Pasadena CA Real Estate

There has been a lot of talk about social networking in the media recently.  When I was talking to my friends and family about Twitter last year, I’d get the weirdest looks.  Twitter, what’s that?  Now… it seems like every time you turn on the news, there’s a rolling banner of tweets on the side.  What’s the fascination?

Facebook is one of the social networks initially focused on reconnecting with friends, school mates and family, and just generally staying in touch and updating your sphere about your personal activities.  Now, facebook is geared more towards business professionals where fan pages are created with personal URLs (web addresses) that allow real estate and other professionals to promote their home listings or business ideas.

Users do this by creating postings, uploading photos and sharing links and videos. With over 200 million members worldwide, Facebook truly is a global market. And it’s not just people who have profiles and networks. Places, products, companies, services, stores, restaurants, etc., also have profiles and networks. For example, Starbucks Coffee Company has a profile and a network with 3,385,090 fans; Lamborghini has 807,270 fans.

LinkedIn is an interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world, representing 170 industries and 200 countries. You can find, be introduced to, and collaborate with professionals who you need to work with to accomplish your goals. LinkedIn also has some proprietary business tools. Polls is a market research tool that allows business professionals to collect data from your connections on LinkedIn. Results to research questions can be broken down by company size, job function, age and gender.

So what is this about Social Networking and Real Estate?  Why is it important that your real estate agent has a strong presence on these and other social network sites?  Simply said – EXPOSURE.

Selling a home is ultimately all about getting as many “eyeballs” to look at your home.  Of course, you need to prepare a home for sale, price it correctly, analyze the current real estate trends, understand your competition and more…  BUT to give it that extra, special nudge, your realtor also needs to have an established presence on these and many more social network sites.

READ MORE:

Pasadena Real Estate Guide – everything you ever wanted to know about buying or selling your Pasadena home.

This is an additional marketing avenue.  This type of marketing exposes your home to international buyers, other real estate agents that are local as well as the ones that have clients relocating to your area, and the computer literate new generation with deep pockets.

So… when it comes time to interview your Pasadena Real Estate Agent include the following question – Which social network platform do you participate in and how many followers do you have?

And, if you are on any of these following social networks, please connect with me, I’d really like to get to know you!

Connect with Irina on the following networks:

Irina Netchaev on Twitter

Irina Netchaev on Facebook

Irina Netchaev on Flickr

Irina Netchaev on LinkedIn

Irina Netchaev on Google

Irina Netchaev on Trulia Real Estate Voices

FriendFeed

Irina Netchaev on Utterli

Irina Netchaev on Realtor.com

Irina Netchaev on Plaxo

Irina Netchaev on Technorati

Home values in Pasadena California have declined over the last year and a half.  We started seeing home price decreases in 2007 and they have continued through 2008, but if you own a home or condo in Pasadena, you still wrote a healthy check to the Los Angeles County Tax Assessor for your bi-annual taxes which were due on April 10th.

READ MORE:  Pasadena Real Estate Housing Analysis for the Last 5 years (2003 to 2008)

I wrote about the tax assessor proactively re-evaluating properties which were purchased between July 1, 2004 and June 30th, 2007. Now, the LA County Tax Assessor has made it even easier to find out if your home property taxes are under review.

If you click on the link below, it will take you to a page where you will be able to enter your home’s property tax identification or AIN number OR type in your Pasadena home address to see if your property’s tax status is under review due to the “decline in value”.

PROPERTY TAX “DECLINE-IN-VALUE” REVIEW BY THE TAX ASSESSOR

You can also check the status of your application if you submitted one for reassessment by entering your street address or Assessor Identification Number.

You can also see if your property automatically qualifies for a decline-in-value review under either one of the following conditions:

• The property is a single-family home or condominium purchased between July 01, 2003 (2000 in some areas based on economic conditions) and June 30, 2008.

• A property is subject to annual review of a temporary decline-in-value reassessment granted for the prior assessment year (2008).

