When Should You Put Your House on the Market?

Today, we’re answering the two most common questions we get from sellers: When is the best time of year to list your home? What do you need to do to prepare your home for the market?

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One of the most popular questions we get on listing appointments is, “When is the best time of year to list our house?” The other most popular question is, “What do we need to do to get our home prepared for the market?” Of course, the answer depends on how much work has to be done to the house. Typically, all markets have their highs and lows. In our area, the slowest time of the year is usually the month of December. The market starts pick up a bit in January and February; we see the most home showings during March, April, and May. That said, we usually recommend that you list sometime in February so that you are a little ahead of the competition. While March, April, and May are the busiest months for showings, April, May, and June are the busiest months for closings. That means most of our home sales happen in April, May, and June. Typically, it takes about 45 days to go from contract to closing.



People buy and sell homes year round!


As we mentioned earlier, December is typically the slowest time of the year. However, because of the low inventory, low interest rates, and high demand, we have seen 22 closings in December so far this year, which is a record. People are always buying and selling houses; we’ve even shown houses on Christmas Eve! Just be aware that traditionally you will get the most showings in March, April, and May, and you have to give us time to stage the home and prepare it for the market as well. How long does it take for our sellers to hit the market? It really depends on the house. Some properties need new carpeting, paint, and other upgrades before they can sell. On average, it takes a few weeks to get the home ready for the market. It can take as long as five months, though. If you want to sell when the market is busiest, we recommend that you start preparing your home for the market in January so that you can be on the market sometime in February. That way, you can take advantage of those busy showing months and close during the peak closing months. If you have any questions about your specific property or if you would like to learn more details about our current real estate market, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

6 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Realtor

There are six questions you need to ask in order to hire the best Realtor to sell your home. We’ll go over those questions today.

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Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale

Choosing a Realtor is one of the most important decisions you can make when buying or selling your home. Here are six questions you should ask when interviewing agents to sell your home: 1. How long have you been in the business? Experience definitely pays off when it comes to the world of real estate. An agent that has been in the business for several years has probably run into many different situations and will be able to handle anything that comes up during your sale. 2. How many homes have you sold? How active is this real estate agent? Some agents may have been in the business for many years without selling many homes. You’re looking for someone that has been in the business for many years and sold as many homes as possible.



Experience always pays off in the world of real estate.


3. What are your average days on market? It’s one thing to list a home, but it’s another to sell the home. You want to find someone who can sell your home as quickly as possible for top dollar. You don’t want to hire an agent that starts with a list price of $500,000 but sells for $425,000. Look for an agent with a very close list-to-sales price ratio.
4. What is your marketing budget? These days, real estate is all about marketing, so ask your agent how many dollars per month they will allocate towards marketing your home to the world. 5. How are you going to market my home? Again, in this new world of real estate, you need an agent who has a marketing strategy that will benefit you. 6. Do you have any references? Talking to someone else who has already worked with the agent is a good way to figure out what it will be like for you to work with them. By working with an agent, you will position yourself to get the highest market value for your home. If you have any other questions about hiring a Realtor, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Cookies on a stick!


COOKIES ON A STICK...!


This is now my favorite thing to make and it's SO easy.  I just made them the other night with my two daughters and they had so much fun.

All you do is...grab a roll of sugar cookie dough, pull off pieces, roll in a ball and grab any type of sprinkles, put in a bowl and then roll the balls of sugar dough in sprinkles.  Then grab popsicle sticks and stick them in the balls. 
Place the balls on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  (Just follow the baking instructions on the back for cookies).

Happy Blogging~ Kristi