Selling Your Home

Summer is here, and that normally means a dip in activity for the real estate market, but over the last few years, "normally" is a term that we've all sort of tossed out the window. (I'm sure you know what I mean.) If you're wondering where we are in the Metro Richmond market, here's a little snapshot of what's going on right now, as we dive into summer... As of the end of May, the average home's sales price was $455,408. For a little perspective, that's up from $428,999 in April of this year, and $435,893 in May of 2022. This despite the fact that interest rates are up by over a full percentage point year over year, and of course, lots of predictions that home values would tank. Those predictions didn't amount to much, since the tight market of the last few years has, in fact, just gotten tighter. Why? There are a few reasons- we are in a legitimate housing shortage, as many builders either stopped or slowed building any type of housing units after the bust of '07-'08,  whole new buying pool has dropped into the market in the past few years, and with interest rates rising, there are loads of people sitting in their home with a 3% rate not even thinking about selling and having to buy at more than double that rate. Ugh. I know. Frustrating (to say the least) turn of events! That shortage of inventory means that while last year (2022) seemed like the craziest ever with homes selling on average at 107% of the asking price, we've only dropped down to 104% a year later, with much higher interest rates. The average days on market in the Metro Richmond market is only slightly higher than a year ago. In May '22, homes were on the market for 12 days, and now it's 17. But remember, that's the AVERAGE. The median is exactly the same, at 6 days. My thought, though, is that that is a muddy data point. Many homes lately are going on the market with delayed showings, often going on the market on Wednesday, with showings starting Thursday, and offers being reviewed on Monday or so (or some combination of similar days). In other words, "sold in one day!" is often not happening, as showings run for a set number of days, with a deadline for offers. What does all this mean for you? At the risk of repeating myself, if you're thinking of selling, it's still a great time. With so few homes on the market, your odds of selling very quickly are great. And while you'll definitely maximize what you get for your home if you do some work like staging, painting, and repairs, you'll likely still be able to sell easily even if you don't have the time or money to do those things. (So if you have a house you've been wanting to sell, but don't want to "put the work in" to get it done, NOW is a great time to put it on the market!) If you're looking to buy, this is a market where having a great buyer's agent can really put you ahead of the pack. There are lots of ways to "win" a home in a competitive situation without giving away all of your money and peace of mind, but it definitely takes planning and strategy right now. If you're thinking of buying or selling in this market (or anytime), I'd love to  help you get where you want to be. Let's talk!         *Information here is based on numbers from ShowingTime/Market Stats, and CVRMLS **Numbers are for the Metro Richmond area only

It is a good time to buy? Is it a good time to sell? What's the market doing? These are just a few of the questions I always get asked as a realtor. Didn't answer your questions? Let's talk! DM me on Instagram @cindybennettrealestate or via my website at cindybennett.net.

You want to buy in Richmond, who are you going to call? The obvious answer is me. But if you're buying a home in New Jersey, California, Florida... or anywhere else? How do you even know where to start? Have questions? Reach out. I'd love to help. Find me on Instagram @cindybennettrealestate or at cindybennett.net.

Thinking that you have to wait until Spring to sell your home? You may want to consider selling your home this winter. I explain why in my latest Real Talk with Cindy. Have questions? Reach out to me, I'd love to help. Find me on Instagram @cindybennettrealestate.

Whether or not you're thinking of selling your house this Spring, this Fall, or Winter - or you just want to freshen up - I've got the Top 10 updates you can do while you're stuck in the house & it's cold outside. Want more tips? Reach out, I'd love to talk. Find me on Instagram @Cindybennettrealestate

As you might have heard, we are in a shifting market. Rates are higher, and the economy is a little more questionable. Let's talk about pricing your home in this adjusting market and what you need to keep in mind. If you have more questions, I'd love to answer them. Reach out to me on Instagram at @cindybennettrealestate or via my website at cindybennett.net

Whether you own a home, want to own a home, want to sell a home, or just like to keep up with the news, you've probably been hearing plenty about the real estate market, interest rates, and all the attendant chatter. To misquote a quote, the rumors of a crash have been greatly exaggerated. Here in the Metro Richmond Market, where I also pull my numbers unless stated otherwise, we've definitely seen a shift- anecdotally as we've seen more inspections granted, fewer multiple offer situations, and more negotiation on the part of buyers (cue sound of buyers rejoicing everywhere). By the numbers, we see basically the same thing, but you sort of have to look a bit closer to really see what's going on. In November, the average sale price of homes in the Richmond Metro area dipped to $421,017 from $423,438. Not a huge drop at all. BUT, if you look at the median, you'll see that the median sales prices has actually been totally flat since August at $365,000. In addition, while the median list price to sales price ratio has been flat at 100% since September, the average has dipped to 99.9%. That's no kind of crash. A leveling, or an adjustment for sure. But considering that the high of April 22 was 107.5%, that is a drop indeed. Basically, you're still not "stealing" a house here in the Richmond area, but if you were looking over the last 6 months and got tired of crazy multiple offer situations. those have largely dissipated. While we may see some *great* homes that have multiple offers, most homes now do not. Can you get homes with an inspection and/or negotiate a price reduction or some concessions? You absolutely can! It's happening pretty consistently, in fact. If you're selling, 100% of list price still doesn't sound too bad, does it? Just make sure you have an agent you trust to help walk you through the process, from prep, to pricing. Do you have more questions on the market? I'd love to help!

