Coffee for you or toast
Buy all new neutral linens


Do I have it done pat or what ? Thanks HGTV !

My real estate agent, who is one of the best and most successful in my town, has a different opinion on this which I found intriguing. She says, at least for our market, that people want to buy homes they feel comfortable in, that feel homey. So, for example, where I used to remove all evidence that I have a dog, she says people like dogs, they want to see that the home is one that is comfortable to have a pet. I also used to hide all evidence that I have a baby living with me part of the time. She says no, don't do that, people want to know that even with a small place like mine (an apartment essentially) is comfortable to have a grandchild over. She is of the opinion that setting the table is just weird and too transparently staged. But clean is good. Really clean. Including windows.

So, I did declutter to some extent and don't have excess furniture, I keep the kitchen and bathrooms super clean, but I don't remove all the personal stuff and try to keep it homey. We will see if what she says helps.

It does make it easier to live in while it is on the market.

 

[W2R]

Martha, all I can say is that when I was looking for my present home, I was really grossed out by one home with dirty diapers in evidence and babies everywhere. I also had a hard time evaluating a (probably perfectly nice) home that smelled like wet wolves had been rolling on the carpet due to the dogs, and another that smelled like cigars. So, I tend to agree with Moemg's list though I do not plan to set the table. It does have a pretty lace tablecloth on it, and centerpiece, though.

When the time comes for me to sell, my tentative plan is to:

(1) get rid of much (but not all) of my furniture
(2) hide anything personal like the paintings and sculptures, and remove nearly everything from the granite countertops and turn on the lights that show them off; empty the closets almost completely
(3) paint where needed
(4) finish the deferred maintenance
(5) probably get the carpets replaced if my realtor thinks I should.
(6) clean as thoroughly as I can
(7) then after that hire a professional service to clean even more thoroughly.
(8) use a light apple or citrus scent or do the old "baking cookies" thing, and
(9) call it a day.

One of my bedrooms is tiny - - only 9'x9'. I use it as my office/computer room. When I bought my house the prior owner had a smaller-than-twin bed in that bedroom and a tiny antique desk. I am on the fence as to whether to do that, have it completely empty, or half fill it with boxes of my stored stuff.

 

[CuppaJoe]

We put mom's house on the market at 3 p.m. during the weeks we were packing everything up and moving her out. Chaos! Our friend, a real estate agent, already had an interested party. At 6 p.m. when we were at the table eating one of our last meals in the house, the potential buyer arrived. As a nod to staging, my sister put some cinnamon in a pan and let it simmer. We had an offer at 7 p.m., we countered with the asking price and it essentially was sold at 8 p.m. YMMV!

 

[W2R]

We put mom's house on the market at 3 p.m. during the weeks we were packing everything up and moving her out. Chaos! Our friend, a real estate agent, already had an interested party. At 6 p.m. when we were at the table eating one of our last meals in the house, the potential buyer arrived. As a nod to staging, my sister put some cinnamon in a pan and let it simmer. We had an offer at 7 p.m., we countered with the asking price and it essentially was sold at 8 p.m. YMMV!

That sounds like a dream come true!! If that happened I would be in 7th heaven.

A house in the next block was put on the market at a price per square foot that I would have thought ideal ($175K for 1450 sq ft). Any less, and people would wonder "What's wrong with it?" I haven't seen the inside but it has tons of curb appeal, with new landscaping and new and very appealing doors. It has been on the market since last March. That is kind of unnerving.

 

[Martha]

Martha, all I can say is that when I was looking for my present home, I was really grossed out by one home with dirty diapers in evidence and babies everywhere. I also had a hard time evaluating a (probably perfectly nice) home that smelled like wet wolves had been rolling on the carpet due to the dogs, and another that smelled like cigars. So, I tend to agree with Moemg's list though I do not plan to set the table. It does have a pretty lace tablecloth on it, and centerpiece, though.

This is why I emphasized the importance of clean. As far as kid stuff, I have a toybox with the toys in it and a highchair in the kitchen. The pack and play crib gets folded up and put away.

When the time comes for me to sell, my tentative plan is to:

(1) get rid of much (but not all) of my furniture
(2) hide anything personal like the paintings and sculptures, and remove nearly everything from the granite countertops and turn on the lights that show them off; empty the closets almost completely
(3) paint where needed
(4) finish the deferred maintenance
(5) probably get the carpets replaced if my realtor thinks I should.
(6) clean as thoroughly as I can
(7) then after that hire a professional service to clean even more thoroughly.
(8) use a light apple or citrus scent or do the old "baking cookies" thing, and
(9) call it a day.

One of my bedrooms is tiny - - only 9'x9'. I use it as my office/computer room. When I bought my house the prior owner had a smaller-than-twin bed in that bedroom and a tiny antique desk. I am on the fence as to whether to do that, have it completely empty, or half fill it with boxes of my stored stuff.

Hey, the paintings and scultures might really make things look nice! I think blanding out things too much may not be the best idea. But then again, each market is different.

 

[youbet]

All this talk about "staging" and baking cookies reinforces why DW and I can't house hunt together. She's influenced by those sort of things. I'm strictly a location, layout/floorplan and construction quality guy.

