Wasilla Real Estate News Statistics for June 11,2007

Although the statistics show more of the same since the beginning of the year, our personal business has certainly picked up.  We received offers on several homes this week.  And our listings had a lot more action as well.

The numbers above are almost identical to last weeks.  The charts below however put them all in perspective.  Click to enlarge

Total Active…note how the total active listings continue to climb.  This chart shows only single family homes.  It does not include condos, cabins, commercial or land.

The pending and closed sales continue to clip along at a fairly steady pace.  Obviously, buyers are still out there.  We continue to have an active market.  Buyers definitely have more choices than they do in the past.  The homes that sell are usually the more desirable homes or the better priced homes.  We are seeing a lot of interest in some of our more unusual listings like this cabin ,and this homestead as well as the doll house. 

Buyers should pay attention to homes that have been on the market for awhile and have recently lowered their prices.  Sometimes these homes become very good deals after a price reduction.  One of my listings that is now a good deal is this almost new home on Birch View Drive with a view, big lot, and large garage.  It is really hard to beat for 2200 square feet in such a good location.

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In a previous posting on the Wasilla Real Estate News I introduced a discussion of commission rates. I just barely talked about the fact that I offer commission rates between 5%-7%. I am willing to also discuss rates and fixed fee contracts at lower and higher rates?but not in this post.

First, let me tell you what I do FREE OF CHARGE !

• Make an initial visit to your home. I visit your home for a quick tour so that I know what I?m going to research.
• Complete one to four hours of research. The amount of time depends on the uniqueness of your home. After determining the price I call 2?3 other experienced realtors to get their perspective about the market value.
• Meet with you again about the price. This can be done over the phone or by email. If you are ready to list at this point we will meet in person to complete the listing documents.
• Review listing documents with you. I need to have the listing contract, Alaska Real Estate Consumer form, and property disclosure forms completed and signed in order to have a complete listing. Once they are complete we begin working on the active listing. So far I am still working for nothing.
• Take photos of your property. I need your help here to make your house shine. Photos are extremely important and interior photos need to show a clutter free house with furniture tastefully arranged.
• Enter the listing on the MLS, (multiple listing system). I belong to two MLS systems, the Valley MLS and the Alaska MLS. The majority of properties in the Mat-Su Valley are sold by Valley Realtors, but a growing amount of Anchorage licensees are selling Valley property so it is important to belong to both MLS systems.
• Order title search. At this point Jay Van Diest becomes involved. He is also working for you for free since he is also paid on commission. The title search will determine if we need to clean up any title issues before closing.
• Check at DEC, (department of conservation), for well, septic, and asbuilt survey. Now Rochelle Peterson is also working for you. Except she doesn?t work for free, I pay her by the hour ? but you don?t! She physically looks through the DEC files to see what is filed on your property. Hopefully she finds something there, if not it will complicate things on the sale of your home and cause us more work. It is surprising to note that between 1/3?1/2 the homes are missing files at DEC.
• Post your property on my website. I try to put some additional info on my website about your property. This can include your disclosure forms, asbuilt survey, well log, and covenants. It depends what we have gathered so far. I will often post your property soon after it is listed and the add these documents later after we get them from you, the title company and DEC. I urge you to read this post and help me with the accuracy as well as elucidating the features of your property for potential buyers. I?m not proud, I?m happy for the help.
• Put up a sign on your property. This is usually done by Rochelle but Jay or I may do it as well. Other than the internet, this is the most important marketing tool.
• Install a lockbox. This is a Realtor lock box with your key in it so that other Realtors can access your home to show it when you are not home. This is an electronic lock box that I can read to see who has accessed the key and when.
• Review the online sites. By this time your house is in front of at least 97% of the potential buyers. It is on the Valley MLS and AKMLS which are internet based sites for Realtors only. It is also on matsumls.com and alaskarealestate.com as well as realtor.com, valleymarket.com, and a myriad of other sites across the internet that pick up listings from these sites. In addition, links to these sites from hundreds and hundreds of other realtor based websites drive traffic to your property.
• Put it in the Homes and Lands Magazine. This is where the 5% listing starts to differentiate from the 6?7% listings. It will go into at least one Homes and Land magazine at 5% but will usually run continuously at the higher rates. I may also use other print media for the higher commissions. Honestly though, it is the rare buyer who only finds their home through print media these days. Regardless of where it runs, I?m still working for free. Although, by now, I have spent a lot of time and money.
• Arrange showings. Depending on how your property is shown, I will be talking to potential buyers and other realtors about your property, giving them information and arranging showings on your property.
• Follow up on showings. I follow up with other realtors on the showing of your property. This is extremely important in a constantly changing market. We set your initial asking price based on what we could see in the market. But the market is talking to us during the marketing period and we need to listen. Sometimes it isn?t just talking to us, sometimes it is SCREAMING at us. We need to listen and respond.
• Review offers with you. This is where the rubber meets the road and experience helps. I will advise you on the merits of the offer and help you put together a response. I will talk with the Realtor who made the offer, talk with their loan officer if possible, and guide you on the best way to make the transaction work.
• I?m still working for free ? but this post is getting too long so I will continue it later. The next post about working for free will be at least this long.