If you're thinking of buying in this market, you're probably going to need a home inspection, but it might look a little different than a home inspection a year or so ago. Let's talk about it! If you have questions, I'd love to talk to you or help walk you through the process. Send me a message or reach out to me on Instagram at @cindybennettrealestate

I don't think there's anybody at all that thinks they can buy or sell the home and not spend any money between the contract to closing, but a lot of times people are a little confused about exactly who pays what and what are they going to have to pay. So here's a little breakdown of that whole scenario. And whether you're the buyer or the seller, what you're going to have to actually outlay before you get to the closing table. So remember, on the buying side, you're obviously the one that's going to spend the lion's share of the dollars even though you may be saving for those closing costs and the down payment, remember, there are a couple of things that you're going to have to pay before you actually get to the closing table. First of all, when you write that contract, you're going to have to put an earnest money deposit. Generally, this is going to be about 1% of the purchase price of the house. So if you're looking at a $400,000 house, that earnest money deposit is going to need to be about $4,000. So that can generally be paid by check, cashier's check or a money order or wire transfer, but it gets paid right then and yes, it gets deposited. We're not putting that cheque in the desk drawer until closing. However, that money does get applied towards your final closing costs and down payment number so it doesn't just go away, but you are going to have to pay that at contract. The next thing you're going to have to pay is going to be your inspection. That's going to get paid directly to the inspector, generally going to be between five and $600, depending on the size of the house, and it may end up being more if you have additional inspections like radon, electrical, roofing, etc. The third thing you're going to have to pay out of closing, and this may well for most people be the last thing you're going to have to pay outside of closing, is your appraisal. Keep in mind that appraiser wants to get paid whether your deal goes through or not. So they're not going to count that as one of your closing costs. That's generally going to be between five and $600 or so, and that is going to be required to be paid by the lender out of your pocket before closing. Once you get to the closing table, you can estimate that your closing costs are probably going to be between 2% and 3%. A lot of that depends on the type of loan, the lender, and all that good stuff, but that's going to cover all of your insurance, your taxes, your title search, your title insurance, all sorts of little fees like wire transfer fees, and such generally between 2% and 3% of your total cost, in addition to your down payment. Now what if you are the seller in the transaction, your final closing costs number is probably going to be less than $2,000. In most cases, it's going to be between $1,000 and $1,500. That's going to cover the fee for the attorneys to prepare your deed and again, all the city, county, and state taxes because everybody wants a little piece of the action. The other thing that you're going to have to pay for as a seller is the termite inspection. That's the only inspection that the seller pays for not the buyer—generally about $100. The buyers also going to have their inspection so if they want repairs done and you negotiate repairs, you're gonna have to pay for those too. Whether you are on the buying side or the selling side there are definitely costs but they are a whole lot easier to swallow when you know about them ahead of time. If you have any questions on either side of the transaction or if you need help buying or selling a home I'd love to help you give me a call! Have questions I didn't answer? Send me an email or dm me on Instagram @cindybennettrealestate.

If you're on social media at all, you've probably seen someone do this trend, "Five Things I'd Never Do As A..." Well, I definitely have thoughts on this, and while there are probably more, these are either the top 5, or the first 5 that come to mind, I'm not sure which. (If I think too hard about it, I'd probably have 50.) Anyway, without further ado, here they are: 1- I would NEVER start looking at homes without talking to a lender first. Knowing your numbers- not only what you qualify for, but also what your downpayment options are, your closing costs, and your monthly payment will be is invaluable info. I cannot stress enough how often people guess incorrectly at this and fall in love with a house that's more than they can (or want to) swing, or start looking at homes and get exhausted because they can't find what they want, and they can actually afford me. (I mean, my clients don't, because I don't show anyone homes before they're preapproved.) 2- I would NEVER assume that Zestimate is accurately valuing my house. These automated estimates are based on an algorithm, so obviously they've not been in your home. Renovated kitchen? They have no idea. No updates at all? Still, they have no idea. It's simply based on the amount of similarly sized homes in the area that have sold recently. That's it. No homes like yours have sold? The more opportunity for it being incorrect. There is no replacement for having a real, live Realtor® walk through and do a thorough assessment and comparative market analysis. 3- I would NEVER buy the most improved house in the neighborhood. Yep. If it's between the $500,000 turn key, HGTV "big reveal" style home, or the "needs a little love" home down the block that is $400,000 (caveat- I'm assuming that the homes in the neighborhood trend closer to that $400k range) I'm picking the $400k home and putting in the work. It will be what I want, probably not cost me $100k, AND give me some instant equity. 4- I would never RELY on a home warranty to cover me for everything. I'm not bashing home warranties (although I could- that's another post entirely), and I do think in some circumstances, they provide a bit of a safety net. But, having had lots of experiences with these, in most cases, you can get the small things done for the same price (or a bit more) with SO MUCH less hassle by just calling someone who does that work. Will they replace your heat pump if it conks out? Yes, but with lots of hoops for you to jump through. 5- I would NEVER expect the inspector on my listing or home to find nothing. There is literally ALWAYS something, and they are paid to find it. I can almost guarantee, too, that if you have one inspector over today, and they give a list of things to fix (and you fix them all), you can have another over the next day, and they'll find a whole new list. Do the best to get your repairs done, but don't expect nothing. And if you're buying? Remember- everything can be fixed. It's just a matter of what needs to be done, how much it will cost, and who pays for it. Did any of these surprise you? I'd love to hear something you'd never do after buying or selling one (or 100) homes!