Sellers: Make Today’s Home Price Appreciation Work for You

Home prices continue to rise as we move through the summer, and that’s good news for sellers who are looking to maximize their home’s potential. If you’re on the fence about whether to list your house now or later, the question you should really ask is: will this price appreciation last?

Here’s what three leading industry experts have to say about what lies ahead:

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, National Association of Realtors (NAR):

“At a broad level, home prices are in no danger of a decline due to tight inventory conditions, but I do expect prices to appreciate at a slower pace by the end of the year.”

Selma Hepp, Deputy Chief Economist, CoreLogic:

“The imbalance between robust demand and dismal availability of for-sale homes has led to a continual bidding over asking prices, which reached record levels in recent months . . . . Nevertheless, with more new listings and new home construction, home price acceleration that has built momentum, and continues to reach new highs, will likely slow later this summer but remain in double digits.”

George Ratiu, Chief Economist, realtor.com:

“Many sellers are going to take advantage of higher prices. This summer is going to signal the move to the next chapter, and this will very much be the year they’re going to put their home on the market.”

What It Means for You:

The experts agree that the summer months give sellers a great opportunity to capitalize on today’s home prices. And while prices aren’t expected to depreciate, the rise in prices is forecast to moderate over the next few years. That means selling your house today could set you up for a bigger win.

Bottom Line:

Listen to the experts. If you’re ready to make a move, let’s connect to discuss selling your house sooner rather than later so you can take advantage of today’s home price appreciation before it moderates.

Thinking of Selling? Here’s What You Need to Know

Home Selling in the Spring

Spring can be the most popular time of the year to sell a home. In the midst of spring cleaning and a fresh start, it’s common for people to begin thinking about buying a new home. For sellers, this means an influx of excited buyers, but it also means there are more homes hitting the market. The Dunwoody and Sandy Springs neighborhoods are very competitive markets for finding a home so it can be advantageous to list sooner rather than later.

If you’re considering selling a home this spring, here is some advice to prepare yourself for a success.

What to Do When Preparing to Sell Your Home

One of the most important factors of any home listing is the way it looks online. Great homes are showcased through excellent marketing, high-definition photography, and 3D virtual tours. You can also help prepare your home for re-sale by choosing a top-rated Realtor who specializes in your area.

Here are few recommended items to help your home stand out from the competition:

Taking care of minor repairs
Neutralize paint colors
Replace old carpet
Clean and declutter your home
Pressure wash the driveway
Add fresh mulch or pine straw to your landscaping

It’s amazing what fresh paint and repairing nicks, scratches, and all the “little” things can do before a house hits the market. Sellers who put in the effort to make these small repairs and pay attention to the details that buyers are sure to notice, are apt to be rewarded more with offers, a higher sales price, and a quicker home sale.

Staging a Home for Better Showings

Ideally, a home should be staged for potential buyers, so they can see everything the property has to offer. Staging should be thought out so that the result matches the style of the home and the needs of the local market. A top local Realtor should be able to offer staging assistance;

For instance, if you have a spacious four-bedroom home and most buyers in the area tend to be empty nesters, staging the bedrooms as a great master suite, a guest room, and a functional home office would make more sense than staging kids’ rooms or a nursery.

Sellers should understand the comparable homes in the neighborhood and be certain that the home staging showcases its best features — especially those that nearby homes don’t have. For instance, natural light should be emphasized, as well as a large yard, extra storage, and so on.

Using Market Conditions to Your Favor

Spring is a great time of year to sell your home but hire a trusted and experience Realtor to have you navigate the market.

At Karen Cannon Realtors, we specialize in home selling in Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and North Atlanta and offer a team approach to help our clients reach their goals. We know that when it comes to selling a home, you need a professional, experienced team by your side. In 2020, we sold 124 homes. Over 10% of our sales were sold prior to listing because of the deep connections in the communities we provide.

Our homes sell on average in 25 days and at 99% of list price, that means our homes sell in half the time of other sales! Get in touch with a reliable, professional Realtor like Karen Cannon for tips, advice, and help with the next step of your home ownership journey.

Summer View: Our Sights Are Set on Success

Summer Home-Buying is Heating Up

After the COVID-19 pandemic started to negatively affect the economy, we have to admit that the team here at Karen Cannon, Realtors got a little worried. We were very concerned about how the economy’s decline would affect the housing market, especially the housing market in the Sandy Springs and Dunwoody areas. Well, we are pleased and blessed to report that while we did see a slight dip in April, May started to pick back up and by June, we saw numbers that rivaled those of the previous year. In fact, our anticipated sales volume for July is already 42% higher than July of last year.

In addition to that, homes are selling quicker now than any other time in the past two years, according to a new analysis provided by Zillow. While we understand that the economy hasn’t fully recovered, we couldn’t feel more optimistic about the gradual recovery that we have seen in the housing market in our area. We are feeling very positive about how the industry is starting the summer buying season and we also can’t wait to be busy this summer as we anticipate that it’s going to be a big one!

Bouncing Back
It’s probably not a big surprise that there was a dip in the housing marketing at the start of the pandemic, but what’s also interesting is the market’s resilience, and home values are one of the most notable examples of that resilience. Data received from the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), indicates that while sales numbers dipped in April, home prices have actually increased.

Not only have home values continued to increase but they have actually risen 4.3 percent year-over-year according to a report from Zillow. In that report, we also see that “the housing market has shown resilience during the coronavirus pandemic, slowing as stay-at-home orders were given across the country, but not screeching to a halt.”