I understand that to sell our place, just showing the solid construction and well maintained status won't be all that's needed to move it for a decent price. But gosh, it's tough for a guy to understand that the smell of cookies in the oven may be more important than the high quality HVAC system you recently installed!

 

[audreyh1]

On Staging: I guess we did it right - even though we did it our way.

We decided to get rid of all of our "stuff" before we put the house on the market. We'd already moved into the RV. It delayed us until early August for getting the house on the market, but we couldn't see doing it any other way.

House was totally decluttered and then very thoroughly cleaned including power washing the exterior. Nothing on surfaces, fridge, drawers, closets and cabinets empty. Only our best furniture was left in the house - dining room, living room, master bedroom. Garage empty except for lawn maintenance equipment and cleared shelving. Back yard completely empty except for large wood swing.

It made the house look much bigger - clear back yard and garage, smaller bedrooms empty, etc.

I didn't bother with the "baking", but some light vanilla scented potpourri sure helped.

The second house visitor made an offer. Negotiated in 2 days. Closed in 10 days. All cash deal - SWEET!!!! It went so fast!

Audrey

 

[heyduke]

Martha, all I can say is that when I was looking for my present home, I was really grossed out by one home with dirty diapers in evidence and babies everywhere. I also had a hard time evaluating a (probably perfectly nice) home that smelled like wet wolves had been rolling on the carpet due to the dogs, and another that smelled like cigars. So, I tend to agree with Moemg's list though I do not plan to set the table. It does have a pretty lace tablecloth on it, and centerpiece, though.

When the time comes for me to sell, my tentative plan is to:

(1) get rid of much (but not all) of my furniture
(2) hide anything personal like the paintings and sculptures, and remove nearly everything from the granite countertops and turn on the lights that show them off; empty the closets almost completely
(3) paint where needed
(4) finish the deferred maintenance
(5) probably get the carpets replaced if my realtor thinks I should.
(6) clean as thoroughly as I can
(7) then after that hire a professional service to clean even more thoroughly.
(8) use a light apple or citrus scent or do the old "baking cookies" thing, and
(9) call it a day.

One of my bedrooms is tiny - - only 9'x9'. I use it as my office/computer room. When I bought my house the prior owner had a smaller-than-twin bed in that bedroom and a tiny antique desk. I am on the fence as to whether to do that, have it completely empty, or half fill it with boxes of my stored stuff.

we are in the sme boat ... so to speak.. however, I agree with your main points.... make the 9x9 a bedroom no matter how small... a be bedroom is worth 5k extra!

 

[Moemg]

I bought my present house for a bargain because it was HGTV's nightmare house . The bathroom had foil wallpaper and leopard print towels . The living room with 18'windows looking out at the bay had tie dye curtains , the ugliest kitchen counter known to man with a matching kitchen floor and the office was painted black . For once in my life I saw beyond this and made a low ball offer . It has two and a half lots on Sarasota Bay . It is 3800 square feet with a three car garage , a pool, an elevator and a huge deck . So I stripped wall paper until I finally gave up and hired someone .I had the kitchen counter top and floor replaced ,I replaced the tie dye curtains with custom sheers and after several coats of paint the office was green not black . The good news is even with the real estate downturn I can sell my house for a lot more than I paid .

 

[kyounge1956]

(snip)
When the time comes for me to sell, my tentative plan is to:

(1) get rid of much (but not all) of my furniture
(2) hide anything personal like the paintings and sculptures, and remove nearly everything from the granite countertops and turn on the lights that show them off; empty the closets almost completely
(3) paint where needed
(4) finish the deferred maintenance
(5) probably get the carpets replaced if my realtor thinks I should.
(6) clean as thoroughly as I can
(7) then after that hire a professional service to clean even more thoroughly.
(8) use a light apple or citrus scent or do the old "baking cookies" thing, and
(9) call it a day.
(snip)

I've thought about this some too. I planned to put most of my stuff in storage before putting the house on the market, add some quick color in the garden area, maybe clean and possibly re-stretch the carpet to remove wrinkles, and have someone wash the vinyl siding. I might bake cookies on an open house.

I wonder whether the other expenditures would pay for themselves or not. If it costs me X dollars to have the inside of the house repainted, will the house sell for more than X dollars above what it would have sold for unpainted, and so on. Or does all this staging make the house more likely to sell quickly rather than more likely to sell higher? It might be worth doing for a quick sale, even if the eventual price is no higher than the house would have sold for un-staged.

 

[W2R]

I wonder whether the other expenditures would pay for themselves or not. If it costs me X dollars to have the inside of the house repainted, will the house sell for more than X dollars above what it would have sold for unpainted, and so on. Or does all this staging make the house more likely to sell quickly rather than more likely to sell higher? It might be worth doing for a quick sale, even if the eventual price is no higher than the house would have sold for un-staged.

I am not expecting a higher price at ALL... I think the idea is to get it to sell a little faster. There's a lot to be said for that, though.

 

[heyduke]

I am not expecting a higher price at ALL... I think the idea is to get it to sell a little faster. There's a lot to be said for that, though.

I actually believe it will not only sell faster but likely higher as well...