This is a copy of the monthly update letter sent to our Sellers.

Wow! Overnight, our extended summer has ended and our approaching winter has begun! Most people I talk to seem ready for the change; after all, we northerners are used to the seasons changing, and there’s just something odd about 87 degrees in October!

Our (finally) fall weather brings some reminders and some opportunities for you as your home is on the market. Attached is a list of fall maintenance ideas from Amy Woods, our concierge. If there’s one thing that has become crystal clear in the past few years, it’s that buyers are attracted to neat, clean, well-maintained homes and that those homes will usually sell in a flash and for top dollar! It is very difficult for buyers to see beyond other people’s clutter and casual housekeeping; after all, if it’s too much of a problem for YOU, the seller to deal with, why would a buyer feel any differently? If you need help in decluttering or fall-cleaning your home or grounds, remember that our Concierge program has people who can help you! Just call Amy at 936-2844, ext 3060 and let her help you out!

Also included in this month’s letter is an absorption rate chart which really shows market trends and can be useful to you as you consider options for placing your home in its optimal market position (price and terms and condition) to sell before winter. Find your area and price range and then move across the line. The first figure is the number of homes on the market that are competing with yours – actually, yours is one of them, so subtract one. The next figure shows how many have sold in the past nine months. Skip over the pending column for a minute and move on to absorption rate to see how many homes are being “absorbed” or sold each month.

For example, if there were 27 sales since Jan, that’s 3 per month (27 divided by 9.) Now back to actives. If there are 6 homes on the market, that’s fantastic – your home will probably sell in 2 months, unless many more come on to replace the solds in your price range. However, if there are 21 homes on right now, that means that it will take 7 months for those homes to be absorbed, and my guess is that 7 more months on the market does not make your heart jump for joy!

The pendings column is kind of a “check” on the other figures, and represents about 2 more months of activity. In our example above, 6 under pendings would indicate the continued trend of 3 selling each month, while 9 would indicate an increase in business in that price range and 4 would indicate a decrease. Of course, with all of this being said, we still can never know exactly how many more homes will come on the market, nor how many buyers in any price range and area will appear.

We remain optimistic about our local market! Our employment picture is strong, rates are still great, mortgages are still available (although first home buyer programs have become much more stringent, knocking some buyers right out of the marketplace) – all factors that keep things strong. Unfortunately, the national media seems almost determined to force a housing crisis, with their constant focus on negatives, risks, and reporting only of areas that have suffered, not of the many areas like ours that remain stable. And by talking about housing only as an investment (like a stock or bond), they kind of miss the point altogether – that a house is, for most people, is a HOME not an investment.

As always, I invite you to call your agent if you have any questions or comments about this update. And as always, I thank you for entrusting the sale of your home to us. I truly believe that no other company has the resources and tools that Coldwell Banker has to get your home sold, and I look forward to placing that “dog-gone it’s gone” sold sign in your yard soon!