Ted Wight's St. Louis Style

Real Estate Market Graphs

Check out these graphs....more houses under contract...lower inventory...prices up a little....it is time to list your home if you are thinking about it?  St. Louis Real Estate Buyers....you need to be ready and on your toes for the good houses that come on the market. (Source: June issue of Realtor Magazine)

 

Buyers Be Prepared: The Real Estate Market in St. Louis is Hot

St. Louis Real Estate Buyers are frustrated.  The inventory levels are still low and good houses are being snapped up as soon as they hit the market. Most of the last few listings that I have brought on the market since January have sold within the first week. One listing I had received 3 offers on the first day.

What can you do as a Buyer to make sure that you are the lucky Buyer of the home of your dreams?

1. The first thing is to watch for new listings on a dependable site.  I have found that Listing Book is the best option.  It is synched with the MLS every 30 minutes and you will receive a Morning Report of new listings that meet your search criteria.  Only Realtors can sign you up on this service. Feel free to register for an account on my site: http://tedwight.listingbook.com
2. Get a preapproval from a lender
3. Make sure that you see the house on the first available day with your agent.
4. Write a good offer right away.  It is okay to pay full price or even more if you want the house. Generally you will include an Appraisal Rider with your offer that will protect you from overpaying for a home. Sometimes agents will accept an offer with an acceleration clause- you will pay so much money over the best offer up to a certain dollar amount.

Good luck!

 

2013 YTD Sales Rankings for St. Louis Realtors

I just ran a report for 2013 sales in the City and Central St. Louis Area for sales volume.  The area includes: Downtown, Central East, South City, CWE, University City, Ladue, Clayton, Brentwood, Maplewood Richmond Heights, Kirkwood, Webster Groves and Parkway Central.

1. Brad Elsner
2. Ted Wight
3. Joel Svoboda
4. Mary Lewis
5. Ann Wroth
6. Joanne Iskiwitch
7. Barbara Wulfing
8. Steve Mathes
9. Neil Gellman/Mark Gellman
10. Pat Coursault
11. John Ryan
12. Dennis Koenemann
13. Tina Niemann
14. Jenifer Garcia
15. Tom King
16. Sabrina Robb
17. Susan Johnson
18. Sarah Schiff
19. Mary Rosenblum
20. Angela Kittner
21. Christopher Hulse
22. Paul Mittelstadt
23. Chris Thiemet

Congratulations to everyone and to my other Dielmann Sotheby's International Realty Agents who made the list...highlighted in pink.  I have another closing today that should put me at #1

Ways to Make Your House Sell!

Make It High-Def

Provide a "high definition" effect to your listings by making sure you tempt buyers using all five of their senses.

MARCH 2013 | BY MELISSA DITTMANN TRACEY

Before yelling “action,” make sure the home will touch buyers’ five senses. “Imagine that a buyer enters your listing. It’s the fourth she’s looked at,” Nourmand says. “She’s tired and grumpy and undergoing sensory overload. You want to present a space that will surprise her and encourage her to relax and soak in the setting.” Here are ideas to provide a “high definition” effect to your listings:

• Sight: Display fresh flowers throughout the house on kitchen and bathroom countertops and side tables. Or add color pops by displaying seasonal fruits in the kitchen, living, and dining rooms —like a large bowl filled with red apples, pomegranates, strawberries, or lemons.
• Sound: Play soft classical music in the background.
• Taste: Put ready-to-bake cookies in the oven shortly before a showing and set them out on a pretty plate in the kitchen for prospective buyers. Brew some coffee and tea. The refreshments provide buyers more incentives to sit down and stay awhile—an approach Nourmand recently used in prepping singer Sheryl Crow’s $15 million Hollywood home for sale.
• Smell: Skip the chemical air fresheners. The flowers and freshly baked cookies will provide a welcoming scent. Nourmand creates another favorite by slicing four apples in half . She then sprinkles them with brown sugar and bakes them at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Feel: Use linens with a “rich, substantive feel” in bedrooms, textured accent pillows, and white fluffy towels—all convey the touch of luxury.

Creating such an inviting space should elicit rave reviews from home shoppers—and just might entice them to stick around through the closing credits.

http://realtormag.realtor.org/home-and-design/briefs/article/2013/03/make-it-high-def

2013 Sales Are Going Strong

Sometimes I even surprise myself.  I was running a report for 2013 Clayton sales and discovered that I am currently #1 in sales in Clayton.  Last year I ended up being ranked #5. Well I just ran a report of 2013 sales from downtown out to Parkway Central including Kirkwood and Webster... I am #1 with over $5,000,000 in sales! 

Now is the time to talk to me if you are thinking about listing your home this Spring.

Real Estate Sales Tax? What are the facts?

There are emails floating all around about the real estate sales tax that was part of the Healthcare Reform Act. This potential tax could affect only 2-5% of home sales. Watch this video to get informed.  Read more HERE.

