Autumn is Here, Get Ready Sellers

Sellers would be wise to prep their homes for Autumn weather. I wrote a blog about selling in the non-summer months and it still applies today. Rain, wet leaves, and even some snow are on the way over the next few months. Making your home shine during the wet season will give you a leg up in this hot market.

Buyers: you can do the opposite, look for houses with overflowing rain gutters and slick leaf covers walkways; be careful of course it's slick out there. Those homes will likely have a little less attention from competing buyers and will very likely sell for a little less than house that has everything together for the season.

Check out the blog post here for ideas:

Originally published October 7th, 2016 by Rod Sager

OK sellers, the leaves are starting to turn color and some trees are dropping already. Yes my friends it is in fact October and that is what happens this time of year. Sellers need to keep the gutters clear as overflowing gutters are an easy fix yet manage to suck the curb appeal away.

It seems like a simple thing but buyers need to have a positive experience when they pull up and then walk up to the house. Getting a soaking at the hands of a clogged gutter sets a negative tone before they even set foot in the home. We never want a negative tone now do we?

The further we march into the cooler, wetter autumn and ultimately the colder and icy winter the more serious buyers braving the elements are. Buyers need to look past the little stuff, but sometimes they don't. Sellers need to pay attention to details to maximize value and bring the highest offer.

Autumn is a truly magnificent time of year and real estate can be quite robust during this period. although the volume drops a little, buyers are more serious and inventory is a little tighter so it is about equal in as far as supply and demand is concerned.

I mentioned in previous posts that the market is still climbing but the steep price appreciation has moderated substantially. I believe this is a healthy condition.

Interest rates have been very low over the last several weeks even by recent standards but they seem to be yo-yo-ing up and down in the threes. Loan officers have to pay attention so as to lock buyers in on one of those fabulous lows in the cycle. In general this is still a great opportunity for buyers. Although buyers may wax nostalgic for the low prices of 3-5 years ago these low rates are amazing and that will ultimately save buyers tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.