Here are a few things you can do to help your home show better.

I’m often asked by sellers about what they should do when someone comes to see their property. That’s why today I want to share some advice for showing your home. 

I recommend that you leave your home during the showing for several reasons. One of the main reasons is that buyers feel more comfortable seeing your house and opening up to their agent if you’re not there. 

Another thing I would recommend is leaving every single light on in your house whether it’s a gloomy day or not. You also went to let as much natural daylight in as possible, so draw up those curtains and drapes.

If you have any questions about selling your home or real estate in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Six tips that will help you navigate this market as a buyer.

If you’ve considered purchasing a home this year, here are six things you should know about buying in today’s market:

1. Have a good Realtor to help you find leads. Many buyers are saying there are no listings available, but new listings are coming out every day—you just have to find them.

2. You have hours to make a decision, not days. If you see a house you like in this market, don’t wait multiple days to jump on it. If you do, it’ll be long gone by the time you get around to making an offer.

3. Forget about comparables. Many properties are selling over their comps, so be prepared to pay the seller a competitive price.

4. Be willing to pay over asking price to compete. If the home has been on the market for 30 days or more, that’s a different story. However, in general, you have to be willing to pay over the list price.

5. Days on market are key. If a good property has been on the market for less than seven days, it’s likely going to sell. If it’s been more than 21 days, it’s probably overpriced.

6. Cash is king. Buying without a financing contingency puts you in a strong position. If you can’t pay cash, get pre-approved and make the offer without the financing contingency.

If you have any questions or need assistance in buying a home, give us a call or send us an email. We’d be more than glad to guide you in the right direction.

Here’s why now is a good time to sell your investment properties.

Whether they’re single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses, or multi-family apartment buildings, why should you consider selling your real estate investment properties now? Today I’ll share five reasons why selling them soon is a good idea:

1. The prices are at a peak. Prices have been going up for the last 10 years—at some point, that increase is going to stop.

2. Rent is at a premium price right now. Rents are at the highest point they’ve been in a long time, and multi-family properties are generally at 100% occupancy these days. If you sell now, you’re sure to get a better price for your property.

“Many people are cashing out now and plan to re-enter the market when prices are lower.”

3. You can trade into another piece of real estate. If you don’t want to pay capital gains taxes when you sell, you can instead opt to do a 1031 exchange. That allows you to take the proceeds from your sale and roll them into the purchase of a new investment property, all without having to pay capital gains tax.

4. The government is talking about raising the capital gains tax. If you’re not doing a 1031 exchange, you may want to cash in and pay the capital gains tax now before it goes any higher.

5. You can cash out now and re-enter the market when prices are lower. This is a good idea if you decide you want to be a landlord again in the future. Many people are taking advantage of this now.

If you’re thinking of selling your investment property and want to know its value in today’s market, or if you have any other questions, give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you.

Five reasons why it’s best to have a real estate agent help sell your home.

Many sellers are thinking that the real estate market is hot, so why should they bother hiring an agent when they could sell their homes themselves? Here are five main reasons why it’s better to have a real estate agent sell your property: 

1. Experience. Experience makes a difference and can’t be replaced. I’ve had over 40 years of experience in all the different things that can come up during a transaction. No matter the obstacle, I’ve likely seen it before and can help you navigate through it. 

2. Exposure. Agents can provide exposure to multiple different things that you wouldn’t have on your own. We have past clients, spheres of influence, relocation buyers, other agents we know who have buyers, and more. We actively and aggressively prospect buyers every day for your home. The more buyers that want to buy your home, the better price you’ll receive. 

3. Paperwork. Mountains of paperwork are involved in a real estate transaction. It’s a highly regulated industry, so there are 10-page offers to purchase, addendums, the real estate condition report, amendments, counteroffers, the home inspection, etc. There’s a slew of paperwork involved in getting to the closing. 

“Experience makes a difference and can’t be replaced.”

4. Pricing. You want an expert helping you to price your house. There’s a fine line between asking for too much and not enough. We can find that sweet spot so you get top dollar for your home.

5. Negotiation. We can negotiate a better price than you could on your own behalf because we’re not a party in the transaction. Often, an array of emotions are being felt by both the buyer and seller, and we can ensure those don’t get in the way of your best interests.

Last year, on average, we got our sellers $18,000 more than their asking price on 40% of our transactions. So if you’re considering selling, give us a call or send an email, and we’ll explain how we can do that for you. We hope to hear from you soon.

Five tips to help you improve your chances of getting a home.

Given how our low-inventory, high-demand seller’s market is rife with competition, today I thought it would be a good idea to share how buyers can gain a competitive edge in multiple-offer situations. After all, buyers often face difficulties finding homes these days. Here are five ways to stand a fighting chance if you’re looking to buy a house:

1. Get pre-approved by a lender. I don’t just mean a pre-qualification letter but an actual pre-approval. If you’re getting financing, the seller will almost demand that you be pre-approved, so it’s a critical step.

2. Write your best offer. We’ve seen situations where a single home had 20 offers or more on it; one buyer even offered $90,000 over the asking price and still didn’t get the house. To stand a chance, you need to put your best foot forward. Ask your agent to determine how many offers you’re competing against for that home.

“The fewer contingencies you have, the better your offer looks.”

