Home buyers are looking

Posted at 2:27 PM, Apr. 21, 2008

But, it's value they are buying

Yesterday, I held a 3-hour open house at a 2 bedroom – 2 bath ranch style townhouse (MLS # ) in the Quailbrook section of Franklin Township.  During that time, on average, potential home buyers dropped in every 15-minutes to view the home.  I can recall, in the not too distant past, holding advertised open houses and having no one respond.  I felt like the Maytag repairman of those old TV commercials. 

Here in Franklin Township, the real estate market for lower “price point” homes, including condominiums and townhomes, appears to be on the path of a rebound. This spectrum of the marketplace is attracting empty nesters looking to downsize as well as first time buyers.  With our close proximity to Rutgers University, one potential buyer was considering a purchase to house his child, attending the school in the fall.  In addition, the purchase was being seen as an investment and renting to a roommate was planned to offset the costs of ownership.

The local real estate market appears to be “normalizing” and buyers are showing interest again.  It is clear….buyers are looking for perceived value, regardless of price. What this means to sellers is that not only must your home be priced well from day-one, it must stand out from the crowd. 

“Standing out” can be the achieved through improvements that you have made while living there including but not limited to an updated kitchen and/or bath, newer floor coverings/finishes, fresh paint, de-cluttering, staging and ultra-cleaning your home.  Pricing the home to reflect the lack of improvement that today’s buyers expect to find can also make the home “stand out”.  Find out what type of homeowner you are and get an idea of how much work it will be to prepare the house to appeal to potential buyers by taking a quiz by Royal LePage, a Canadian real estate company.

You can find more tips to prepare your home in the “Home Sellers” section of this Blog.