These 3 Questions Are the Key to Choosing the Right Agent to Sell Your Home

When interviewing agents as you prepare to sell your home, there are three important questions you should ask them.

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The Realtor you trust to guide you through the listing process will have a significant impact on your success. Therefore, there are three key questions sellers should ask agents before making the decision to work with them.

1. “How much is my home worth?” The right agent will be able to study the market and give you an in-depth analysis of your property’s true value. This analysis should produce a figure that is within 2% to 3% of the projected list price. 


2. “How long is it going to take for my home to sell?” Again, this agent will be able to estimate the time your transaction will take based on area statistics. 

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Agents must have a proven plan of action in place for selling your listing.   

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3. “What will you do to get my home sold?” Agents must have a proven plan of action in place for selling your listing. As for myself, I have a 19-point plan of action specifically designed to bring my clients success. If you have any other questions, would like more information, or are curious about my answers to these three questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

What Do Buyers and Sellers Pay at Closing?

Were you recently rejected from getting a mortgage and are unsure why? Today we have four possible reasons why.

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People ask us all the time, “What are closing costs?” 

The answer to this actually varies for buyers and sellers, so let’s examine both sides. 

For sellers, closing costs are made up of title, brokerage, and attorney fees. There are also area-specific costs to consider. Closing costs also include the expense of home inspections.

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For buyers, closing costs will include appraisal fees, administrative fees, loan company fees, third-party fees, and more. 

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When it comes to buyers, closing costs are comprised mostly of finance fees. These will include appraisal fees, administrative fees, loan company fees, and third-party fees including title work.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Why Is Housing Inventory an Important Statistic?

As a statistic, housing inventory means the number of homes that are on the market at any given time, and it can determine whether we’re in a buyer’s or seller’s market. 

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When it comes to selling your home, there are some very important statistics that you should know about. One of  those statistics regards housing inventory. 

Housing inventory means the number of homes that are on the market at any given time. In our downtown Chicago market, we currently have 654 active listings. Over 30% of those listings have gone under contract in the last 30 days, which means we have a 3.7-month supply of inventory. 

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Our current housing inventory puts us in a seller’s market.

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What does a normal housing inventory look like? Typically, a six-month supply is considered normal, and that level is enough to supply homes for any buyer. That means our 3.7-month supply puts us in a seller’s market. Whenever inventory is up and demand is low, we’re in a buyer’s market. 

If you have any more questions about housing inventory or you’re thinking of taking advantage of our seller’s market by listing your own home, give me a call or shoot me an email anytime. I’d love to help you. 

When Does the Chicago Spring Market Really Start?

Usually the spring market starts in late March or early April. This year, however, the spring market will be here much, much sooner.

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When does the spring real estate market actually start?

In general, the real estate market begins in late March or early April. However, it’s 70 degrees out there in Chicago. Since the winter has been so mild, the spring market will begin in the next week or two. 

In other words, if you’ve been thinking about putting your home on the market, now is the time to do it.

Now is the time to put your home on the market.

There are a ton of buyers out in the market right now because interest rates are expected to go up on March 15th. They want to make their move before that rate hike happens.

That said, inventory is extremely low. Compared to January 2016, January 2017 saw a 14% drop in inventory. While this is frustrating for buyers, this is good news for sellers because demand is strong and you won’t have much competition.

If you have any other questions about the spring real estate market or about selling your home, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

5 Tips for Upgrading Your Home Before Listing in Chicago

To sell your home successfully, it needs to be in tip-top shape. Today we have five tips to help you update your home for a top dollar sale and a high return on your investment.

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When it comes to selling a home, it really has to be in tip-top shape. Sometimes that means freshening the home up, making some minor updates, or even renovations. If you plan to renovate your Chicago home to help you earn more from your sale, we have three compelling reasons to do so now:

1. Renovations always take longer than expected. Even minor renovations to your kitchen or bathroom might seem like they'd only take two weeks, but you want to plan ahead because it will take longer than you think.
2. You might come across issues you weren't aware of. If you're making updates and your contractor discovers an issue, it needs to be addressed. 
Wouldn't it be nice to enjoy your renovations before you move?
3. You get to enjoy the updates before you hand over they keys to the buyer. 
4. Many updates are inevitable. If you have an old roof, it needs to be updated anyway, for example. You might as well make the renovations now!
5. You will get a better return on your investment if you effectively plan ahead. 

