Selling your home strategies and tips

January 8, 2020 by Larry Lawfer

Selling your home strategies and tips, search with this term and you will get a plethora of choices. They all are necessary steps in the process, but they just may not be in the right order. What is important is what you want to get from the sale and how are you going to wisely use those proceeds. These are always significant transactions. When large sums of money are exchanged many tax implications are part of the deal. Considering the long term benefit to be preserving and protecting your cash, the first step in selling your home is to know what you are doing with those funds and how you are going to do it.

Then of course look on line and see the competition in your neighborhood, see what the prices are, if there are open houses, go to those open houses and see how they are being marketed. A good agent will always have open houses to gage the market, a great agent will do so knowing exactly who their target is and how they behave. Just like school, there are A students and there are C students. The A student will look to streamline their process to only those tasks and marketing efforts that work. They can describe that person in detail and tell you specific steps they will take to target that demographic using technology.

You should always get your property as neat and clean as possible. Everything should be working and if there are surface blemishes, repair them. That is the minimal step. From there consider what you are spending and what you expect to get from the market. There will be time and money spent before the sale if you go that route and that may not get repaid in the sale. There are a lot of strategies you will only hear from the best agents, the rest you can use the search term, Selling your home strategies and tips

Boston Area Luxury Marketing Report Jan 2020

January 6, 2020 by Larry Lawfer

Boston Area Luxury Marketing Report Jan 2020. I gather information from several sources for this report. I include the towns I mostly work in, Boston, MA; Newton, MA; Weston, MA; Wayland, MA; Milton, MA; Dedham, MA; Westwood, MA. Information comes from Institute for Luxury Home Marketing where I am a Million Dollar Guild Member in good standing, and MLSPIN the local Multiple Listing Service in this area. All reports are based on trailing statistics. The Dec stats will be in sometime later this month.

Luxury, as defined by the Institute is the to 10% of all properties on the market at any given time. For the purposes of this month listed the price to get into this select club is $1,950,000. Any property below that price would not be considered luxury for this report. Many homes below this price would be considered luxurious in most instances, just not in the real estate sense.

In the MLS for the last 30 days there are 144 properties in these towns that fit this designation.Single Family Active Listings: 72 Median Liv. Area SqFt: 6,262 Median List $: $3,287,500 Median List $/SqFt: $561 Median DOM: 125. The DOM, days on market, are always longer for these properties because there are fewer buyers at this level.

Single Family Under Agreement Listings: 14 Median Liv. Area SqFt: 5,250 Median List $: $2,549,000 Median List $/SqFt: $482 Median DOM: 85.5 Median DTO: 71.5

Single Family Sold Listings: 18 Median Liv. Area SqFt: 5,782 Median List $: $2,872,500 Median List $/SqFt: $494 Median DOM: 77.5 Median DTO: 59 Median Sale $: $2,695,585 Median Sale $/SqFt: $469

From the last two collection of stats we see 14 to 18 properties a month going making this a Buyer’s Market with so much competition and more than 6 months of inventory. Getting Luxury properties sold in a competing market like this demands a professional agent who understands how to market these properties.

Single Family Expired Listings: 18 Median Liv. Area SqFt: 5,954 Median List $: $3,094,950 Median List $/SqFt: $506 Median DOM: 154

Single Family Canceled Listings: 11 Median Liv. Area SqFt: 5,200 Median List $: $3,049,000 Median List $/SqFt: $635 Median DOM: 71

When a property goes too long on the market the buyers often wonder what is wrong. Make sure your Realtor® has a real sense of what to do, who is going to be the target audience and how the agent is going to connect with them. This has been the Boston Area Luxury Marketing Report Jan 2020

Private, Secure and Special! Weston MA Contemporary

January 24, 2017 by Larry Lawfer

Private, Secure and Special! Weston MA Contemporary. This is how I would describe 165 Conant Road after my visit for you this weekend. This contemporary home is unlike any other we have seen. It is unassuming when you pull in the driveway. It sits sideways on its very distinctive and professionally manicured yard. As you enter the front door you see another door further down the entryway. You won’t know, and could never guess this is a private entrance for an au pair suite. The frosted glass windows on the large double entrance front doors keep you from seeing the magnificence of the soaring glass contemporary house inside. You will never know how wonderful this home is until you visit.

As I entered, my breath was taken away from the immense glass wall that is this house. It soars from this entrance the entire side of the house. There are two beautifully sculpted stairways leading up, but that is not what I felt as I walked directly to the light and windows. What I felt was the grandeur. Contemporaries are not like regular houses and those that love them understand they choose to live life by their own rules. When I got to the windows I turned around to see what I was missing as I was drawn to the rounded architectural beauty of this side of the house upon entering.

What I saw was a soaring spiral of wood, shape and design. What I found out when I went up the stairs is that this is where the Master Suite, another family room-more intimate than the first floors- and a game room. The very large master also held two sets of stairs that are private to the Master. One set will take you down to the kitchen and patio while the other circles upstairs to a private office. This private office space keeps you focused on your tasks and away from all the activities of this large and lovely house.

