The Huffington Post (“Huffpo” to its friends) has an entire section devoted to real estate doings. Although the vast majority of those dispatches are tidbits about awesomely expensive celebrity condos in Manhattan, sometimes the Huffpo editors’ attention wanders momentarily to other matters. Last month they uncovered a study which delved into a topic of interest to any local homeowner who’s been thinking about when to enter their home in Williamsburg listings.

The best time to sell a house, according to the study, is, specifically, RIGHT NOW!!!!

That is, between May 1 and May 15!

Or maybe not.

The picture for Williamsburg was a little less definite than the Big Picture claim that “homes that sold in the first half of May…sold, on average, around 1.5 days faster than homes that weren’t listed in that timeframe.” It turns out that the study, which was put together by Zillow, was wishy-washy when it came to specifying individual areas. The “on average” part of the claim makes the conclusion less conclusive.

Because the sales statistics that were analyzed were collected from all over the country—differences in seasonality was given as the reason why any individual region might not line up with the average. Seasonality was what we think of as weather. And since weather is not the same everywhere…

In other words, the best time to sell a house in Williamsburg VA might not expire at the end of this week, after all. There’s no need to panic if you plan to list your own property but haven’t quite got your place in show condition. The window isn’t going to slam shut on Sunday. The reason for the uncertainty about the best time to sell your house specifically here in Williamsburg (in addition to seasonality) has to do with data smoothing and suppression. The study went into how data experts apply those to raw numbers before reaching a conclusion—but since they weren’t going to be able to zero in on the best time to sell a house in Williamsburg, let’s skip those details.

It was noted that the entire month of May is a good time to sell your house, in most areas. That’s something everyone can agree with. In fact, the whole spring selling season is universally recognized in those terms—the Huffington Post included.

Meantime, I will be doing my best to continue to make right now a very good time to sell your Williamsburg VA home. That will begin to happen as soon as you give me a call, Marshall 1-757-328-0095!

Williamsburg VA’s long-time house flipping veterans have seen it all:

from the raging real estate bubble, over-the-cliff market freefall, energetic bounce-back, and now, the current, more rational market’s steady appreciation. 

House flipping experts prosper when they succeed in improving an undervalued Williamsburg property quickly and inexpensively, and then “flip” it expeditiously. The key is to add value that is appreciated by the buying public. Williamsburg’s long-term house flipping successes are the opposite of those who opt for skin-deep, purely cosmetic changes. Except in the most extreme sellers’ market conditions, buyers are too perceptive to reward cover-up tactics. Williamsburg house flippers with staying power are usually the veterans who can spot quality beneath neglect. They also tend to have a pretty good sense of style, as well.

After a property has been thriftily rehabilitated, house flipping profit margins depend upon selling as quickly as possible.

For anyone who might be thinking of selling their own Williamsburg VA home anytime soon, the lessons learned from the flippers should be of interest. After all, isn’t selling quickly and economically exactly what your goal will be? 

The following tips are cited by a number of house flipping advisors as quick and inexpensive ways to enhance first impressions (rather than the more thoroughgoing rehabilitation issues that are also usually required). These are easy, inexpensive ideas to improve that first-blush impression that flippers agree have helped their agents get speedy results:

1. Mailbox – replace a rusty mailbox…or even just replace the decal numbers

2. Driveway — instead of repaving, wet down the driveway before showings (it usually has much of the same effect)

3. Front door — refresh it as needed: sand and paint, or just mount new house numbers

4. Walkway lights — solar-powered LED lights are now extremely inexpensive and quickly installed (no wiring necessary!)

5. Aroma — it’s not quite aromatherapy, but it can be mood enhancing for harried house hunters: cookies baking or (later on in the year) cider simmering…also available where odors are a negative, adding a gentle floral like gardenia can be as simple as adding plug-in aroma dispensers

After the value has been added, the last axiom of house flipping success is to position the property as a competitive winner—list it toward the low end of comparables’ asking prices. The same applies for Williamsburg homeowners who are bent on selling in the shortest time possible. Tentative “highball” pricing can occasionally result in a satisfactory result—but if speed is important, following this house flipping rule is a surer strategy.

You don’t need to be a flipper to benefit from their advice. Another piece of that is to choose your real estate agent wisely—yet another good reason to give me (Marshall) a call 757.328.0095! 

Modern life is said to have gotten immeasurably richer as labor-saving devices have empowered households and workplaces from one end of town to the other. 