  

2012 Has Been A Banner Year For Me....& I have 3 months left!

I am horrible about setting goals and running reports to keep track of my sales volume.  I just ran a report of my 2012 sales and am at over $16,000,000. I think I am going to double what I did last year. Someone told me that I am in the top 5% of St. Louis agents. Check out my Facebook Business Page to see what I have sold.

Top Ten Things You Need to Know About the 3.8% Tax

With the election coming soon, there will be a lot of miscommunication. One item that is floating around is the 3.8% sales tax on selling a home which is tied to the Health Care Reform Act. This tax may go into affect in 2013. This tax is confusing and only affects about 2% of the population.

Read the document below created by the National Association of Realtors. Also check out the video on the bottom created by the Washington Realtors Association.

St Joseph

I just had a yummy sandwich at Salume Beddu, a concrete at Ted Drewes and then picked up a wad of St Joseph statues at Catholic Supply. The big opens are for my harder to sell properties!

Getting My House Ready to Sell

Over the years I have been giving advice to my Sellers on how to get their property sold quickly and at a good price.  I decided to follow my own advice.  Here is what I did starting about 2 months ago.

• Tried to grow grass in spotty areas
• Boosted a regular watering schedule of the lawn and gardens
• Visited with Nancy Spewak of Property Enhancement at my house to give me an hour of staging and decorating advice- $75/ hr
• Took all of the clothes I have not worn in the last year to the Goodwill
• Boosted my maid to come once a week to clean and do special projects like clean closets, cabinets, etc- last month and until the house was under contract- $70/week
• Bought extra bedding plants for the garden- $100
• Decluttered all closets
• Replaced windows in my sunroom/office- the old ones were crank windows and some had some rot - $1800
• I bought new duvet covers, accent pillows and sheets for two beds- $600-$700 (At least I get to take these with me!)
  
• Order and installed a new glass shower door in my master bath- $800
• Contracted with Absolute Tile and Stone to redo my kitchen with a travertine tile floor, granite counters and subway tile- $11,000
• Had Voss Painting come in to spray my cabinets off-white. They were an odd, peachy wood color before- $2000
  
• Repainted several rooms, the front door, exterior siding and interior woodwork. $1500
• Replaced the carpeting in my study- $800
• Had my carpet in the Lower Level cleaned- $65
• Stopped cooking smelly foods
• Cleaned the oven
• Removed family photos
• Professionally washed all of the windows- $175
• Had my yard professionally edged and mulched by Cut Pro $300
• For all showings:  turned on music, lite a candle, turned on all lights, cut fresh flowers and mowed the lawn

Viola....it sold quickly.  I keep thinking if I needed to do so much and spend all of the time and money. I guess I would rather be in the position I am now with a contract in place than wondering why my house has not sold....and making $10,000 price reductions.

The general rule is to spend about 2-5% of your sale price of your home on preparing it to go on the market.

http://8719westkingsbury.canbyours.com/

The Real Estate Market is Showing Life!

In the last two weeks I have had 5 of my lingering listings go under contract. Lingering as in....they have been on the market since last Fall. Showings compared with the same time last year have doubled. An agent in my office, who works the loft district in downtown St. Louis, says that the loft inventory is down to 80 units for sale.....compared with over 1000 five years ago. All of my Open Houses over the last few Sundays have been swamped with Buyers looking. I am really up on this market!

If you are thinking about selling your house this Spring, you had better hurry. The Spring market is here and there are Buyers out there!

Call Me!  Ted Wight, Dielmann Sotheby's International Realty, 314-607-5555   tedwight@aol.com

If you are thinking of Buying a place this Spring, sign up for a free Listing Book account. Listing Book synchs with our local Realtor database every 30 minutes. It is the closest way to search for real estate without being an agent. Sites like Zillow may take days/weeks to update. Sign up HERE

What a Time to Buy!

In an effort to share valuable customer facing information, please see the brief article below: Seems to me this could be a powerful piece of information to share with clients who may be on the fence.As a matter of fact, another Bear economist turned bull this last week! Chris Thornburg, a former UCLA economist and founding principle of The Bacon Group was quoted saying:

"...a great time to buy a home... buy now."

                                            When the Prophet Says Buy - BUY!

John R. Talbott, previously a Goldman Sachs investment banker, is a bestselling author and economic consultant. When it comes to the housing market he is also a prophet. When housing prices started to skyrocket in 2003, he published The Coming Crash in the Housing Market correctly warning us that a real estate bubble was forming. Then in January 2006, he called the absolute peak of home prices in the US by releasing a new book, Sell Now! The End of the Housing Bubble.

Mr. Talbott, the person who accurately predicted the housing bubble and its bust, now has a new prediction - IT IS THE TIME TO BUY A HOME! In a recent article, Homes - Buy Now!, Talbott simply explains:

"I have been waiting for more than five years to offer this advice. It is now time in most cities across the country to buy a new home or refinance your existing home with thirty-year fixed rate mortgage debt."