If you're not sure which renovations are right for your home or will bring you the biggest return on your investment when it comes time to sell your house, we have a great cost vs. value resource you can use.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We'd be glad to help you!

What Are the Benefits of Selling Now?

Is fall a smart time to sell your home? In Chicagoland, it is for a number of reasons.

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We are back again to discuss the benefits of selling your home this winter. A lot of sellers, prospects, and clients always ask us what the benefits of selling now are versus waiting until the spring to do so.

One big benefit is that the buyers in this market are more serious. During this time of the year, people aren’t going out in the cold to see homes if they aren’t serious about buying. They are in the market to purchase a home, and it could be yours.

There are more serious buyers out there now.

Tax advantages are another big thing. A lot of buyers want to take advantage of them before the end of the calendar year. Because we are in the winter, there are fewer sellers on the market, too. There will be 30% to 40% more of them in the spring, so right now you have limited competition that can translate into a financial benefit.

Finally, a lot of new job transfers will be coming here after the new year. They represent a segment of buyers that you can capture by listing your home now.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

4 Ways to Make Your Luxury Home Stand Out

How can you draw more buyers to your home if you are in the luxury market? We have four tips to help make your home appeal to more buyers.

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A lot of sellers want to know how to attract more luxury buyers into their homes. Which amenities should you include? We have four ways you can attract more buyers to your luxury home.

The first thing we recommend is creating an outdoor living space. Add an outdoor kitchen or fire pit and make sure there are enough areas for lounging and sun protection. You can also add a lush garden. If you have an old, blue pool, consider installing a more natural-looking pool. Natural pools are very attractive to buyers.

You should also pay attention to smart home features. Get the Nest thermostat to automatically adjust the temperature in your room. You can also get smart refrigerators that will alert you when your groceries are running low or about to expire. There are ovens available that can turn on automatically and adjust the temperature when you’re ready to cook. Security systems that connect to your smartphone are all the rage; you can make sure your doors are locked and the garage door is shut from across the country.

Luxury buyers are looking for outdoor living spaces and glamorous bathrooms.

If your home has an old wine cellar, you need to upgrade that. Old fashioned, dusty wine cellars are out. These days, luxury buyers are more interested in wine tasting rooms. Install a small, cozy fireplace, a bar, and make sure there is an area for guests to relax and enjoy some wine.

Finally, glamorize the bathroom. The European body spray shower is very popular these days, as are exposed stone tiles in the shower area. Make sure you get a rain showerhead; all of the five-star hotels have them and they will definitely appeal to buyers.

These four things will help your luxury home sell to quality buyers. If you have any questions for David, you can call him at 708-705-7911 or email him at Dave.Bowen@imortgage.com. If you have any other questions about preparing your luxury home for the market, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

5 Tips to Accurately Price Your Chicago Home

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Today, I’m going to discuss how to price your home accurately in today’s market. Here are five things you should keep in mind.

1. Consider the comparables in the area. What have other homes sold for in your neighborhood in the last 60 to 90 days? How do they compare to your home in terms of size, upkeep, and amenities? 

2. Consider the competition in your area. Always be aware of which homes are for sale in your neighborhood.

3. What are your contingencies? Is there a certain time frame for your move? Do you need to be in the new property by a certain date? There are two issues that affect real estate sales in any market: price and the seller’s motivation.

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Price your home correctly from the start.

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4. Be accurate in pricing. According to the National Association of Realtors, if you are 3% higher than what the fair market value is, your home could take 20% to 30% longer than the average market time to sell. 

5. Know what offers you’re looking for. Know what you are willing to take before you even begin negotiations with the buyer. 

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you.