Richer, yes; simpler, surely not! 

Today’s Williamsburg householder’s typical day likely involves juggling multiple destinations: shop for dinner, get kids to lessons or practices, drop off packages and pick up dry cleaning—or several hundred other possibilities that modern mobile Americans integrate into their daily lives. We don’t give it a thought. 

Not to mention what happens when your profession isn’t tied to one location.

When it comes to buying and selling homes in Williamsburg VA, the freedom brought by 21st century mobility makes selective house hunting much more efficient. But all the accompanying lifestyle changes have introduced complications, too.

Because of the increased mobility of the American workforce, dealing with complex relocation logistics has become a much more common factor when Williamsburg residents change households. Where it once would be expected that a ‘relocation’ would involve nothing more challenging than timing two sales so that the move across town would go smoothly, today it’s much more likely to need to plan for factors that go with a wider move from one or both of the principals. 

Successfully handling the “relocation factor” takes experience and know-how—and awareness of the host of issues that need to be anticipated and coordinated. Whether it’s school and workplace scheduling requirements, destination transaction details, moving and storage issues, or the notification and scheduling for electric, water, alarm, trash, telephone, cable, or internet providers, the day before moving day is definitely not the best time to start thinking about scheduling.

Today’s “freedoms” may have enriched our lives in many ways, but I’m afraid simplification isn’t one of them. As a partner in your Williamsburg real estate dealings, I bring the experience that allows me to help you anticipate the issues that go with both the transactions and the moves that follow. 

Solving problems before they become problems is part of my service—and another good reason to give me a call!

It’s small wonder that with this spring’s selling season underway, Williamsburg’s house hunters can afford to be a discriminating bunch—they have the luxury of picking and choosing from a crop of truly inviting offerings. And it doesn’t hurt that today’s low mortgage interest rates have enabled more Williamsburg/James City County properties to fit within more family budgets.

For those of us who get to translate those home offerings into words for the our local Williamsburg VA listings, the job is to find phrases that draw attention to each given property’s uniquely attractive features. 

But there’s another dimension that complicates things. English is a rich and powerful language, but when it comes to marketing lingo, it’s also true that these days everyone is being deluged 24/7 by vivid advertising claims. We’ve all developed callouses when it comes to the ballyhooing we get from every quarter. 

Today’s house hunters have developed sales resistance. Times 10!

So what’s the answer for cooking up language that helps a property jump out from among the others? One way is to find out the area’s Top 10 listing phrases—and avoid overusing them! Same ‘ol, same ‘ol isn’t what works when the object is to attract Williamsburg prospects. True, some truly accurate descriptors can’t be totally avoided—but emphasizing them isn’t likely to fire many house hunters’ imaginations, either.

Here are a group of most frequently appearing Top 10 listing words and phrases—with some alternatives more likely to spark more attention from Williamsburg VA house hunters:

1. Beautiful (‘gorgeous’ ‘spectacular’ or ‘captivating’ bring more energy)

2. Hardwood floors (what kind of wood—and what hue?)

3. Stainless steel (at the very least, add ‘gleaming’ or ‘lustrous’)

4. Updated (‘renovated’ ‘remodeled’ ‘renewed’…or maybe even ‘reimagined’)

5. Private (this one is actually okay as-is…it may be a cliché, but it’s a desirable one!)

6. Spacious (puh-lese! How about ‘cavernous’ ‘commodious’ or ‘enormous’?)

7. Landscaped (another okay one, but in need of a boost—like ‘lusciously’ ‘stunningly’ or ‘exquisitely’)

8. Custom (‘tailor made’ ‘individualized’ ‘unique’ ‘personalized’ or ‘specially crafted’)

9. Clean (this is close to Top 10 listing phrase malpractice: if it’s clean, it’s surely also ‘spotless’ ‘flawless’ or ‘immaculate’)

10. Brand new (could be ‘state of the art’ ‘untouched’ ‘mint’ or ‘just completed’)

Even after a bit of polishing, those Top 10 listing phrases and words need to have a credibility boost via listing photography that illustrates what’s being promised. Putting the whole package together is just one part of the service you can count on when you give me a call!  

Even the least vigilant of  Virginia’s market-watchers had their antennae out last week 3/25, the traditional time of month when real estate statistics are released from the most authoritative sources. National trends in home sales frequently provide clues to the direction the Williamsburg  market is likely to take—and with the Spring 2016 selling season already under way, this is the time of year when movements can be more volatile than usual.

