2/11 The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has released a report that concludes that people who sell by owner get closer to their asking price and sell more quickly than those who list with an agent.  NARs report 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers was based on a questionnaire of 133,000 consumers who purchased a home between July 2007 and June 2008.

According to the report, homes selling by owner reap 97% of their asking price as compared to agent listed homes which come in at 96%. The report also found that an agent listed property took 10 weeks to sell while it takes just 6 weeks to sell by owner.

While the study didn’t specifically mention the cost of a real estate commission, it did suggest that using an agent would result in the seller losing another 6 percent off the sales price in addition to the 1% lost on the asking price. In response to the troubled current market where home prices are falling, sellers need to know that Realtors own suggest that homeowners will end up with more money in their pocket if they sell by owner than they will if they list with an agent.

The NAR report findings provide further evidence of the benefits of selling by owner.  In separate studies by Northwestern  and Stanford Universities, FSBO sellers were found to be as effective as agents in maximizing the sales price of their homes. After commissions are factored in, the studies reported, sellers who sold by owner actually saved money and realized more equity than sellers who sold through agents. The September 2008 issue of consumers reports magazine reported that FSBO sellers are more likely to get their asking price while agents, on average, deliver a sales price that is $5,000 less than the original asking price.

We have recently embarked on on the challenge of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for our website. For those who are unfamiliar with the world of SEO, it is the science (or art) of optimizing your website to become better positioned in the search engines for certain terms.

For instance, if you google “For Sale By Owner Albany” we consistently enjoy the #1 spot for our domain fsbosearch.com. In fact we have literally hundreds of keyword phrases that are in the #1 spot in Google, Yahoo and MSN. I will expand on this in a future post.

Interestingly, we are starting to see some positive results from our efforts. Our traffic is up significantly from this time last year. But the real interesting thing is that we are starting to see more and more traffic from outside the Albany NY Capital Region.

For instance, I was browsing through our traffic logs this morning and looking specifically at the recent visitors by location. Check out the two screenshots below (click on the images to enlarge):

As you can see, 10 of the last 40 visitors were from outside of the Capital Region. Furthermore, five were from outside of the country - 2 from India, 2 from Italy and 1 from France. While we know that 90% of all real estate is sold to local buyers it is encouraging to see visitors from outside the area on our site. Are these visitors on our site because they are truly searching for Albany Homes or because of some of our real estate related content brought them here?

We will monitor the traffic logs to see if this is a trend or simply an aberration. In either event we will post again with our findings. In the meantime, don’t be surprised if your phone rings from a potential buyer with an Italian accent!

Albany, N.Y. was named to the Forbes magazine list of the “Top 25 Strongest Housing Markets” in the country, ranking #21.

According to Forbes, the list is based on analysis done for the magazine by Moody’s Economy. Moody’s analyzed housing forecasts for metropolitan areas with populations over 500,000 through 2011.

Moody’s compared the forecasts to housing prices in the 2nd quarter of 2008 to determine how far prices are likely to drop before hitting bottom.

Albany accompanied it’s Upstate NY metropolitan neighbors Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo on the list. Syracuse ranked #2, Buffalo #4 and Rochester was #15.

Forbes does not anticipate price increases in any of the metro areas before the end of the year, predicting the strongest metro areas will be “flat at best”. That is significantly better than Moody’s forecast of the 15 percent average drop for the entire country in 2009.

Originally uploaded by thekitchendesigner.org

Thinking about a home improvement project for your Albany home? When home prices are declining, the financial benefits of remodeling are not nearly as apparent as when home prices are high. Are you trying to maximize your investment in order to sell or are you looking to make your home a better place to live?

If your goal is to sell your home, you might want to reconsider spending lots of money on those high end projects and opt for practical, less costly alternatives. When the market is slow, you are less likely to recoup the cost of high end remodels.

If you are planning on staying for the long haul, then by all means make the investment that will maximize your comfort and enjoyment of the home.

According to real estate experts, the exterior of your home becomes a more important asset than the interior when trying to sell your home in a flat market.

When buyers have more to choose from first impressions become vital to the sale of a home. Curb appeal is more important than ever, with high end exterior renovations returning a better payoff than comparable interior projects.

Statistics show that home prices have fallen by an average of 7 percent nationally in the past year. But the value of home owners’ investment in remodeling projects has declined only 3.86 percent on average between 2007 and 2008, according to Remodeling’s 2008–2009 Cost vs. Value Report.

According to the report, on a national level, wood deck additions and all types of siding replacements returned more than 80% of the projects cost upon resale. Window replacements returned more than 76% of costs. A major midrange kitchen remodel returned 76% of costs, while a minor midrange kitchen remodel returned 79.5% of costs. Bathroom remodels returns were down from previous years to around 74.4%.

The Top 10 Home Improvement Paybacks
1. Upscale fiber cement siding (86.7%)
2. Midrange wood deck (81.8%)
3. Midrange vinyl siding (80.7%)
4. Upscale foam-backed vinyl (80.4%)
5. Midrange minor kitchen remodel (79.5%)
6. Upscale vinyl window replacement (79.2%)
7. Midrange wood window replacement (77.7%)
8. Midrange vinyl window replacement (77.2%)
9. Upscale wood window replacement (76.5%
10. Midrange major kitchen remodel (76.0%)

As illustrated in the above list, the home improvements that boost curb appeal offer the best return on investment. In fact, the only interior home improvements that made the top 10 were kitchen remodels.

Remember do your homework and consider your goals when planning a remodel project. Make an informed decision that will benefit your individual situation and maximize the return on your investment!

Regardless of what you hear in the news regarding the state of the national real estate market, Albany Homes are still selling! Attractive mortgage rates and a relatively stable job market here in Albany NY account for the better than national average results.

Anne listed her Guilderland home so she could move to North Carolina to be close to her family.

Anne C. said…
“I sold my home in 3 weeks and For Sale By Owner Albany saved me nearly $17,000 in commission. Thank you for all of your assistance. It was a very pleasant experience. I was a little nervous in the beginning but all went smoothly…”