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Single-Family Home Sales June 2006/2007

Single-Family Homes
District 1	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	19	19
Median Selling Price	1,112,500	926,000
Average DOM	26	27
District 2	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	61	46
Median Selling Price	830,000	835,000
Average DOM	29	30
District 3	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	22	18
Median Selling Price	702,500	915,000
Average DOM	36	51
District 4	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	48	21
Median Selling Price	1,050,000	1,150,000
Average DOM	33	21
District 5	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	37	36
Median Selling Price	1,290,000	1,397,500
Average DOM	30	30
District 6	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	4	5
Median Selling Price	1,932,500	2,160,000
Average DOM	35	45
District 7	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	14	12
Median Selling Price	3,625,000	4,010,000
Average DOM	38	48
District 8	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	5	1
Median Selling Price	1,850,000	3,100,000
Average DOM	42	15
District 9	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	30	26
Median Selling Price	840,000	964,000
Average DOM	39	33
District 10	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	66	31
Median Selling Price	690,000	680,000
Average DOM	42	48
District 11	June 2006	June 2007
Number of Sales	27	24
Median Selling Price	720,000	719,000
Average DOM	34	40

What stays, goes with a house sale can be confusing

by Mary Ellen Slayter, Washington Post
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/01/REGMJQOKF11.DTL

This is a good article about what stays with the property and what does not when it is sold.

Item 9 of the Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Real Property copyright San Francisco Association of Realtors (the contract used for making an offer on property in San Francisco, CA) states:

"Fixtures: All fixtures and fittings attached to the Property and major appliances for which custom openings or encasements have been made are included, free of liens, in the Purchase Price, including electrical, lighting, plumbing and heating fixtures, hardware, solar systems, screens, awnings, shutters, window coverings, drapes, curtains, and related hardware, attached floor coverings, television antennas/satellite dishes and related equipment, water softening systems, air coolers or conditioners, pool and spa equipment, mailbox, garage door openers and transmitters, security systems, private telephone systems, trees, shrubs and outdoor plants planted in the ground, and items permanently attached to the Property, except for:_________________"

But in practice, it is best to actually write in anything you want that you are unsure of in item 10, Personal Property.

Item 10 states: (For Residential Property) Note to Buyer: Personal Property items listed in the marketing materials are not included in the sale unless specified here. The following personal property on the Property at the date of Acceptance is included in the sale, free of liens and without warranty of condition:______________________"

Even though items such as curtains, built in microwaves, etc. are included under item 9, it is best to list them in item 10 to avoid any confusion or problems down the road.

So if you love that original light fixture in the living room or those silk curtains in the bedroom, make sure you list them in item 10, even though they are included under item 9 and save yourself the disappointment and hassle later when you walk into your new home for the first time!

Home Selling: Step 1a - Agent Presents Comparable Sales / Market Analysis

Comparable Sales (CMA) / Market Analysis

This is arguably the most important part of the whole sales process. While every aspect is exceedingly important, if you price the property too high and you will not attract the right buyers and if you price too low you leave money on the table.

If you already have a MLS Home MarketWatch Portal, you will have a good idea of your property's price range. If you do not have one, email me for more information or click above.

During our first discussion, I will ask you about your property. How many bedrooms, bathrooms, square feet, upgrades, etc. I will take this information, and before and our first meeting I will do the following:

Comparable Market Analysis
I look at MLS at similar properties that are currently on the market or that have recently sold. From this I select the most appropriate properties, and then I use this to come-up with a general listing price range.

Property Preview
During our first meeting I will ask you to give me a tour of the property. I will take notes and with your permission some photographs, from which I will then come up with a more narrow listing price range.

Market Analysis
A Realtor has always got to be on top of the market. I go to sales meetings every week, Broker Tour every Tuesday, I talk with other agents (both at Vanguard and other firms around The City and Bay Area) about their listings, sales and the market, I read a lot and I write this blog which helps me. Reading is great, but Reading - Analyzing - Writing is even better!

The Market Analysis helps me adjust my more narrow listing price range up or down depending on how the market is doing. Pricing a property without knowing where the market is going can be disastrous.

Home Selling: Step 1b - Price is Established - Listing Agreement

Once we have narrowed the price range I will outline everything for you about what is currently "happening in the market" and we will finalize the actual listing price.

The "best" listing price:
The best listing price is the price that gets the most qualified buyers looking at the house.

Pricing:
It is useful to consider how buyers look at properties (as you may remember when you bought your property). One of the major considerations is the "price range." For example, a buyer is looking for a two bedroom in district 9 between $850,000 - $950,000. If your place should be in this range but it is not, then you will likely not get the most money for it. And the market will tell you if you are "in" or "not in" the right price range.

BUT! This is where having a really good Realtor is worth the money. If you read the defintion at the "market" link above it talks about the efficient market theory and that "prices on traded assets, e.g., stocks, bonds, or property, already reflect all known information" and it further states "that it is not possible to consistently outperform the market by using any information that the market already knows, except through luck."

A good Realtor, like a good stockbroker, is the first person to know the real estate market "information" mentioned above and as able to use that information, ahead of other participants in the market, to outperform the market on behalf of their clients.

Over pricing:
When you price too high, you put your property in a higher league and are looked at and judged accordingly. If your place should list at $750,000, but you list it at $800,000, the property will be compared against all the other (properly priced) $800,000 listings which will be nicer, bigger or otherwise just better.

Your property will sit on the market while all the other and better $800,000 listings are sold. Finally, after wasted weeks or months even, you start getting lowball offers and/or you reduce the price.

Why would you do this to yourself?

Under pricing:
When a property is underpriced, you will know it because the market will tell you. When you get 12 offers on a place or an offer the first day the property came on the market, you are likely (though not necessarily) under priced.

The good news about under pricing is that you can always counter the offer at a higher price or not accept the "low" offer.

The problem though is that if you price your property at $750,000 and it should be $800,000, the $800,000 people that might be interested in it, may miss it all together as they are looking in the $775,000 - $825,000 range.

Always price properly!