Last week’s data was less exciting than has been the case in recent years—and what movement there was seemed to leave opinion-makers perplexed. The Associated Press writers put it this way:

“The housing market enters the traditional spring buying season facing a quandary.” 

  When you are interested in clues to how home sales are likely to fare, words like “quandary” don’t help. It was in fact glass-half-full/glass-half-empty kind of news. You could see what you wanted to see. 

  If you were a pessimistic type, your predisposition might have been bolstered by The New York Times Headline, “Existing Home Sales Drop More Than Expected.” There it was! Confirmation of a downturn in activity. Though you could have admitted that the trend might not extend to every corner of the country, the possibility that Williamsburg home sales might now head south couldn’t be denied. The New York Times said so!

  On the other hand, if you were among Williamsburg's more numerous optimistic observers, reading the same news left you thinking that the very same headline was actually slightly misleading. It was based on the National Association of Realtors® report that talked about home sales prices continuing to rise. The “home sales drop” was only (as the headline actually read) against what had been “expected.” Sales levels had been sizzling for months, so expectations had been high (not among the pessimists, certainly). But the numbers showed that existing home sales were actually 2.2% higher than a year earlier! 

  Reading the entire NAR report could explain why The New York Times emerged with a quandary. In it, readers learned that U.S. job growth “continues to hum along at a robust pace” which could explain why “overall demand for buying is still solid entering the busy spring season.” But then they learned that “anxiety about the health of the economy is holding back a segment of would-be buyers.” On one hand, there was the 48th consecutive month of “steadfast price growth;” on the other, “unshakably low supply levels.” The share of first time home buyers fell 30%; yet the share of first time home buyers “is up 29% from a year ago.” 

  The Times’ quandary was certainly understandable. But although not much light may have been shed on the prognosis for home sales in Williamsburg, a couple of factors could have been deduced. In the coming months, home sales certainly won’t “be affected by the large East Coast blizzard” that had impacted February numbers. 

  What is likely to affect sales is the continuation of tantalizingly low 30-year, conventional fixed-rate mortgage rates, “the lowest since April 2015.” If that kind of encouragement has you interested in checking out the current crop of great Williamsburg VA home offerings, I hope you’ll forego the quandary altogether—just give me a call Marshall 1-757-328-0095!

This spring’s Williamsburg VA housing market continues to reflect most of the trends that have held sway across much of the nation. There is good news, not-so-good news, and (happy to report) no really bad news at all. In fact, it’s the absence of threatening factors that makes our housing market a welcoming one for those looking to buy or sell in town this spring or summer. Here’s the brief run-down: 

Prices: look as if they will continue to trend higher, but more slowly than they have for the past couple of years. The consensus of expert opinion calls national average residential prices to climb 4%+, which is about 1%-2% more slowly than in 2015. Of course, every Williamsburg property (and neighborhood, for that matter) fares slightly differently, so those generalities are only helpful in the context of the actual Williamsburg “comps” (the comparables).

Rents: where Williamsburg VA rentals sustain the kind of vacancy rates that are being seen just about everywhere in the U.S., rates have nowhere to go but up. Property managers are reporting that they’ve raised rents in 88% of localities, which has had a push-pull effect on housing markets. On one hand, every increase nudges renters to more seriously consider the not-so-abstract monetary advantage home ownership produces. When owning is actually cheaper than renting in monthly cash flow terms (not even counting the long-term investment aspect), every month’s rent check is a new spur to investigate that option. That’s the push. The pull is that those expensive rental dollars spent make it that much harder to save for even a nominal down payment.

Mortgages. No news here: mortgage interest rates just don’t seem to want to rise—no matter how certain the financial experts are that they have to do so. Actual recent history has chastened those forecasts, though, so at this point, most Williamsburg borrowers probably expect that rates will stay below the 5% mark throughout 2016. Still, with many quotes for last week’s 30-year fixed hovering in the high 3%s, the incentive to take advantage of today’s rates remains a strong point.

Inventories. With few exceptions, the reason why all those incentives to buy have not created an explosion of real estate activity is the shortage of homes on the market—the inventories. That is an additional incentive for town owners to list, since it means limited competition channels more potential buyers to their own property. 

As the spring selling season in Williamsburg gets going in earnest, we’ll see if the area’s housing market behaves the same way the broader national real estate trends indicate. For an immediate micro-update, just give me a call anytime(757)328-0095!