Searching for a home in any of these markets?

• The average list price for homes in the Elizabethtown/Ft. Knox area is currently $174,703
• The average list price for homes in the Southern Indiana area is currently $155,953
• The average list price for homes in the Greater Louisville area is currently $223,542

Check out nearly all area listings right here!

These rates are provided to you by HomeServices Lending.  Semonin Realtors® is not a mortgage lender; please contact HomeServices Lending directly to learn more about its mortgage products and your eligibility for such products.

If you have purchased a home, most likely people have come bearing gifts to celebrate your move.  After all, it’s an exciting time.  And people certainly want to come see your new place.  So tell us, what is the best housewarming gift you have ever received?

• a scented candle?

• a gift card for a nearby establishment?

• a new picture to hang on a bare wall?

If you have not yet bought a home, tell us what you think would be an ideal housewarming gift if you were to buy a home.  (And if you’re interested – click here.  You’ll find thousands of houses for sale if you’re in the market for a new home!)

This is a post we originally ran this time last year by Ken H. Johnson, Ph.D. — Florida International University (FIU) and Editor of the Journal of Housing Research as our guest blogger. To view other research from FIU, visit http://realestate.fiu.edu/. - The KCM Crew

The Research 

Are there any negative effects from changing the listing price of a property?  This question haunts Brokers/Agents as well as sellers of property every day.  At present, there does not seem to be a consensus answer to this question within the professional real estate community.  Fortunately, this question was scientifically investigated by John R. Knight. Unfortunately, few know the results of Professor Knight’s research.

In Knight, the impact of changing a property’s listing price is investigated.  Additionally, the types of property that are most likely to experience a price change are also estimated.  The findings from this research indicate that, on average, properties which experience a listing price change take longer to sell and suffer a price discount greater than similar properties.  Furthermore, bigger price changes are found to experience even longer marketing times and greater price discounts.  Finally, as for which properties are most likely to experience a price change, Knight finds that the greater the initial markup; the higher the likelihood that any given property will experience a listing price change. 

Implications for Practice

Sellers as well as Brokers/Agents should therefore be aware of the critical necessity of getting the price correct from the start.  Sellers wanting to over list will ultimately take longer to sell and will sell their property for less, on average, according to Knight.  Brokers/Agents’ desire to take a listing and get the price right later will ultimately lead to their working harder according to Knight, and they are not doing their sellers any favors.  Thus, an initial and detailed analysis of the proper price is much more critical than many originally thought.  

Interestingly, I have found in my own research that the direction (up or down) of the listing price change does not matter.  A listing price increase and decrease both lead to similar results found in Knight’s work – longer marketing times and lower prices.  Therefore, get the price right from the beginning.  It is best for all.

Endnotes

[1] Knight, John, R.  (2002).  Listing Price, Time on Market, and Ultimate Selling Price: Causes and Effects of Listing Price Changes.  Real Estate Economics.  30:2, 213-237.

In the last 30 days:

Greater Louisville Area: 2,041 new listings on the market   •   953 sold

Elizabethtown/Ft. Knox Area: 270 new listings on the market   •   147 sold

Southern Indiana Area: 442 new listings on the market   •   235 sold

For more current real estate statistics, click here, or on the image to the left.

These rates are provided to you by HomeServices Lending.  Semonin Realtors® is not a mortgage lender; please contact HomeServices Lending directly to learn more about its mortgage products and your eligibility for such products.

This upcoming weekend, my daughter Megan, the eldest of our four children is graduating from Binghamton University. When these type of life events happen, I like to reflect upon both “How did we get here?” and “What are the best actions I can take to make sure things stay on the right path?” As I thought about it, parallels to people thinking about buying a home popped into my head.

The “How did we get here?” question had me pondering the time before Megan was conceived. There were plenty of reasons NOT to pull the trigger- with economic uncertainty being the leading concern. How would we pay for the increased expenses with less of an income? How would our personal time be compromised? Shouldn’t we wait until we had more in our savings account? If we applied conventional wisdom to our situation, we would have waited; but by not waiting, the benefits we gained were far greater than we ever imagined. Being a parent (especially of a kid like Megan) is the greatest gift anyone can have…and cheating ourselves of that, for even a day, would have been a tragedy. Sure, we sacrificed some vacations or nights out, but the joy of beginning our family (which later added three sons to the mix) gave us such an upgraded life. I can hardly remember the drawbacks and can only celebrate the great memories of laughter, song, and hugs.

So, my advice to people looking to take somewhat of a leap of faith into homeownership (or moving up) is that if you wait for everything to be perfect, you will cheat yourself of the memories you could be starting today. Seriously, what a terrific opportunity to start the new chapter of your future:

• Incredible Inventory – The amount of available homes to choose from is staggering, but waiting for the “perfect” house is costing you time….the time you will enjoy your home.
• Amazing Prices – In some parts of the country, prices are back to 2005 levels, some 2003, and some even 2001. What else can you buy for the same price as 7-11 years ago?  Maybe some personal electronic equipment that is outdated today.
• Awesome Interest Rates – Rates are back to all time lows. What are you waiting for?

Now, I’ll move to the “What are the best actions I can take to make sure things stay on the right path?” question. Megan wants to be a teacher. She will be a great teacher, but jobs on Long Island are tough to find with all the budget cuts and such. So, Megan has decided to continue her education and get her Masters, while working at our office, as she waits for improvements in the job market. She is positioning herself to be better prepared for her future opportunities. Good decision.

As I talk to prospective homebuyers, it’s about being pre-approved.  Having a seasoned mortgage professional review their income, assets and credit to help position them in the best light, so that when they find that special opportunity, they are poised to act on it.

Buying a home, many times, begins with the emotional decision to change one’s life. After deciding to take the plunge, we use numbers and logic (inventory, affordability, and interest rates) to justify the emotion. Add to that, taking the care to prepare by working for a solid pre-approval, and I want to tell everyone…. “Go make your Megan!”

In the last 12 months, this is the average of how long homes in each of our real estate areas has stayed on the market.

• Southern Indiana area properties have stayed on the market an average of 114 days.
• Elizabethtown/Ft. Knox area properties have stayed on the market an average of 155 days.
• Greater Louisville area properties have stayed on the market an average of 88 days.

These rates are provided to you by HomeServices Lending.  Semonin Realtors® is not a mortgage lender; please contact HomeServices Lending directly to learn more about its mortgage products and your eligibility for such products.