First, pricing your home correctly from the onset is essential to successful selling. As soon as you decide to put your home on the market, it becomes a commodity for sale and must be viewed and marketed as such. Determining a competitive, reasonable offering price is the key to a timely sale. Knowing the background of comparable sales in the neighborhood is obviously important, but it must be coupled with the supply and demand for the location, size of the home, etc. The home’s condition is another consideration when comparing to other homes that are currently on the market. If the competition is all in move-in condition, and your home is in need of updates, the price must be willing to reflect this. Also keep in mind the timeframe in which you honestly need to sell the home. If urgency is imperative, then you may need to price it on the low end of the proper price range in order to move more quickly. Finally, take note that when homes are overpriced at the initial time of listing and have undergone several price reductions, they often end up selling for even less than their worth.

Next, take some time prior to placing the “For Sale” sign in the front yard to complete home improvement projects, improve the exterior appeal, and stage the interior of your home. All are essential to get the attention of today’s buyer and will certainly pay off in terms of final sales price and time on the market.

If you have been in the middle of one or several do-it-yourself projects, it is definitely time to finish them up prior to potential buyers viewing your home. Curb appeal is a much used term, but the importance is paramount. If the prospective buyer is not compelled to actually get out of their vehicle and walk up to the front door, it doesn’t matter how much potential the home has.

Once a buyer has decided to view the home, the first impression must make a huge impact. Hiring a staging professional is certainly an option if your budget allows. A home stager can make the most of your personal belongings or bring in furnishings that will best showcase your home’s possibilities and bring out the maximum value possible in the home. Generally speaking, the cost of this service is almost always less than the initial price reduction of an unsold, listed property. Montana Home Staging and Staging Spaces, companies servicing the Bozeman and surrounding area, both offer a wide variety of services with the goal of turning a “house hunter into a home buyer.”

Staging has been on the rise in recent years with statistics to back up its effectiveness. The payoff can truly be great. One local staging company is credited with transforming a home that was sitting on the market for 12 months into selling in 4 weeks. National statistics show that staged homes generally sell in half the time of unstaged homes. Additionally, according to a 2007 survey published by homestagingresource.com, the cost of professional home staging can garner a 343% return on investment in terms of increase in sales prices. Furthermore, 91% of real estate agents nationwide now recommend this service. These numbers are both up from the same survey in 2003 when the return on investment was estimated at 169% with a 76% agent recommendation rate. In fact, the only category that received a higher return on investment is “Clean and De-clutter” due to the fact that the cost involved is so minimal.

Small changes can really make a big difference when positioning your home as the best deal in your price range. If buyers leave your property with a memorable impression of it, you will have a much better chance of selling your home at the best possible price in the shortest amount of time, which is very important in this competitive market. Keep in mind that being proactive is the best first step to a successful real estate sale.

At the end of January 2007, there were 191 residential active listings in Park County. 12 homes sold during the month, and 33 houses went under contract – that means that 33 buyers came to an agreement with 33 sellers. For the same category at the end of January 2008, there was a small increase in active inventory to 202, the number of closed sales for the month was 12, and 15 homes went under contract.

Within the city limits, the residential inventory has remained stable with 70 single family homes currently on the market versus 71 at the end of January 2007. There has been movement among the price points with less inventory now available for sale under $250,000, and the most noticeable change occurring in the $250,000 – $300,000 range with 14 properties now in this price range versus only 5 a year ago.

The land data for Park County shows that at the end of January 2007, there were 252 building lots or vacant land parcels available, 8 properties sold during the month, and 34 listings were under contract. January 2008 shows an increased inventory to 309 active listings with 5 sales for the month and 45 pending transactions.

So, despite all the national gloom & doom about the housing market, Park County is in excellent shape, and I am anticipating that we will have a busy Spring, with a busier Summer. My phone is ringing, with enquiries coming from all over the country. People are asking me to look for different kinds of property in different price ranges, knowing that they will be out here shortly. Regardless of what is going on in the rest of the country, here in south west Montana, we have what most people want: space, safety & great beauty & natural resources.

At the 33rd Annual Montana Economic Outlook Seminar held recently in Bozeman, economist Paul Polzin assured the audience that Montana’s economy is likely to be resilient to a possible recession: he went on to say that Montana’s basic industries such as agriculture, energy & precious metals are seeing record-high prices in the world market
“That’s why we are so optimistic about Montana’s economy,” said Polzin.

Add to all of this good news the fact that interest rates for a 30 year fixed were at 5.625% at the beginning of this week, and that there are still many exciting financing options available to buyers in Park County, such as Rural Development and Montana Board of Housing loans.

Please call me with any financing questions, or to make a start on buying or selling….I’m here to help!