3. Accommodate the seller’s needs in terms of closing dates and occupancy. Make sure your agent finds out when your seller’s preferred closing dates are and whether they’re looking for a post-occupancy agreement. If they do need a post-occupancy period, it might be worth making that free to them to boost the appeal of your offer.

4. Exclude any possible contingencies in your offer. For example, if you think the house is in good enough condition to exclude the home inspection, then exclude the home inspection. If you’re not concerned about the appraisal, exclude the appraisal contingency—many homes aren’t appraising these days anyway. The fewer contingencies you have, the better your offer looks.

5. Consider writing a personal letter to the seller. Many sellers want to know why you want their house, which features you like the best, how well you’re going to take care of it, etc. Write them a personal letter detailing these things to generate an emotional connection and explain why your offer is the one they should accept.

If you have questions about competing as a buyer in today’s market or anything else to do with real estate, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send an email. We’d love to help you.

Here are four questions to ask about whether to sell or rent your house to tenants.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the process of showing homes has had to change.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, buyers are still buying and sellers are still selling in our market.

How have the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home ordinances (which have been extended until the end of May) affected the real estate market?

Real estate has been deemed an essential service, and obviously, the health and safety of our clients is our top priority. We can still show homes by appointment only and list them, and while showing homes, we do our utmost to practice social distancing. We can’t, however, host open houses or have more than five people inside a house at the same time. 

Don’t buy into the myth that homes aren’t selling. From April 1 to April 17, 727 new listings hit the market in the Greater Milwaukee area, and 594 homes went under contract. Buyers are still buying, too—especially with interest rates this low. Home sales last March increased by 8% to 10% in most areas compared to March 2019. This makes now a good time to sell. 

“We can still show homes by appointment only and list them, and while showing homes, we do our utmost to practice social distancing.”

Prices haven’t dropped, either. If anything, we’re seeing multiple offers for homes over their asking price. We just sold a home in the Sussex/Lisbon area that generated four offers, all of which were over asking price. 

Will they eventually go down? Considering everything that’s happening with the economy. If I were a gambling man, I’d say, yes, eventually they will go down, given everything that’s happening with the economy. Everything is based on supply and demand. Right now, supply is low and demand is high, but after the stay-at-home ordinances are lifted, there will be a lot more people listing their homes. When supply rises faster than the demand, that’s when prices drop, and I predict this drop to happen in three to six months. How far prices will drop is anyone’s guess. 

If you’re ready to sell or have questions about our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. My team and I would love to help you.

Here’s what you should know about how Zillow determines the value of your home and why it’s flawed.

With the growing popularity of Zillow and other instant offer sites like it comes one important question: Can you trust Zillow’s estimate of your home’s value? 

For perspective, Zillow has only been around since 2007; I’ve been in real estate since 1981, so I think I have a leg up on Zillow. In most cases, when Zillow comes up with its valuation (known as a Zestimate), they don’t even step foot into your home, they just crunch marketplace data. 

“To be honest, I don’t even think Zillow knows why it changes its figures.”

Zillow uses an algorithm to estimate home value, and there’s no way for that algorithm to factor in any improvements you’ve made to the property. I’ve had several people ask me, “Well, why did Zillow raise my price,” or, “Why did Zillow lower my price?” To be honest, I don’t even think Zillow knows why it changes its figures. 

The bottom line is this: Don’t trust Zillow. What you need to do is get an experienced agent to look at the inherent benefits of and improvements to your home. Here at the Roth Team, we compare what homes like yours have recently sold for with what’s currently on the market. Then, based on your competition, we position your home so you get the highest price possible. 

Again, don’t fret if Zillow gives you an estimate that seems leagues lower than what you feel is right. It almost certainly is too low, so seek out a professional opinion. If you’re thinking of selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or someone else on the Roth Team. We’d be happy to sit down with you and figure out how to get you the most money for your home.

Today I’m sharing my predictions regarding prices, inventory, interest rates and average days on market.

To bring you up to speed on our current real estate market, interest rates are still low, and we’re looking at fixed-rate mortgages as low as 3% to 3.5%. Here are my predictions on what the market will do in this new year: 

1. Interest rates will stay low. The government said it wants to hold interest rates, so I think for at least the next six months you can expect them to stay low, but after that—you never know. 

2. Inventory will increase. As of the beginning of January, we’re seeing the lowest level of single-family homes for sale in the Milwaukee area, less than 4,000. For reference, compare this number to roughly 9,000 homes in January 2015. However, as we head into the spring and summer months, I do expect that we will see an increase. 

“I predict that in 2020 we will see a 3% to 5% increase in prices.”

3. Median sale prices will continue to go up. The rise likely won’t be as high as what we saw recently in the Milwaukee area, where prices in some cases increased by 8% to 10%. I predict that in 2020 we will see a 3% to 5% increase in prices. If inventory levels get higher, prices may even level out. 

4. The average days on market will increase. In most market places, the average days on market is about 30 days. The higher price-range homes (anything from $500,000 to $1 million-plus) are still taking longer to sell and aren’t going up in value as much. The average days on market in 2020 will be lengthened by an increase in inventory. 

It’s a great time to buy a home when you consider how low the interest rates are; if you need pre-approval, contact us and we can get you set up with a lender. Sellers: take advantage of what will be the seventh year of a strong seller’s market. 

If you would like to get a valuation on your home, give me a call or reach out to anyone at the Roth Team. We’d be happy to help you.