New Homes for Sale in Sherman Oaks, California

View New Homes for Sale in beautiful Sherman Oaks! (http://bit.ly/SONewHomes)

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C.A.R. Survey: Home Sellers excited about the market again!

This morning, I came across an interesting article from the latest C.A.R (California Association of Realtors) 2013 California Home Sellers Survey.  Home sellers are more optimistic about repurchasing a home than in previous years.

A little over two-thirds, roughly 69 percent of home sellers purchased a home after selling their previous residence.  Great news and finding for a strong and stable real estate market in the near future.

So why the change? was it the rates? was it the home prices?

yes, yes, yes.

The main reason for sellers to sell their current residence was to trade up  and take advantage of low interest rates to finance their next home.   In the first half of 2013, the surplus of multiple offers in all sales help increase market values for neighborhoods.

With a banging 2013 real estate year for sellers, home owners looking to sell have every right to be excited about this upcoming 2014 real estate year.

Looking to sell your home? Curious about your current real estate home value?  Contact us for a FREE market report with no obligations!

Source: C.A.R Newsstand

Home Sellers: Overprice or Underprice your Home on the Real Estate Market?

It's a seller's market with buyers overbidding on properties and this trend doesn't seem to be dying down.  When setting an asking price, homeowners are coming across two school of thought:  

1) OVERPRICING 

Homeowners and agents believe that a higher asking price will draw higher offers from potential buyers.  This technique works when inventory is low when there is little "ACTIVE" homes on the market.  

2) PRICE BELOW NEARBY PROPERTIES

Homeowners and agents believe that pricing homes below nearby properties by 5% ot 10% will create a bidding war.   This technique works great in a heated market and for buyers who are looking for a bargain.  The bidding war has seen a potentially of 10% or 15% to the sale price! 

Which technique is best? 

Every house is different and discussing with a Local Realtor like myself will help you determine with strategy works for your home and you.

For a complementary home value report and our marketing strategies, contact us at www.BetancourtRealEstateGroup.com.  We cover Encino, Sherman Oaks and surrounding areas.

Source: WSJ.com

Graphs and Charts: Redfin.com

NEW CONSTRUCTION HOMES ARE UP 17% SINCE LAST YEAR

Since last year, new construction home sales are up 17 percent.  And surprise... surprise...low inventory of unsold units available.  (story of the 2013 real estate season) There are new homes being planned but won't be ready or built anytime soon.  Builders are having a hard time keeping up with the housing demand.  

This gives home sellers a great opportunity to sell their home or refinance their home.  

Think of selling, sign up for a complimentary home evaluation report.

Looking to refinance, email me for a list of lender we work with. 

2013 California Housing Forecast from the California Association of Realtors

C.A.R. Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young tells us what's in store for the 2013 California housing market.

To find your home market value in today's market, fill out our Home Value Report form for a FREE report from our professional real estate team. 

Home Sellers, learn how to price ahead of the market curve

Real estate markets change all the time. You want to make sure that you're pricing the house ahead of the curve -- no matter what the market.  Contact us for a free Home Value report. 

Top Three Features that Determines Your Home's Value

by Yvette Betancourt 

There is an Open House in the area.  A new listing.  Neighbors and home buyers walk thru the property and evaluate home's size, construction (and interior design) quality and price.  Homeowners are evaluating the home's value and home buyers being much more critical about a home value than before!  Why? Because it's the wonderful free websites like Zillow.com that offer property data that include a computer-generated valuation which aggregate sales data from comparable properties to determine an estimated price.  These estimated price is what some buyers and homeowners assume to valued numbers to submit an offer or to determine if it's the right time to put their home on the market.  

These estimated values are a great starting point to determine price except these estimations can be off as much as 10%.  This percentage can hurt you especially when a home buyer is in a multiple-offer price range to buy.  It can hurt the home seller by delaying their plans to sell and gain a good return.  

So if sites like Zillow, or any free real estate site can properly determine the value of the home, who can?  Real estate agents.  The agent's access to the local MLS has information that include number of days on the market and notes about what type of concessions were made on the sale and so on, that determined the final purchase price. 

Here are our tips to do your own comparables based on the top three features that determine your home's value.  

1) Location

Location! Location! Location! Especially when you are comparing SOLD properties.  A professional appraiser will look at homes/properties within a one-mile radius or less and that is a great tip that you should do as well.  

For subdivisons, look at the houses that are all similar and built in the same period.  Don't forget to compare similar houses with similar styles in the same subdivision. 

For homes not in a subdivision, geographic lines such as the opposite of a river, a park, a main highway/street, a school district boundary affect the home values.  

2) Size

Evaluate the square footage.   Appraisers typically look at homes that are within 20% up and down in square footage  as comparables.   In subdivision, you should look at homes that exact to the homes square footage.  

Don't make the mistake of thinking that a house that is 10% bigger will be worth more 10% more.  the extra square footage only equals o a few percentage points in value.  

3) Bedrooms and Bathrooms

The number of bathrooms and bedrooms is more relevant than simply the raw square footage.  In other words, a three bedroom home with 1,200 sq ft  might be worth more than two bedrooms with 1,250 sqft.  Also the location of the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Make sure to look at the quality and number of bedrooms and baths. For example:

House 1: Three bedrooms 1300sqft
House 2: Two bedrooms 1200sqft

Result: House 1.

House A: Four Bedroom 2500 sqft
House B: Five Bedroom 2475 sqft
House C: Three Bedroom 2450 sqft

Result: House C.  The square footage is similar and the value isn't a drastic change as the previous example.

Let's look at bathrooms:


There are three common bathroom styles.  Full baths (shower, bath, toilet, and sink), a three-quarter bath (tub, toilet and sink), and half bath (toilet and sink).

A three-quarter or full bath are roughly the same value.  A five-piece bath doesn't add much value than a regular bathroom with a combination shower and tub.



Remember to look at pending and active homes to give you an idea of where the local market is heading.

To get a detailed home value report on your home, click here for a Free Home Value Evaluation Report.   If you are a home buyer, ask your real estate agent for a CMA or email us for a Free Property CMA.