Pasadena home owners of properties other than single-family or condominium (residential-income and commercial/industrial for example) may file a decline-in-value APPLICATION on or before December 31, 2009.
While you may check and monitor the status of a potential or existing decline-in-value review, the details of this review can be obtained by contacting your Los Angeles County District Office.

ALSO READ: Property Tax Increases on your Pasadena Home

How are Property Taxes calculated in Pasadena California

Get your Property Reassessed by the LA County Tax Assessor

To see what Pasadena homes are selling for right now or to start your Pasadena home search, see below for a complete list of available homes:

For more information on the current health of Pasadena’s real estate market, please visit Pasadena Real Estate Housing Reporting and Statistics site.

An interesting question was just posed on Trulia. A home buyer was told by her real estate agent that the realtor representing the home seller was going to cancel escrow since loan and appraisal contingencies were not released. The question was – can the seller cancel the escrow?

Absolutely!

When you make an offer to buy a Pasadena home or any California property, your realtor will discuss with you the three main contingencies of the home purchase. These contingencies are:

1. Loan Approval Contingency:  A home buyer can back out of the escrow and NOT lose their earnest money deposit if that home buyer can not qualify for a home loan within the contingency time period.
2. Appraisal Contingency:  A home buyer can cancel the escrow if the home doesn’t appraise to the full purchase price offered. 
3. Home inspection:  A home buyer has an opportunity to hire a home inspector to check the property condition.  Don’t forget that sewer inspection!  If the inspector finds issues that the home buyer was not aware of before and the buyer is unable to negotiate repairs with the home seller or is unwilling to purchase the house after learning of these issues, the buyer can cancel the escrow.  This home inspection contigency would also include any reports that have been provided to the buyer by the home seller.  If it’s a condominium or a townhome, a review of the financial statements and other relevant information about the complex is done at the same time.

These contingencies are in place to protect the home buyer’s earnest money deposit.  In essence, it’s a free look at the property for the buyer without any penalties.

READ MORE:  The fastest way to lose your earnest money deposit

For a home seller, this contingency period or a “free look” is a period of uncertainty.  The deal is not sealed unless and until the home buyer signs off and releases all contingencies.

A good real estate agent representing the seller will ensure that all contingencies are released within the contractual time frames allowed and agreed to.  Usually, the buyer will have anywhere between 7 to 17 days to complete their inspections, get approved for the loan and get the appraisal completed. 

If home purchase contingencies are not released within the agreed upon time frames, a Notice to Perform is sent to the buyer by the seller and if the buyer still does not sign off and releases the contingencies than a home seller is totally in their right to cancel the escrow and move on with the marketing of their Pasadena home.

READ MORE:  Nine Stupid Things Buyers Do to Mess Up their Home Purchase

Pasadena real estate market is changing daily and is becoming more of a buyer’s market than ever before.  Home sellers are having a very hard time trying to keep up with these changes and need a strong real estate agent to guide them along.

So how do you stay sane in a home buyer’s market?  First, let’s define what a buyer’s market is.  A buyer’s market is when home prices are declining and the inventory of homes is increasing.  Usually as an area starts getting close to six months of inventory, that real estate market is considered a buyer’s market.

Here are some strategies that can be employed to ensure that you are ahead of the other home sellers:

Selling Your Pasadena Home QUICKLY is CRITICAL

In a buyer’s market environment, pricing and marketing  will make or break your home sale.  The best real estate agent will be able to demonstrate the wisdom of selling NOW vs. LATER.

Ask your realtor to calculate the holding costs of your Pasadena property.  The holding costs include your normal costs of the property plus the amount the property is declining in value.  For example, if prices are declining 1 percent a month and your home is worth $500,000, it costs you, the seller, an additional $5,000 per month to hold on to your home.

Do NOT Overprice Your Pasadena Home

In a buyer’s market, if your home doesn’t sell within the first 30 days when you usually have the greatest number of showings, your home can end up staying on the market for months.  You will end up “chasing the market down” by overpricing your home.  This means that even though you lower your price, you haven’t lowered it enough to keep pace with the declining market.

In most cases, you’re better off pricing your home a bit under market (1% to 2% lower) which will create excitement with buyers and local real estate agents and generate additional showings and offers – sometimes, multiple offers.  This will result in the maximum net amount and a quick sale to you, the home seller.

