Realty Freak

Keep Guessing

Real estate agents in the NY time article are in a tizzy about the  adjectives used to describe listings, but they are all just guessing.  I doesn't seem to occur to any of them to test the effects of different words.  Steven Levitt describes the effects of descriptions on sale price and days to sale in his paper Market Distortions when Agents are Better Informed: The Value of Information in Real Estate Transactions.

In our own internal study we found a strong correlation between agent remarks and perceived curb appeal of properties.

A Little Effort Please?

Real estate agents are notoriously known for taking creative license in describing their listings, but lately I am seeing more examples of the other extreme.   Check out the remarks for this listing of 3500 Lake Knoll Dr, Northbrook, list price $699,000:

“Allow 48 hour notice to show.  Subject to lien holders approval”

That’s it!  And no interior photos either.   You would think that after 143 days on the market the listing agent could at least make an attempt to get people to visit the property. 

The Bottom Or A Bump

For two weeks in a row, there has been new evidence that the housing market is improving. On Jan. 26, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing-home sales posted an unexpected increase in December, as growing numbers of homebuyers responded to improved affordability and historically low interest rates.

According to NAR, existing-home sales -- including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops -- increased 6.5 percent in December compared to November. In addition, the inventory of unsold homes fell nearly 12 percent, another encouraging sign.

On Tuesday, NAR also announced that its Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, rose 6.3 percent. A sale is listed as pending after the contract is signed, but before the sale has closed, so a rise in this index is a sign of more home sales in the coming months.

All of this sounds great, but two weeks does not a trend make.  Inventory will rise and fall with the seasons and as the owners of overly seasoned listings finally come to terms with the market and make the necessary price reductions needed to sell those properties.

One of the key indicators of a recovering real estate market is going to be the jobless numbers.  Until those start to fall don’t expect an increase in real estate values.

Click the link to search the closed MLS listings in Chicago, Evanston, Highland Park, Deerfield and the rest of the Chicagoland area.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Architect Chris Turley offers some very compelling reasons to stay and start that home improvement project you have always dreamed about.   Check out the 10+ considerations to doing your project now.

If you decide to go, visit our Chicago, Highland Park and Deerfield real estate brokerage.