Posts

Posted on

Pro Strats for Selling Your Home in Winter

Almost everyone knows that more home buyers are out during the Summer. It’s the peak season! The weather is warm. Kids are out of school for a couple of months so it makes sense to make a move during this time. But what about selling your home in Winter? If it’s necessary, what’s the best way to handle it?

Photo of Selling Your Home in Winter
Selling Your Home in Winter can be a challenge. But these professional strategies are your best bet to selling.

This article gives you the top six strategies to sell your home this Winter. Take it from Louisville’s real estate expert, these are the big ones.

Let’s dig right in!

#1 Price at Fair Market Value

It’s always important to price the home appropriately at the very beginning of the listing period. This is even more important during Winter!

Continue reading “Pro Strats for Selling Your Home in Winter”

Posted on

The Best Month to Sell Your House May Surprise You

It’s no secret I’m a numbers geek. I believe if done correctly, stats tell us a great deal. So, I was quite surprised to see these results. Afer I collected all the data to determine the best month to sell your house I was blown away. Curious?

Photo of home in Summer - Best month to sell your house article
When selling your house, targeting a particular month or two can reap major rewards!

Ok, before we jump right in. A few things I’ve learned about home prices in my real estate career.

  1. Back in 2006, I knew more homes sold during the Summer months but I thought home prices moved ever so slowly higher, month after month after month. That’s wrong. That’s very wrong.
  2. By 2008, I now understood that these Summer months also returned greater home sale prices than even the months that followed that… same… year. Crazy, huh?
  3. Today in 2017, I (finally) decided to crunch the numbers to get a better grasp on the best month to sell your house.  Here’s my mantra that’s similar to Papa John’s. More data, better results. Let’s go!

Before I began this article, I thought the average prices would be very similar to a standard Bell curve.

Bell curve
This chart shows a normal distribution or Bell curve.

Continue reading “The Best Month to Sell Your House May Surprise You”

Posted on

Home Design Trends for 2017

Welcome! Home design trends aren’t always easy to spot. Some hang on for years then slowly fade away.

Other trends appear out of nowhere, so hot, then exit just as quickly. Then there are those interior design principles that are permanently good—they will never go out of style because they are simply so strong.

In this article, I’ll cover three types of trends. First, we’ll look at trends that are definitely IN! Next, we’ll hit a few that are out and not likely to return for some time.

Lastly, we’ll hit a few that are currently receiving mixed receptions. Some believe these are smokin’ hot trends while others disagree. Those will ultimately be up to you because, in the end, your home design is truly up to you.

Definitely IN Design Trends

Let’s jump right in! Here are 7 home design trends that are hot in 2017.

IN Trend #1: Mix Multiple Textures

Photo of bedroom that mixes multiple textures
One trick that great designers fully grasp is mixing multiple textures. Wood, metal, fabric, and stone can be combined in a myriad of ways. When done well, the result is spectacular.

Continue reading “Home Design Trends for 2017”
Posted on

Best Bang for Your Buck in Louisville Real Estate 2017

Each year I update the data required to determine, where is the best bang for your buck in Louisville real estate. I began this practice back in 2014. I’ve added a couple of new Louisville real estate areas to the mix but what has been most striking was the contrast between the most expensive areas and the best values.

Except, this year that’s not the case.

The most eye-popping thing this year is the huge increases we see in so many of these areas. Heck, 9 out of the 24 areas covered saw double-digit increases in the sold price per square foot. My goodness!

When I did this story back in 2015 there were just three.

The trend started last year with increased home values across Louisville and has kept its strength into 2017. Average home appreciation according to government statistics typically runs about 4% for Louisville, Kentucky. Current numbers are blowing those averages out of the water.

Enough talk, let’s get to the chart!

Bang for Your Buck in Louisville Real Estate chart for 2017
With this handy map, we can quickly see where your Louisville real estate dollars go the farthest.
Continue reading “Best Bang for Your Buck in Louisville Real Estate 2017”
Posted on

3 Most Powerful Ways to Make Your Real Estate Listing Stand Out

With so many homes available for sale, it’s vital to make your real estate listing stand out. Unless you are older than 71, your first step in buying a house is looking at homes online.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 99% of those 36 years old and younger use the Internet to look at photos, evaluate neighborhoods, and compare properties. I imagine the percentage of all buyers is very close to that number, as well.

Photo of a great online photo that will make your real estate listing stand out
High-quality, professional photographs are huge for online listings. This one was taken by Justin Jordan. Isn’t it awesome?

The Internet is now ubiquitous. Whether you are looking to buy or not, looking at homes for sale online is a favorite pastime of many Americans just to browse and see “what’s out there.”

Websites like Pinterest have largely grown up out of the desire to see pretty things. Gorgeous real estate certainly fits in that category!

So given that almost everyone who might be buying a home will be looking online, how do you make sure people are focused on your home’s listing and not your competitors?

I’ve identified the three most powerful ways to make your real estate listing stand out.

Continue reading “3 Most Powerful Ways to Make Your Real Estate Listing Stand Out”
Posted on

6 Stellar Tips For Millennial Home Buyers

The housing market is ever changing. Why would the twenty-tens be any different? I’m presenting these tips for millennial home buyers because due to your particular preferences and the speed of our real estate market, home buying today is a bigger challenge than a decade ago.