Hire a Real Estate Agent with an AGGRESSIVE Marketing Plan

Look for Pasadena real estate agents who have an aggressive marketing plan and who are selling their home listings despite the bad real estate market conditions to net the most from your home sale.  Make sure that your real estate agent uses the cutting edge, latest internet marketing along with the traditional marketing techniques.

You may need to pay a HIGHER commission

To attract buyers’ agents to show your property first, you many need to pay a higher commission.  Now is not the time to be asking for commission discounts.  Real estate agents have a number of homes to choose from when they are setting up appointments for their clients, commission is a nice incentive to ensure that your home gets to be shown FIRST!

STAGE your home

It is critical that your home looks inviting and feels comfortable. Buyers buy homes on emotion. Look at homes that are for sale in your neighborhood.  What does your competition look like? Make sure that your home sparkles and shows better than any other homes currently on the market.

Remember, a home seller will always be better off in a buyer’s market to realistically price their property.  This is NOT the time to test the market with a higher price.  When you are in a declining real estate market, each month you wait to sell means less money for you at closing.

Buyers’ market is also a great opportunity to trade up to a bigger home.  Yes… you will receive less fro your existing property, however, the trade-up property will cost you less.  This also helps with your property taxes!

As you interview Pasadena real estate agents, ask them about what they are seeing in the market place.  What kind of incentives are other sellers offering?  Be competitive and do whatever it takes to sell your Pasadena home as quickly as possible.

Read More: 

Top 10 Home Seller Mistakes

Real Estate Agent Interviewing Tips

I’ve been posting monthly real estate market report updates on this site for cities around Pasadena. One of the key real estate indicators that I refer to is the Market Action Index or MAI.

What is the Market Action Index ? And, why does the Market Action Indicator matter?

Residential house prices are a function of supply and demand, and market MARKET ACTION INDEX conditions can be characterized by analyzing those factors.

My research company, Altos Research uses an algorithm to divide a Buyer’s Market from a Seller’s Market. The red line at 30 is that line.

For example in the graph below for Pasadena’s real estate market, it has been a COLD, BUYER’S MARKET since end of 2007 with the MAI hovering quite a bit under the balanced market of 30, closer to 15. Now, this graph is for the entire Pasadena real estate market. Each zip code within the city has a different MAI.

Come back to this site to watch this index for sustained changes: if the index falls into the Buyer’s Market zone for a long period, prices are likely in for a downward correction.

The Market Action Index (MAI) illustrates the balance between supply and demand using a statistical function of the current rate of sale versus current inventory.

An MAI value greater than 30 typically indicates a “Seller’s Market” (a.k.a. “Hot Market”) because demand is high enough to quickly gobble up available supply. A hot market will typically cause prices to rise. MAI values below 30 indicate a “Buyer’s Market” (a.k.a. “Cold Market”) where the inventory of already-listed homes is sufficient to last several months at the current rate of sales. A cold market will typically cause prices to fall.

If you are interested in receiving a weekly real estate market reports with the Market Price Index, you can request Market Real Estate Report here and it will be emailed to you automatically each Monday. This is a report that I order specifically for the readers of my website from Altos Research who specializes specifically in real estate housing market activity throughout the country.

I currently offer real estate market reports for Pasadena, Alhambra, San Marino, South Pasadena, Monterey Hills (under Los Angeles 90042), Arcadia, Altadena, San Gabriel and more.

If you have additional questions about the state of the Pasadena housing market, please call me at 626-627-7107 .

Irina

Real estate is changing.

No longer can a realtor sign a listing, update information on the Pasadena MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and sit back and wait for buyers.  When I first started selling homes, I used to go into the real estate office early each day to be the first one to look at the big (and I mean big – yellow page size) MLS book which held all the new and existing home listings.  That was the only way for a real estate agent to know what was going on in the real estate market.  Review the MLS book daily, visit broker’s open houses‘s and network with other agents.