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In this internet age we tend to think we can do anything with the web.  You can buy your books, book your flights, even get your MBA on the internet. 

The real estate business has changed for good because of the internet.  Studies show that at least 80% of home buyers use the internet to search for their home.  These studies are at least two years old and Alaska is a very connected state. It is my belief that Alaskan home buyers use the internet at least 90% of the time.  The next most important piece of marketing is your sign.  Then the print media shares the little sliver of marketing pie that is left over.

But we make a mistake when we think we can find a good deal on the internet.  We might find an interesting property.  We might put it on our list to see.  But until we can smell it, feel it, walk on it, look at the neighbors and just breath in the air, we don’t really know if the property is any good or not.

For that reason I have been forced to kill the deals of the week.  I am not going to put this out every week unless I have actually seen the property or personally talked to someone else who has seen it. 

I was a little embarrassed today after a reader called me for directions to one of my “deals”.  When I actually went to look at it myself I had to admit that it is only a mediocre deal.  Even for an experienced Realtor who knows this valley almost inside out, it is impossible to discern a real good deal unless I can touch it and see it with my own eyes.

So instead of the Deals Of The Week on Tuesdays, I will publish a Wasilla Real Estate News Alert when I hear of a good deal for which I don’t already have buyer.  Sorry folks, my buyers come first. 

If you want to be one of the people that are called before an alert goes out, just send me a note by email.  Give me your number and I’ll put you on our buyers board in the office.  Those are the people who are called first.

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Monday Morning Market Memo is actually coming out in the evening this week.  I hope all the Wasilla Real Estate News readers will cut me a little slack.  I went camping all weekend at Eklutna Lake with the kids.  We had a good time but got back just this morning so this was delayed.

Here are the updates for this past week.  Notice that all categories are at or near record levels for this year.

Although we are still listing almost twice as much as we are selling, the market shows some renewed vigor this week.  We broke last week’s record for the amount of pendings.  It looks like we may be getting a little bit of a spring fling, just a little later than normal. 

This past weekend was a little slow according to some anecdotal comments by a few Realtors today.  That stands to reason, buyers were probably out playing like we were.

I had my daughter Tamara chart all the Market Memos so that we can view the trends.  

To the right is the chart of total Active Listings in the Mat-Su Borough since 1–22–07.  Click to expand.   

Below is a comparison chart of the New Listings, Pending Sales, and Closed Sales.

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This is a list of licensed home inspectors that work in the Mat-Su Valley.  As time goes by I will add to this list.  If you want to be on it, just drop me an email.

• *John and Nancy Hill, Lynne Lake Home Inspections.  232–5675
• *A-1 Home Inspections 892–4444
• *Active Inspections 376–8402
• *Certified Home Inspections 355–3591
• *Fairview Property Consultants 373–7599

John Hill has written an article as a guest author on this website about radon.

This is an incomplete list that will grow as time goes by.

John Goad (below) recommends the home inspection directory.  There appear to be no Alaskans on it yet.  But readers elsewhere may get some use from it until the Alaskans join up.

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