As you come down the back stairs from the Master you are graced with a view of the manicured backyard. I think you will be particularly impressed with the human sized chess board made into the patio. Large chess pieces will allow you to invite your chess loving friends to play this game in a way that brings life to the competition. The back yard patio is very large and would permit elegant parties to be enjoyed in complete privacy. While Conant Road is a busy road the way this contemporary is situated, you will never ever feel the road from inside the house. The way the structure sits on the property you can enjoy this home in complete privacy without ever seeing or hearing your neighbors.

This is a one of a kind property and it currently comps out at above the full asking price. While contemporaries are not for everyone, anyone who likes contemporaries will love this one. Lest I forget anything the Kitchen was remodeled recently by one of the most respected kitchen designers in this area and has all the things any master chef would want. Finally there is another room down the steps from the entry way that is perfect for a children’s play room, a guest room, a bedroom for an elderly relative because it has it’s own entrance and toilet, or you can use it as the family does as a music room. You must come to see this house while it is off the market. I know you will be impressed as I am .

Building Your Family’s Wealth Over the Next 5 Years

December 13, 2016 by Larry Lawfer

Building your family's wealth over the next 5 years is about acquiring property and watching the equity grow. Purchasing real estate that is most likely to grow equity is something a professional agent is most adept at doing. You do not want the nicest house in the block but you may want the worst house on that block if the rest of the neighborhood is stable and you have the funds to bring this property up to the rest of the standards. Some repairs are minor and can be fixed with your own sweat equity, some will need a professional like a plumber or electrician. Again, a professional Realtor® who knows the area can help you with this. It takes some training and experience to be able to target the right properties in the right areas. Over the next five years, home prices are expected to appreciate 3.24% per year on average and to grow by 21.4% cumulatively, according to Pulsenomics’ most recent Home Price Expectation Survey. So, what does this mean for homeowners and their equity position? As an example, let’s assume a young couple purchases and closes on a $250,000 home in January. If we look at only the projected increase in the price of that home, how much equity will they earn over the next 5 years?

Since the experts predict that home prices will increase by 4.0% this year alone, the young homeowners will have gained over $10,000 in equity in just one year. Over a five-year period, their equity will increase by over $43,000! This figure does not even take into account their monthly principal mortgage payments. In many cases, home equity is one of the largest portions of a family’s overall net worth.

Bottom Line

Not only is homeownership something to be proud of, but it also offers you and your family the ability to build equity you can borrow against in the future. If you are ready and willing to buy, let’s get together to find out if you are able to, today!

Boston Area Luxury Homes Market Report Thanksgiving Week

November 22, 2016 by Larry Lawfer

Boston Area Luxury Homes Market Report Thanksgiving Week comes to you from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing for which I am a Million Dollar Guild member which is 1% of all the Realtors in the country. Interest rates are sneaking up since we now have a new President Elect. This happens with each election. Before the election investors pull their money from the more volatile stock market and put it into treasury bonds. Now that this is over the interest rates will move forward. The better the economy, the higher the interest rates. Prices across the 10 towns in the Boston Area are moving up.

When there is more inventory, the prices slide a bit. We see this in towns like Weston which is flooded right now with luxury listings. Pricing can be tricky and it is essential that you price your property in relation to the competition on the market at the time you are on the market. Forgetting to consider your competition is a typical average agent mistake. A house is a commodity to the Buyer while it is a home for the Seller. These disparate valuations can cause issues with the sale.

The longer your house is on the market the lower the perceived value is to the Buyer. The key is to price correctly right out of the box and get under agreement in the first 30 days. From there it can be a down hill slide. Strategic pricing and aggressive marketing make all the difference. Make sure you choose an agent who knows who your buyer will be and how to communicate with them through the internet. The days of your local broker being the “go to” person is forever changed. Your “go to” person is one who understands the market and the marketing.

The number of homes on the market can impact your sale both positively and negatively. Your agent should be speaking with you weekly about what is happening in the market. With luxury homes you can not leave things to chance. While there is a smaller pool of people who can purchase luxury properties these people are sophisticated buyers and so you need a sophisticated and strategic approach to the sale. For specific information about your home give me a call, 617-774-8292. Boston Area Luxury Homes Market Report Thanksgiving Week

Real Estate Search Strategies #plainspokenagent

May 30, 2016 by Larry Lawfer

Real Estate Search Strategies #plainspokenagent for the Buyer start from 30,000 feet, for the Seller they start on the world wide web. Let me explain, when searching for your next real estate purchase whether it is your first home of fifth the where is important. You want to start wide so that you don’t miss the true sweet spot (by various criteria like price, condition and location) and that is a process. Follow the process and get more of what you want for less money and hassle. This is not a sprint, for the most part.

For the Seller you start on the web. You want someone who can communicate your property to the right audience and with the right frequency and creativity to draw them to your listing. The more people who look at your property both on-line and then through the showing the better the outcome plain and simple. The most critical days are the first 30 is common knowledge and the truth is the 30 days before the first 30 are the most important. That is when the story is created, shaped and set to be delivered to the market on the first 30 days. If your agent doesn’t have those steps down, the competition will win and you will suffer.

Search is always a process. Map it out first and then adjust the plan as information is brought in. For the Buyer you get closer and closer to the desired property because you have systematically narrowed the field down. For the Seller all your work is before you hire the professional to help you shape your story, your first step is to look at your competition on-line and see who is doing the best story getting real people in the door. These strategies are true in all kinds of markets. Real Estate Search Strategies #plainspokenagent