Boy, how things changed – thank goodness!  Today, Pasadena real estate agents and their clients get automated home notices via email as soon as new properties are listed.  Of course we still visit other broker’s open houses and network with agents.  But, what is new and exciting is the advent of the internet and how the internet is changing the Pasadena real estate market place.

Most of my real estate business personally has come from referrals and repeat clients.  Recently, I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls and emails from people that have been referred to me by google, yahoo and msn.  What does this mean? 

Home buyers start their search for Pasadena homes on-line by searching the internet.  They put key terms like “Pasadena homes for sale” or “Pasadena real estate” or “Pasadena home listings” into the search engine of their search and then surf the web.  Once they see something they like, they email or call the real estate agent.

Personally, I have been preparing for this change for the last several years and have built a multitude of websites and blogs like www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com, www.sanmarinoluxuryrealestate.com, www.montereyhillscarealestate.com, www.pasadenaviews.com , www.activerain.com/blogs/irina4realestate , www.irina4realstate.com,  providing buyers access to the information they crave like market reports and free home search tools.  I have featured homes on realtor.com for Pasadena and San Marino amongst a few others so that the buyers will see my seller’s homes immediately – exposure = more money for the seller.

I also participate extensively in social networks like twitter, facebook, plaxo, utterly, friendfeed, linkedin and many more. 

Why is internet presence important to you as a home seller?

It’s simple… this is the new face of real estate.  Real estate is not about putting your house in a local newspaper anymore!  Any real estate agent worth their salt will tell you that newspaper ads do not bring in home buyers, but they sure pacify the home sellers.  I say that home sellers are very savvy these days and understand the power of exposure via the web, of getting as many “eye balls” on their home as possible – that’s how you sell homes!

So if you are thinking of selling your home, please ask your real estate agent the following questions:

1.  Does your real estate agent have a website that provides timely buyer information and MLS home search tools?

2.  Does your real estate agent have a real estate blog?  A blog is simply an interactive website.  A Pasadena real estate blog like this one allows consumers to interact with a real estate agent in a non-threatening atmosphere, learn and search for homes.  Blogs are the Web 2.0 version of a website.

3.  What kind of traffic does your realtor get on their website or real estate blog?  Remember, traffic = exposure to your home for sale which in turn creates more money for the seller and a quicker home sale.  A good real estate site should drive about 100 unique visitors a day and about 500 – 800 hits.

4.  Does your Pasadena real estate agent create a personal home website for each and every home that they are listing?  Where do they market these websites?  Will they provide you with weekly statistics on how many home buyers visit these personalized home websites. 

5.  Which social networks do they belong to and how do they use them to your “seller’s” advantage to market your home for sale?  How active are they on these networks?

6.  Most importantly GOOGLE your real estate agent.  Do they have a presence on the internet.  For example – see google results for Irina Netchaev.  As you can see, there were close to 8,000 internet pages for Irina Netchaev.  That’s a lot of internet presence!  Of course, my name is pretty unique.  If your realtor’s name is John Smith, you’ll get a lot more pages!  But, for the most part you’ll get a pretty good idea of how active your real estate agent is on-line.

Another cool tool to use is www.searchme.com It is a great site that allows you to put anyone’s names and actually see some of their internet presence.  For an example see Irina Netchaev’s search me results.  Try putting your name in the search and see what comes up.

This post is not to brag about how many social networks I am on or how many websites I sponsor.  It is to bring light to the fact that real estate indeed is changing.  Demand the best of your realtor.  The real estate market is changing and the way the real estate is being marketed has already changed.  It’s just that some real estate agents haven’t figured it out yet.

