In Fontainebleau the number of home sales has declined in 2009.  There were 6 sales in 2007-2008.  But there have been only 3 sales so far year to date.  These statistics were taken from Heartland Multiple Listing Service as the information was reported to them.  What will be interesting is to see if the home values declined along with the number of sales.  Stay tuned for future blogs giving additional statistics for Fontainebleau.

In Summercrest the number of home sales has increased over 2008.  There were only 7 in 2007-2008.  But there have been 9 so far year to date.  These statistics were taken from Heartland Multiple Listing Service as the information was reported to them.  Keep in mind, however, an increase in the number of sales doesn’t always mean an increase in value.  Activity… yes.  Value…not necessarily.  Stay tuned for future blogs giving additional statistics for Summercrest.

In Kensington Manor the number of home sales has declined in 2009.  There were 15 sales in 2007-2008.  But only 9 so far year to date.  These statistics were taken from Heartland Multiple Listing Service as the information was reported to them.  What will be interesting is to see if the values declined along with the number of sales.  Stay tuned for future blogs giving additional statistics for Kensington Manor.

This week RE/MAX Broker/Owners and Managers held their annual convention in Chicago.  One of the keynote speakers was Dave Liniger, RE/MAX International Chairman and Co-Founder.   The message driven home during his address to those present was that for the time being local markets will stay as they are.  However, because of  unemployment and a second wave of foreclosures in 2010 and 2011 things are likely to get worse before they get better.  So, if you are looking for a quick turnaround it is not likely to happen.  We will probably need to tough it out until 2012.

Liniger, went on to state  “Demand built on demographics and population – rather than questionable lending policies – will spark the next wave of strong home sales in the U.S.”  This will largely be due to the Baby Boomers down-sizing and the Millennials buying their first homes.  This should  spark a huge increase in transactions from 2012 forward. 

To me as a RE/MAX realtor in Overland Park, means I will need to make some adjustments in my business in order to survive and prosper.

This week I am reminded of the day long ago when I along with other Pi Beta Phi’s were busy with sorority rush (referred to now as recruitment) at Kansas State University.  There are a few of us Pi Phi alums who have been getting together monthly for the past 20 years and have taken as many trips.  This year was our 20th and our destination was Destin, Florida.

Out of this group many of us have college age students and some who are graduates.  And, I am happy to say we have some new Pi Phi’s in the mix.  It is amazing to me now that we have graduates when it seems like only yesterday we were all graduates ourselves.  

Some of our graduates will be buying their first homes soon.  And most will be staying in or around the Kansas City area.  It seems none of them want to get too far away from home!  It is good for those who are able to buy a home this year to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers as it will be expiring in November. 

Because I am in real estate I am often asked if I think the tax credit will be continued into next year.  At this point I would have to say, who knows?  I hear differing reports about it all the time.  My suggestion would be to take advantage of it now if you can in case it does go away in 2010.

As a RE/MAX realtor, I am frequently asked how the real estate market is in Kansas City.  My answer will vary on any given day regarding how busy I myself  have been, which honestly bears no correlation whatsoever to what actual market conditions may or may not be.  Most of the time the person asking about the market already has an opinion about what he or she perceives the market to be.  That perception as of late is that the market seems to be improving.  

As much as I wish that were true, the fact of the matter is,  the market is worse this summer than it was last.  This misconception may be based on recent statistics showing that June sales were up by almost 12% over sales in May.  Although that fact in its self is great news, we must not delude ourselves into thinking the market is improving.   The number of houses for sale continues to hover around 3500 but that’s just in Johnson County alone.   If you have a home you need to sell,  price it right.  Pricing is more important now than ever.

Last week I had a Seller contact me asking me to take their property off the market after receiving a Realtor’s feedback following a showing.  I told them I was sorry they were offended but that the Realtor was only trying to be helpful.  I also told them that Seller’s need to know what Buyer’s are saying about their property so they can take the necessary steps to correct whatever needs correcting.   But when it comes to the price being too high, it is the hardest thing for most to correct, yet also the easiest.

Mentioned in this particular feedback was that the price was too high.  It had a 4 bedroom price although only a  3 bedroom home.   In addition he said that the carpets needed cleaning and the window air conditioner in the master raised a red flag and generally speaking was an eye-sore.

In my apology I also stated that most of these things we had already heard before.  Meaning, it should come as no surprise and although I have suggested they do something to remedy these issues situation they refused to cooperate on the premiss that someone will buy it who doesn’t care.

There had been a previous issue with a fireplace needing a new flu liner that was part of the Seller’s Disclosure.  This was an obstacle with another Buyer who had some serious interest in the property.  That Buyer ultimately moved on to another property after experiencing my client’s resistance to make any repairs.     

Again I tried to coach my Seller’s about the probability that the flu would need to be addressed at some point and why not get it done now rather than dealing with it after negotiations are completed and a sale price established.  At least their net would be their net because they wouldn’t have to worry about having to dip ino it thousands of dollars for repairs  in the flue liner alone.

Again, they refused to do anything.  So when I got the call asking to remove the property from the market because of some “factual” feedback received from another Realtor I was not so sorry to see it go.  The moral of the story…..Life is too short to waste time with clients who won’t do what needs to be done and end up blaming their Realtor when their house doesn’t sell.  What about the loss of referrals you might ask?  Who cares.  Their referrals would most likely end up being clients just like them.

Recently I assisted a client in getting his vacant property staged by recommending a few stagers for him to interview.  The one he ended up choosing wound up being a disaster. 

Other staging results I’d seen of hers were quite good and for the price she was more competitive than most.  That was until she took on the job of painting a couple of rooms in my clients home.  She had strongly suggested in her proposal that paint would be a good inexpensive way to give the property a lift as it was pretty dated with all white walls and pretty blah.  And she said she could do the painting herself.

She is NOT a painter.  She made a total mess of the job which resulted in an unhappy client for me as well as a property that just became possibly more difficult to sell.   I should mention, however, all was not lost because the actual staging its’ self was good.

When I called her and expressed my disappointment in her paint job she acted like she didn’t know what was wrong with it.  That told me right then that she would do nothing to remedy the situation.  So we ended up hiring another painter to come in and correct her work.  Of course this took more of my time as well as my clients but it ended up looking like it was done by a “painter”.  100% better!

Long story short, do not let a “stager” do any painting until you’ve seen their work first.  Needless to say I have stricken her from my list of stagers.

What an exciting day!  My 13 year old nephew from Garnett was in town this week to play in the Jr. Golf tournament at Overland Park Golf Course.  After a rainout yesterday and having play reduced to 18 holes  instead of 27 he brought home the trophy!  Two to be exact.  One for first in championship flight and the other for first overall.  It was a pretty proud day for Aunt Kim.

www.kimschulte.com