Michelle Millikin

Posts Tagged ‘home’

There are many areas of the country which may be more conducive to green building practices or where the concept has been more profound.  But, rest assured, the Wausau Real Estate market has demonstrated a genuine interest in making our homes more eco-friendly.

With the rising cost of utilities and the winter weather steadily approaching, many buyers are asking for utility reports and energy audits of the homes they are considering for purchase.  Both buyers and sellers would be advantaged to understand some energy saving features that would be beneficial to add value to a home, whether buying or selling.

According to Julie Hawkins’s article recently published in The Real Estate Professional magazine (November/December, 2009), “green” falls in three categories: energy efficiency, resource efficiency and improved indoor air quality.

Energy efficiency:  ENERGY STAR windows and doors, compact fluorescent lighting, appliances, programmable thermostats, efficient heating and cooling units, insulation, weather-stripping, tree placement and windows allowing good use of daylight.

Resource-efficient products:  products that use fewer natural resources, products made from recycled materials such as glass, carpeting or reclaimed wood, and products from rapidly renewing resourced like bamboo flooring.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ):  Products that emit fewer pollutants such as low-or-no-VOC paints, cabinets and carpet, products to remove excess moisture such as whole house fans or ENERGY STAR qualified dehumidifiers.  Hard surface flooring far exceeds the quality over a carpeting floor.

Please contact me for a list of websites and valuable resources you can use to learn more about Eco-friendly home features to make your home more valuable within the Wausau Real Estate market.

How Much is My Home Worth?

The listing price is perhaps the most important factor in how quickly a home will sell. If the pricing is wrong, the “chase-the-market” syndrome ensues: the price is adjusted after you recognize the market has dropped: you are always off the mark. This causes buyers to skip the home, sellers to become upset and the home will stagnate on the market.

There are a couple of ways to determine a homes value and many real estate agents use a CMA (stands for competitive or comparable market analysis). This method is based upon an appraisal-type process, analyzing your homes value based upon what similar properties recently sold for.

I believe this information to be valuable but not enough to hit the market head on, primarily because it is based upon past information. Some of the best comparables for your home may have sold one year ago – it is obvious that our market has fluctuated quite a bit since then.

I use the absorption rate method – a formula that takes into account how fast homes like yours are selling in the recent market. This method looks at what has sold (like a CMA) but also the number and type of homes in the current inventory for buyers to choose from. I can tell you how long your house will most likely be on the market before a sale – and the amount of time can be quite shocking in today’s market. If you need to sell in a 6 month timeframe, we need to adjust your price so your home is one of the top choices of your competition in that certain price range. For example, if three homes sold in the price range of $150-160,000 in your neighborhood in the last six months and there are currently 15 homes for sale in that price range currently, you have a problem. You either have to be, by far, the shining star of those 15 listings or move to a price range in which you are.

Buyers are more educated on the real estate market than ever before and they typically follow the law of replacement: “Why would I buy this house at this price when I can get the one down the road which is similar for much less?” They will seek out and find the best deal for their money and your home needs to be the top choice of the group.

Answer to the question, “How much is my home worth?” What the Buyers are willing to pay for it in relation to your current competition in the current market.

Contact me to demonstrate the Absorption Rate method of home pricing on your home.