Connect with Irina on the following networks:

Irina Netchaev on Twitter

Irina Netchaev on Facebook

Irina Netchaev on Flickr 

Irina Netchaev on LinkedIn

Irina Netchaev on Google

Irina Netchaev on Trulia Real Estate Voices

FriendFeed

Irina Netchaev on Utterli

Irina Netchaev on Realtor.com

Irina Netchaev on Plaxo

Irina Netchaev on Technorati

the following networks:

Irina
Netchaev on Twitter

Irina Netchaev on Facebook

Irina Netchaev on Flickr 

Irina Netchaev on LinkedIn

Irina Netchaev on Google

Irina Netchaev on Trulia
Real Estate Voices

FriendFeed

Irina
Netchaev on Utterli

Irina Netchaev on Realtor.com

Irina Netchaev on Plaxo

Irina Netchaev on Technorati

I just saw an interesting video of a Pasadena real estate agent describing the process that his team uses in pricing a home to sell.  The real estate agent shall remain anonymous here, but having watched the video, I was petrified in what consumers, home sellers that are relying on the real estate agents to price their homes to sell, think.  As the saying goes – “perception is reality!”

In the real estate video, the home pricing process went something like this:

Real estate agent #1 – “We need to price this Pasadena home.  This home doesn’t show well, has a lot of deferred maintenance and really doesn’t compare to any recent solds on the street.”  Turns to his partner and says “What do you think?”

Real estate agent #2 – ” I think we price it at $649,000″

Real Estate agent #1 – “How can you justify this home sales price of $649,000 when other homes, in better condition, on same street sold for the same?  I think that it’s worth around $540,000″

Real estate agent #2 – “If we start out low and this home doesn’t sell, we will not have room to go down in price!”

Real estate agent #1 – “Let’s table this and address when we meet at the property later.”

Several days later, both agents meet at the home that they are getting ready to list.

Real estate agent #1 – “So have you given any more thought to pricing this home?”

Real estate agent #2 – “Let’s price this Pasadena home at $579,000 – just split the difference.”

Real estate agent #1 – “Great idea!”

Shall I say more?  I know that the home sellers that I work with rely on me, their Pasadena real estate agent, to do my due diligence and come up with a price that will not only help them sell their Pasadena home or condo, but also sell with the highest possible return to them.

So what goes into the decision process of pricing a home to sell in today’s real estate market?

First of all, what you think a home will sell for and the price the home is presented for to the buyers are two totally different things.  Pricing is yet another strategy or tool to use in selling your Pasadena home.

The saying in the real estate industry goes something like “pricing is 80% of the sale”.  That is very true.  If a home seller overprices their home, it’ll just sit there, get stale and ultimately result in a much lower selling price.

If a home seller drastically underprices their home, it’ll sell fast, but will it sell for top dollar?

Should a seller “fix price” their home?  Or, should a home seller “range price” their home?

What kind of homes are selling in their immediate neighborhood?  What are the home’s competition?  Will these homes help sell your home or will your home help sell these other Pasadena homes for sale?

What was the last home price sold, price per square foot, condition of the home in the Pasadena neighborhood that the house is in?

What is the absorption rate for Pasadena and specifically the neighborhood that the home is located in?

What are the trends in the real estate industry?

How will the price help drive home buyers to see your home?  Will the house’s price deter potential home buyers from looking at your home?

Does the condition of the home support its price?  Has the home been staged to support a higher selling price?

There are so many questions to ask and address before deciding on how to price a home correctly!  It’s not as simple as “let’s look at the comps and come up with something in the middle.”

If you are a home seller and see a video like the one I referred to, please know that not all real estate agents are created equal.   Interview your real estate agent and demand the best!

Posted by Irina Netchaev, Pasadena real estate agent.

Over the last couple of days we loooked at a Formula for Selling your Pasadena Home in 30 days or less.   It all comes down to getting your home ready for sale, pricing your Pasadena home correctly and marketing exposure.  

In my second post in the Selling Your Home series, we reviewed how best to showcase your home listing in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the use of Flash Presentations or Home Tours.

Today, I wanted to take a look at how to create an effective Property Brochure for Pasadena home buyers.  This is especially helpful for our For Sale By Owner Sellers.

What is the purpose of a home property flyer or a brochure?

The main purpose of a home brochure is to ensure that home buyers will easily remember your home and be able to contact the home seller (if you are selling your home by owner) or the real estate agent representing your home.

Other reasons that home buyers pick up a brochure is to:

1. Share information about the home with their friends and family.
2. Easily access important data about the home – home sales price, square footage, HOA (if any), year home built, special features, etc.
3. Compare your home with other homes that they have seen around Pasadena.

