Blog
Stage Your Home First
TeamCox Realtors is pleased to introduce, Lynn Bruskivage, of LGA Home Solutions, LLC. Lynn will be an ocassional guest blogger for us, focusing on issues related to getting your Denver home ready to go on the market.
Stage Your Home First
Don’t waste valuable days letting your home sit on the market without “staging” your home first. Most real estate professionals recommend staging your home for resale. Staged homes spend 83% less time on the market, according to the Association of Staging Professionals (ASP). Data collected from the last two quarters of 2009 showed that a staged home averaged 37 days on the market compared to 212 days on the market for a non-staged home.
First impressions are important and that is why staging works! By presenting your home in its best possible condition, you “set the stage” for your home to be sold quickly. This is accomplished through room editing, furniture arranging, and organization. Some refer to Staging as Interior Re-Design. This process will make a home more desirable to potential homebuyers, as well as lead to a quick sale at a higher price point.
It is a pleasant surprise to most that for a small investment, the return can prove quite substantial! The National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that the average staging investment of 1-3% of the home’s asking price can generate a return of 8-10%! That is an average return on investment of around 340%!
Please visit our website @ www.lgahomesolutions.com to see what we can do for you.
Our services include:
• Staging & Staging Consultation
• Room/Home Makeovers & Decorating
• Professional Organization
• Move-in Services
…and more!
During the month of August we are offering a 10% discount on all services!
As always we offer a:
• 10% discount for senior citizens & military
• $100 first time discount on initial consultation for realtors
Call us today and let us transform your home! 303-929-1790
Lynn Bruskivage, Owner
LGA Home Solutions, LLC
303-929-1790
lynn@lgahomesolutions.com
www.lgahomesolutions.com
member of the Colorado Association of Staging Professionals CASP / HSE Certified
If you have questions about getting your Denver-area home to sell, please contact TeamCox Realtors – Denver real estate specialists – at 303-400-6060.
TeamCox Realtors – Treating our clients’ real estate transactions as if they were our own.
Denver Home Prices Continue to Rise
TeamCox Realtors always keeps a close eye on the monthly S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Indices report, which was released today. There was good news for the Denver real estate market with Denver home prices rising once again from last year. This is the seventh month in a row that Denver home prices have shown a year-over-year increase.
The closely-analyzed report indicated a 3.6 percent increase from May 2009 to May 2010, and a .6 percent increase from April of May to this year. The year-over-year increase was the thirteenth best showing in the country.
If you are a prospective Denver homebuyer, there is no better time than the present to purchase a home. There is a great selection of homes to choose from, and interest rates are hovering at historical lows. This perfect scenario will not last forever, so don’t miss the opportunity to purchase your dream home in Denver. For information on the state of the Denver real estate market, please contact TeamCox Realtors at 303-400-6060.
Denver Named Most Improved Housing Market
TeamCox Realtors – Treating our clients’ real estate transactions as if they were our own.
What is Colorado’s Foreclosure Rate?
RealtyTrac released new foreclosure filing statistics last week, revealing that Colorado has the country’s tenth highest foreclosure rate in the second quarter of 2010. Colorado’s foreclosure filings decreased 4.59 percent from the first quarter of this year, but increased 4.73 percent from the same quarter of last year.
According to the report, in the second quarter of this year, Colorado had 15,287 foreclosure filings, which is around one foreclosure out of every 141 housing units. The national foreclosure rate is one out every 144 housing units. While tenth (on a list that we don’t want to be on) may sound high, keep in mind that our state once ranked toward the very top of this list, so we’ll take tenth for now. California had the highest number of foreclosures in the country.
Are you a Denver homeowner in distress? TeamCox Realtors is a Certified Distressed Property Expert, or CDPE. We have undergone extensive training to help Denver homeowners explore options to avoid foreclosure, including exploring a possible Denver short sale, or a even a loan modification. Please contact us at 303-400-6060 to see if we how we can help you.
Uptick in Denver High-End Home Sales
There is good news for the high-end Denver real estate market, a segment among the hardest during the downturn. The Denver Business Journal reported this week that June sales activity for Denver resales priced over $1 million hit its highest level since 2008. In June, there were 77 homes sold that were priced over $1 million, a 3 percent increase from last year, and a 22 percent increase from last month.
This is great news for the health of the overall Denver housing market, since high-end homes have not moved quickly over the past years. This has been a great frustration to Denver sellers who are trying to downsize into smaller homes. It is a great relief that luxury homes are finally starting to sell in a shorter amount of time.
Denver Business Journal’s article cites that Denver had the most high-end sales, along with Boulder, Castle Rock, Cherry Hills Village, and Greenwood Village.
We hope to hear more encouraging news like this over the coming months, as historically low interest rates will increase Denver buyers’ buying power, often pushing them into a higher price point. For more information on the state of the Denver real estate market, please contact TeamCox Realtors at 303-400-6060.
Is Now the Time to Invest in a Denver Home?
TeamCox Realtors – Treating our clients’ real estate transactions as if they were our own.
Is Now the Time to Invest in a Denver Home?
Is it time to move up or move on? We never dreamed that interest rates would reach 4.50% for qualified buyers with secure jobs and a good down payment. This is an historic opportunity for families to take advantage of a combination of low housing prices and low interest rates. In a few years, buyers who have had the foresight to take advantage of these current market conditions, will reflect their “brilliant” decision back in 2010 to invest in a Denver home!
TeamCox Realtors is happy to report that our sales activity this summer is outpacing that of the past two summers. We cannot say that the economy has improved, but Denver has never marched to the same ol’ tune as the rest of the country! In fact, our Denver housing market is so good that Denver was recently named the “most improved housing market” in the country by Businessweek. The report cited a 5.8 percent increase in Denver home prices from the first quarter 2009 to the first quarter 2010, and projects a 5 percent increase in Denver home prices over the next year. It also mentioned, and it is our observation as well, that distressed sales in the Denver area have decreased.
Although sales in the Denver real estate market remain uneven, we feel prices in most areas have stabilized, and are actually appreciating in some neighborhoods. This summer, our repeat buyers represent about 50% of our transactions. Three months ago, repeat buyers accounted for only 34% of home purchases. In a more normal market, the ratio is two-thirds repeat buyers. Improvement is also seen in the average time needed to sell a home as reported by our MLS. In 2009 through May of 2009, the days on the market averaged 102. For the same time period this year, we are averaging 83 days on the market. This is a significant improvement, particularly for the homeowner who has to live with having a home on the market!
Now, more than ever, it is essential that you work with a trusted real estate advisor. In those critical areas, not many agents can compete with TeamCox! For more information, please contact us at 303-400-6060.
TeamCox Realtors – Treating our clients’ real estate transactions as if they were our own.