At the start of the pandemic, the housing market saw both sellers and buyers shy away from buying and/or selling their homes. While that does seem like there was less housing demand at various times, there was also less supply. This resulted in a rising home value trajectory due to the supply and demand balance.

The stability of the marketing isn’t only seen in reference to home prices. Among other things, sales are bouncing back. With the trends that we are currently seeing, potential buyers must act quickly. While sellers have been delayed in making progress, they should keep in mind that buyers are wanting to press forward quickly and list their homes as quickly as possible. “Buyers shopping today might expect to be welcomed by desperate sellers, but they’ll instead discover houses selling like hotcakes in the speediest market in recent memory,” said Zillow Economist Jeff Tucker.

We Aren’t There Yet
As we all know, everything hasn’t quite returned to normal, even though there are signs of stabilization in the housing market. For now, though, the improving trajectory of many housing market metrics is something to keep at the top of mind. As we start the summer selling season, many things may still be uncertain but we are definitely moving in the right direction. In fact, as we see it now, our road to recovery looks incredibly bright. We have seen many of our sellers experience some competition starting to happen and even a few bidding wars.

We have a long road to economic stabilization and recovery but the future of the housing market is bright!

real estate, real estate photographer, real estate photography, photography

Why Professional Photography Is Important When Selling A Home

We’ve all heard the old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words.” And, in real estate, pictures make a huge difference in how quickly you sell your home. Now, thanks to the continued advancement of technology, buyers can have an intimate look into your home they are interested in without ever leaving their couch. And buyers are doing their research, more now than ever before. They are filtering through sites based on location, prices, school districts, square footage, etc. Once they have narrowed down their search to their liking, they are immediately flipping through photos.

Often, the photos are what’s piquing a buyer’s interest in your home and prompting them to take the next step in contacting their real estate agent. That is why it is important to work with a real estate agent in getting professional photography done before putting your home on the market. Your agent should have the expert knowledge and connections to professional photographers to produce images that resonate and appeal to sellers. And the more photos the better, so choosing one or two won’t do the trick! At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we work with the best real estate photographers that have an eye for the right angles, best lighting and provide high-quality photos to capture the best features of your home.

Homes with more photos sell faster, which makes sense because buyers are doing more research than ever before. The more buyers can find ahead of time, the better your chances of getting your home sold quickly. According to the National Association of Realtors 2017 study, Homes with one photo spent an average of 70 days on the market, but a home with 20 photos spent 32 days on the market. Not only do professional photographs help you sell your home quickly, but it can also help you get a better deal, too. For homes in the $200,000-$1 million range, those that include high-quality photography in their listings sell for $3,000-$11,000 more.

And we’re putting an emphasis on the words professional photography because you need high-quality photos. While there are plenty of great HGTV shows with useful information out there, nothing can replace the quality and direction of an agent and a professional real estate photographer. It is often the first impression that buyers have of your home before stepping foot onto the actual property. In fact, 89% of buyers who used the internet to aid their home search found the photos to be very useful. Your agent will have referrals to photographers that specialize in real estate that they have worked with personally.

As time goes on and technology continues to advance, online platforms and visual tools become more robust allowing home buyers more and more insight into a home before ever connecting with the seller or agent. At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we stay on top of the latest trends and constantly look for innovative marketing techniques to help sell our clients home quickly. We take it to the next level with 3D Virtual Tours to let a buyer walk through your home no matter their location.

At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our clients know about homes coming on the market before anyone else. And our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!

If you are thinking about selling your home, or are interested in moving into Dunwoody, Sandy Springs or the surrounding areas, call us at 770-352-9658.

Should I List Now Or Wait Until Spring?

It’s that time of year and we know what you’re thinking: is it worth it to list now or wait for spring? While the spring may bring a surplus of buyers, quality is better than quantity. Here’s why we recommend sellers list now.

There’s Less Inventory

We understand that listing your home in the winter may sound unorthodox but it can be done successfully. The winter months are a great time to sell because fewer listings are on the market and there is less inventory for buyers to choose from. Most sellers are waiting until spring and summer, which can create a great opportunity for you!

“Many sellers are hesitant because their yard and trees are not green and nothing is blooming – but that is the case with everyone else – selling or not selling. But it’s best to get out sooner, beat the competition, and potentially have your home stand out to more buyers,” Karen Cannon explains.

Concerned about moving before the school year ends? We’ve been able to help our clients negotiate terms to accommodate their schedules while capitalizing on the time of year and reduced inventory.

More Motivated Buyers

If a buyer is house hunting in the winter, they could be more motivated to purchase. Many winter buyers are comprised of empty nesters looking for a change, millennials who’ve been waiting for the right time, and corporate workers transferring into the city for a new job. In fact, January is the most popular month for corporate transfers.

“We have helped many sellers sell in January/February by helping them prep in December/January. Last year, we sold more homes in Q1 than we had in previous years by helping our clients get a head start in prepping and we’re doing the same thing now,” says Cannon.

If you are looking to sell and buy, it’s ideal to sell now so that when you’re ready to buy you can make a more compelling offer. After the closing, many of our clients have rented their home back from the new owner, allowing them more time to find their next home. We create a win/win situation for both buyers and sellers to save our clients from having to make a double move.

If you’re looking to get ahead of the competition and list your home in Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Roswell, and the surrounding Atlanta area, give us a call at 770-352-9658 or send us an email at info@KarenCannon.com. You can check out our current listings here.