Choosing a property brochure design layout:

1. Should this be a one page or a two page brochure?  I always recommend using both sides of your brochure.  Why waste the back of the brochure and leave it blank?  It’s just like thinking of a real estate location – 1st page of the brochure is your prime real estate and the back is secondary real estate location.  I prefer to have a stunning picture on the first page with home address and price.  The second page on my brochures will usually have more beautiful photographs and specific details about the home for sale.
2. Color and Design of the Border of the brochure.  Using too many colors will actually take away from the brochure.  One or Two colors will add to a more striking presentation.
3. Decide on text font and size.  Remember to have lots of white space for easy reading and headers as appropriate.

Describe your home:

1. The first thing I recommend doing is going through your house room by room.  Make notes about what is special about each room.  What are your home’s highlights?  Think about how you entertain.  What do your friends and family like about this house?
2. Have a concise leading paragraph and follow up with bullet points of special items and amenities.
3. Be as clear as possible.  The very last thing you’d want to do is mislead a potential customer.  Do not over-enhance the home’s features.  Stay factual.

READ MORE:  Power Words that SELL

Add Photographs:

1. Decide on the number of photographs that you will use.  I usually prefer to use 5 to 6 photos highlighting some of the rooms, the front of the house and the backyard.
2. Make sure the photos are in order of how a buyer would view your home.  It will make it easier for the potential buyer to remember what it was like walking through your home.

Contact Information:

1. Remember to put your name, phone number and email address so that potential buyers can get a hold of you quickly.

 Printing Property Brochures

1. Good quality paper is an important part of the presentation.  Make sure that you select a good heavy stock paper.
2. Always print in color.  Please, no black & white copies.  These are just a huge NO NO!
3. There are plenty of printers that would be happy to print off 100 to 200 copies for you.  The average charge is about $75 for 100 flyers.  Have plenty on hand for the buyers and the potential agents that might stop by.

Distribution

1. Keep the home sale brochures available at the entry of the home presented in a nice stand.  Dining room table or kitchen bar works nicely as well.
2. I am not a huge advocate of having brochures in front of your home in a brochure holder.  The idea here is to have buyers visit and view your home, not just pick up a brochure.  If you do choose to have some outside, make sure the brochures are of the highest quality so as not to discourage potential buyers.
3. Distribute property brochures to local real estate offices.  Remember that even if you choose to sell your house by yourself, in all likelihood a real estate agent will end up selling it for you.  Get the local real estate community involved by letting them know that your home is for sale.  Most buyers will be represented by a professional real estate agent.

Okay, you are ready to start working on your property brochure.  Don’t forget to check your spelling!

In the previous post, Sell Your Pasadena Home in 30 Days or Less, we discussed the basic formula for selling your home. There are three parts to your selling success:

1. Preparing your Pasadena home for sale.
2. Determining a price for your home.
3. Deciding how to market your Pasadena home.

Today, I wanted to go into a bit more detail on the type of marketing and advertisement methods that are available in today’s Pasadena real estate market.

We talked about the importance of bringing “eye balls” to see your home. Exposure is of utmost importance in getting the highest possible price for your home and selling it in record time. The more people that see your home, the more opportunity you have in selling it well.

To fully market your home today, it is imperative that you put the power of the internet to work for you. Internet, not only, exposes your home to the immediate real estate market consumers, but it also is an extemely powerful tool which will bring buyers that are thinking of relocating to Pasadena.

We already know that we need to have your home listed in the local Multiple Listing Service. Please note, that in Pasadena there are several Multiple Listing Services (MLS). We have ITEC which is part of Pasadena Foothill Association. And, there is IMRMLS, which is part of Arcadia Realtors Association. Please make sure that your Pasadena home is listed in one of these MLS services. If it’s listed in one, it’s listed in both through the magic of new computer programming that was recently implemented.

If you have a realtor friend who is working out of the area, who will be listing your home for you. Not the best idea, but that’s a different post. Please ensure that your real estate agent contacts one of these MLS services and enters your home there.