Photo of a cute home for my Tips For Millennial Home Buyers article
If you’re a millennial, I already know you have a smartphone nearby. Take advantage of great apps like this great Remax one that makes looking at homes for sale in Louisville easier than ever before.

I hope these six tips will help you going forward. If you have any specific questions, I’m happy to help, please contact me.

Tip #1: Should You Even Buy?

The first tip, and most important, is whether you should even buy a home at all. Some should. Others shouldn’t. How can you tell?

Continue reading “6 Stellar Tips For Millennial Home Buyers”

Posted on

How Fast Are Homes Selling in My Area

Photo of people exchanging home keys.
Homes are selling extremely fast in our current market.

So, you want to know how fast are homes selling in my area? Well, if you live here in Louisville, KY I can tell you. Otherwise, you’ll have to continue searching my friend.

Even better, I will give you more! I won’t just give you an easy-to-find, city wide metric. Nor will I used generalized terms like “blazingly fast” but instead, I’ll give you the up-to-the-minute raw data. Yeah, I’m pretty much a data nerd. 😉

But since I’m a nice nerd, I’ll give you this information first, for free. Secondly, I’ll also give it to you in picture form and then also the raw data. I aim to please.

So let’s go!

Continue reading “How Fast Are Homes Selling in My Area”

Posted on

8 Traits of the Most Successful Real Estate Agents

Photo of most successful real estate agents
Most successful real estate agents have these 8 traits.

Now that I’ve been in “the business” for almost a dozen years, I’ve learned a thing or two about what makes the most successful real estate agents. There are other factors as well, but these traits come first.

Get these down and you’re well on your way to real estate success!

#1 Trustworthy

Most real estate business is through word of mouth. True story. So, when someone asks their friend, “Do you know a good Realtor?” Only those that had great experiences with their trusted Realtor, will enthusiastically share that agent’s name.

Continue reading “8 Traits of the Most Successful Real Estate Agents”

Posted on

2017 Choker’s Index: Teams That Will Wreck Your Brackets

Photo of an NCAA men's basketball team who might be the biggest chokers in the game
I’m not going to say the name of the NCAA’s biggest chokers but it rhymes with Boater Lame.

What began as a simple experiment three years ago has now become a yearly obsession! I must complete this year’s version of the Choker’s Index at all costs! You know why? Because I need to be able to identify the teams that will wreck your brackets.

If you’re not familiar with the Choker’s Index, it’s a deep-dive into the data that surrounds which NCAA men’s basketball teams have a historical record of choking the big game and thusly… destroying your bracket. It’s heady stuff.

I hear you cry, “But this isn’t real estate? What’s going on Tre?!?”

Continue reading “2017 Choker’s Index: Teams That Will Wreck Your Brackets”

Posted on

Most Expensive Louisville Homes in 2016

During the course of 2016, there were 17,882 properties sold via our MLS system. 15,725 of these were your standard, single-family residences (SRF)… the rest fall under different structural varieties.

Out of this vast array of Louisville real estate properties, just 44 sold for $1,000,000 or more. 34 of these most expensive Louisville homes were SFRs, then 6 farms, 3 condos, and 1 controversial property finally sold via auction.

For this piece, let’s focus on the most incredible homes that traded hands last year. Who’s with me? Want to know which was the most expensive home sold in 2016? Here we go!

Continue reading “Most Expensive Louisville Homes in 2016”

Posted on

8 Things Home Inspectors Won’t Tell You

Things Home Inspectors Won’t Tell You
Talk is cheap but what really matters when it comes to home inspectors? [Photo credit: Home Water Softener Reviews]
Buying a new home is a big deal, right? Definitely!
Buyer’s need to get a home inspection. Of course.

But wait! What about all the things home inspectors won’t tell you? That’s what you have me for my friends. Let’s get started!

1. “Never buy a home without a home inspection.”

Honestly, getting a home inspection is the right thing to do… most of the time. Whoa, wait a second Tre, why wouldn’t it always be the right thing to do?!

I’m glad you asked, here’s why.

Continue reading “8 Things Home Inspectors Won’t Tell You”

Posted on

Kentucky Population Changes: Where Do We Come From?

Photo of a Welcome to Kentucky sign | Kentucky Population Changes

Thoughts come to me from all directions. No seriously, out of the ether. They also arrive at all times, even when I’m sleeping. I’ll dream of showing crazy homes to my clients or building a new house with my wife or practically anything.

The other day I thought, “I wonder if the Internet knows where most of the people who are living here in Kentucky came from?”

Sure enough, that information is out there, if you hunt for it.

Continue reading “Kentucky Population Changes: Where Do We Come From?”

Posted on

27 Things Your Realtor Won’t Tell You

Well, well, well. What have we here? 27 things your Realtor won’t tell you?!

This couldn’t possibly be one of those “behind the scenes,” tell-all posts that I hear so much about? Well, yes… that’s exactly what it is.

“But Tre! I thought you were one of those honest agents that treats his clients the way you want to be treated?!?”

Never fear, that hasn’t changed. What I’m about to share is what I’ve seen and heard throughout my career. The good news for you is that, once you’ve read this piece, you’ll be armed and dangerous. No more surprises for you, no sir.

Continue reading “27 Things Your Realtor Won’t Tell You”