WORST Columbus MLS Home Photo of the Week 3-17

April 18th, 2008 The Bad, WORST MLS Photo No Comments

In honor of all those St. Pattys Day fans who may have had one too many green beers and are seeing things a little crooked.. heres a winner that will make you feel right at home.

Yes, this is a real photo in the MLS. No, the home hasnt sold yet. Yes, they should get a realtor who knows how to take a photo that compels a buyer to visit their house

WORST Columbus OH MLS Home Photo of the Week 2-18

April 18th, 2008 The Bad, WORST MLS Photo No Comments

Whoops! This week has flown past, and a couple of you have asked where the weekly WORST photo is. my apologies!

THIS is a kitchen. The question is does this SELL the kitchen? Or where the kitchen is located? Does it make the viewer want to cook in the kitchen?

Does the layout make sense to the viewer? Does the viewer understand what he/she is looking at?

If youve answered no. youre not going to be compelled to buy the house

Columbus and Central Ohio Home Sales 2007

April 18th, 2008 Columbus Buyer Info, Columbus Seller Info, The Bad, The Good Jason No Comments

Heres the Good:
We had 24,445 homes sold for the year.
Interest rates were low all year (and remain low).
The average sold price was $172,531.00.
New listings for the year were 49,961. That means 49% of the new listings sold.

Now, lets look at the year 2005 the high point of sold homes, highest average sold price, etc. That year there were 50,086 new listings, and 27,493 homes sold. So, 55% of the new listings sold.

Now these figures dont allow for the existing listings coming into each year.. but folks, stop and take a look at these numbers. If you buy into the pervasive media doom and gloom, you believe that nothing is selling and nothing is working. Thats just NOT true in our area of the country. We had over 24,000 sales last year! Remember, Columbus has been described as the 3rd most stable market in the country. Our property values have been considered as undervalued compared to pricing of homes across the country, and our employment remains stable.

Heres a few stats for the Negative Nellys:
The average sold price was 1.2% lower than 2006 ($172,531 compared to $174,688).
The credit challenged had their lending sources dry up.
There was a lot more competition (as in many homes) in the market challenging for seller who had to reduce their pricing to compete, fabulous for buyers who had a lot to choose from.

WORST Columbus MLS Home Photo of the Week 3/31

March 31st, 2008 The Bad, WORST MLS Photo No Comments

This photo brought a chuckle out of me.. youve GOT to love good country livin in THIS home! Why the photographer thought the hay bale was an important component to the photo is beyond me.

Ive had people ask if these photos are really from the MLS of central Ohio homes for sale the answer is yes. And so far I havent had a problem coming up with a weekly winner.

If you want your home sale to be at its marketing best, give me a call. and get the professionalism you deserve.

WORST Columbus MLS Home Photo of the Week 3-24

March 24th, 2008 The Bad, WORST MLS Photo No Comments

There are two this week both of the same home. If youre feeling a little blue, these should be right up your alley..

WORST Columbus MLS Home Photo of the Week 3-10

March 11th, 2008 The Bad, WORST MLS Photo No Comments

This looks like it could be a nice home. if I could actually SEE it. The photo is so overexposed that its hard to tell what the features are.

Folks look for photography that gives the viewer the best possible representation of your home. and an agent that can deliver the online product you need.

WORST Columbus MLS Home Photo of the Week 2-25

February 26th, 2008 The Bad, WORST MLS Photo No Comments

This room gets lost in the furniture and stuff. It takes a bit to figure out its a finished basement (basement? bedroom?) and the eye is overwhelmed.

Five minutes of removing the clutter, removing some of the furniture, and even rearranging the items would have made a world of difference. And how about closing the door? The purpose is to see the room in a way that makes it desirable..

A special reminder to the curious. these are all photos that are really on the Columbus MLS with the intent of selling a home. I dont identify the property or the realtor Im not into shame or humiliation. This category grew out of frustration (by myself) of seeing unprofessional work out there. I want to educate and encourage sellers to expect professional results for professional pay and to be aware of how important it is to put your best foot forward on the Internet. Buyers are finding your home online, judging it, and moving on to another home (in many cases). Its even more important with todays buyer market that you do the right stuff to sell your home.

WORST Columbus Ohio MLS Home Photo of the Week 2-11

February 10th, 2008 The Bad, WORST MLS Photo No Comments

OK, You got me here. even IM not sure what it is. If you squint your eyes and look real hard, it appears to be a room with a window on the right and a partial panelled wall on the left. in an wa-a-ay overexposed photo with dust (?) on the lens.

Sellers remember this mantra to keep asking yourself: €œDoes this help to sell my home?€ If this is your listing agents best foot forward, look for another foot

WORST Columbus MLS Home Photo of the Week 2-4

February 5th, 2008 The Bad, WORST MLS Photo No Comments

A door is a door. unless is stretched and distorted. I think the purpose was to show a new fancy door but then at least shoot it straight on without the railing in the way and how about showing the entire front so the buyer knows what the home looks like?

Major question a seller should ask-€œDoes this do anything to sell my home?€

Columbus Ohio Real Estate and Economy 2007 Update- End of Year

December 13th, 2007 Columbus Buyer Info, Columbus Seller Info, Columbus and Central Ohio Home Sales Stats, The Bad, The Good No Comments

We’ve all heard the hubbub in the news about urgent housing issues… so how is the market really doing here in Central Ohio? Here’s a few points to help get a perspective:

Columbus’ unemployment rates are the lowest in the state, sitting at 4.7% at the end of October.

Statewide, Ohio has one foreclosure for every 290 households.  That means 289 homes have stable, healthy mortgages.

The new home construction market is struggling.  Housing starts are 50% less in Columbus since 2003.

We are having one of the best Buyer’s Markets that we will see for a long time.  That’s fabulous news for buyers, frustrating news for sellers. (Sondra note: I’m telling sellers that traditionally the thought has been to make your money selling your home; but in this market, the money to be made is on the buying end.  Do what you need to do to get your home sold, and look for the equity-gaining deals on the buying end.) Keep in mind this market will change.  For those buyers sitting on the fence, a word of warning: it’s not going to get better than this. There are wonderful bargains out there, and great low interest rates.

A Forbes.com study reported Columbus as the 3rd most stable housing market in America. Central Ohio has had a long history of stable, reliable housing values, and continues to do so.

The end of October was the third month in a row for home listings being added to the market to be down from a year ago (6.9% down for October). This is a good indicator that the market is making a correction. As the listing pace slows, inventory levels drop and home sale prices stabilize and start to rise.

The average sale price of a home in the Central Ohio area for the furst 10 months of 2007 is $173,122.00– which is 1.5% lower than the same time frame for 2006. Average Days on Market for a sale is 107 days.

For specific statistics on sales in your area or neighborhood, contact Sondra for more details.