MLS Listings are very different. How do you make your Pasadena home stand out?

• Make sure that you have a wonderful, detailed and honest description of your home. You want people to read the description and want to visit your home to see if it’s the right home for them. You need to create the emotion of really, really wanting to see your home.

READ ALSO: Words that Sell Your Home

• Use lots of photos. Now… when I say lots of photos, let me clarify. Use GOOD photos. Please do not place photos that are out of focus, or show messy rooms, or are crooked, or show a ton of ceiling, or showcase your furniture. Remember, you are trying to sell your home. MLS services allow anywhere from 25 to 30 photos per listing. Put up as many photos as the service allows. Buyers love to be able to see photos of homes, especially buyers that are thinking of relocating to Pasadena.

Photography Tip: Use a wide-angle camera! It’s very difficult to photograph a house without one.

• • Front of the house photo
  • Back yard
  • Entry
  • Bedrooms
  • Living Room (preferably several views)
  • Kitchen (preferably several shots from different angles)
  • Bathrooms
  • Pool & Spa (if you have one)
  • Garden
  • View of the surrounding area (street, etc)
  • Special features of the house (think what made you buy this house, photograph it and put it up on the MLS)

READ ALSO: Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words

• Videotape your home. Yes… you heard me, video your house. Not only should you video the home, you should narrate the video and talk about what made you buy your house, what you loved about living in your home, what did you love about living in Pasadena, why the buyers would want to purchase your Pasadena home, etc. Trust me on this… it works!

Place your video on www.YouTube.com . I video tape my clients’ homes all the time. Out of town buyers love that! Even the buyer down the street will love it. There are other services that I use to upload your video to. The more the merrier.

• Create a Flash Presentation or a Virtual Tour. Companies like www.RealEstateShows.com do a wonderful job of hosting these presentations and distributing them to additional search engines.

In my next post, we’ll talk about creating a real estate home brochure and other ideas to help you in selling your house. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions. I can be reached at 626-627-7107 or via email at Irina@Irina4RealEstate.com

What sells Pasadena Homes?

1. Location, Location, Location!
2. Correct Pricing!
3. Condition and Staging!
4. Sales Words Used in the Multiple Listing Service!

Huh?  Words sell homes?  That’s something new…

Well, experienced and successful Pasadena Real Estate agents have known this for quite awhile.  Now, there’s an article in The Seattle Times by Ann Brenoff that discusses just that.

Words matter. Wars have started over words. Civilizations have collapsed because of them. And, it appears the speed with which a house sells can be determined by them. Ann Brenoff

So, how can home sellers use words to give them the edge in selling their Pasadena house? 

A study done by a Canadian professor, Paul Anglin, after analyzing more than 20,000 home listings, found that sales words not only affect the speed of home sales, but also the PRICE of a home sale.

Certain words can make your home sell faster and for more money.  So roll up your sleeves and let’s look at this together.

Words that help sell your Pasadena home faster and for more money are:

Handyman special

Beautiful (these homes moved 15 percent faster and for 5 percent more in price than the benchmark)

Curb appeal

Move-in condition (home listings took 12% less time to sell)

Landscaping (homes sold 20% sometimes)

Granite

Gourmet

Golf

Words that hurt:

Motivated seller (homes sold for 8% less in the study! In another study by Ronald Rutherford of University of Texas, afinance and real-estate professor, homes that listed “Motivated Sellers” in their description stayed on the market for 15 longer and sold for 4% less!)

Moving (homes sold for 1% less in the study)

Good value

As-is

Clean

Quiet

New paint

 Los Angeles Times

Another word: “MUST SEE” was not received well by home buyers and did not do anything statistically to improve the number of days a home was on the market before selling.

If you are selling your Pasadena home, review your Multiple Listing Service (MLS) description to see how your home is advertised and feel free to share this with your Pasadena Real Estate agent.

If you are selling your home by owner (FSBO), review all your marketing – MLS, flyers, etc and incorporate the words that sell.

If you are considering selling your home in and around Pasadena, work with a respected and knowledgeable real estate agent who can ensure that you get the highest $ for your home.