He goes on to explain that his conclusion is based on four different metrics, all of which favor buying today:

Home Prices Relative to Peak Prices During the Bubble
Home Prices Relative to Construction Costs or Replacement Costs
Home Prices Relative to Incomes and Rents
Home Prices in Real Terms, Not US Dollar Terms
Bottom Line

If the person who called the real estate bubble and its bust says now is the time to buy, we believe it is time to buy.

 

Article passed to me by:

Michael MacDonald has forwarded this email to you with the following message: Great article to motivate any buyers that are "on the fence." Happy to help in EVERY way possible ! - Mike First Option Mortgage Off: 314-400-9815 Cell: 314-249-8149   

Selling Your House in 2012? I may be doing it myself!

The idea of selling your house can be daunting....especially if you want to do it right.  I may be selling my house in 2012 (don't worry...I am not moving out of the area) and have been working a punch list since earlier this year. So far I have had a large dead tree removed, reboarded my deck, retiled my shower, replaced carpeting in a bedroom, installed new wood blinds in a few rooms and repainted the Living Room. These are all things that need to be done in order to get my house sold quickly and for a good price.  Over the weekend I bought a new dishwasher!  The next things to do are to replace some windows, repaint some more rooms and do a make over of the kitchen. It is expensive...though less than taking $10,000 price drops. I am a Realtor and need to practice what I preach! I also want to enjoy some of these improvement now.

If you are thinking about selling your house in 2012, now is the perfect time to start thinking about it. Contact me at 314-607-5555 or teedwight@aol.com if you would like a consultation of projects that need to be completed to sell your house at the best price!

Here are some general points to follow when getting ready and while selling your home:

1. Clean and declutter....only 3 items on any tabletop...hire a maid to come in once a week while your house is on the market...you deserve the break anyway!

2. Brightening....clean all of your windows inside and out. Open your curtains! Make sure there is plenty of light....and certainly leave all of your lights on when a showing in coming.

3. Music....turn on some light jazz for your showings and Open Houses

4. Accessorize/ staging. Buy new towels and soaps for the bathrooms. Add candles and new pillows.  If you are moving your furniture out or don't have enough...hire a staging company. They can also help you rearrange what you have already. It really is worth it!  Plus the on-line pictures will draw Buyers to your house.

5. Landscape enhancements.  Mulch your yard...just not the bright red mulch.  Add bushes and flowers.  Keep what you add alive! 

6. Clean your carpets and get them stretched if they have waves in them.

7. Organize your closets and line your clothes up perfectly...mine aren't like this, though it always impresses me when I see a closet like this.

8. Make that front door shine!  It better be painted nicely, have a lock that is easy to open. If your doorbell is not working or is broken...replace it....and not with a cheap one. Make it metal and wired. Make sure that the wood trim around the door looks good and especially free from rot. You would be surprised what I see.

9. Paint/ seal your deck. If boards are rotted, consider replacing them. Nothing says potential $ than a failing deck.

10. Repaint rooms that have nicks, scraps and too strong of colors. Please do it professionally or be a good painter. I have been to too many homes that have sloppy paint jobs done by homeowners.

11. Seal your asphalt driveway.

12. Plant bulbs for next Spring!

13. Work on your grass....green and weed free.

14. Smells...no strong odors from cooking, baby diapers, pets smells or teenage boy scents.

 

Inexpensive Home Adjustments to Get Your House Ready to Sell in St. Louis

1. Clean and declutter....only 3 items on any tabletop...hire a maid to come in once a week while your house is on the market...you deserve the break anyway!

2. Brightening....clean all of your windows inside and out. Open your curtains! Make sure there is plenty of light....and certainly leave all of your lights on when a showing in coming.

3. Music....turn on some light jazz for your showings and Open Houses

4. Accessorize/ staging. Buy new towels and soaps for the bathrooms. Add candles and new pillows.  If you are moving your furniture out or don't have enough...hire a staging company. They can also help you rearrange what you have already. It really is worth it!  Plus the on-line pictures will draw Buyers to your house.

5. Landscape enhancements.  Mulch your yard...just not the bright red mulch.  Add bushes and flowers.  Keep what you add alive! 

6. Clean your carpets and get them stretched if they have waves in them.

7. Organize your closets and line your clothes up perfectly...mine aren't like this, though it always impresses me when I see a closet like this.

8. Make that front door shine!  It better be painted nicely, have a lock that is easy to open. If your doorbell is not working or is broken...replace it....and not with a cheap one. Make it metal and wired. Make sure that the wood trim around the door looks good and especially free from rot. You would be surprised what I see.

9. Paint/ seal your deck. If boards are rotted, consider replacing them. Nothing says potential $ than a failing deck.

10. Repaint rooms that have nicks, scraps and too strong of colors. Please do it professionally or be a good painter. I have been to too many homes that have sloppy paint jobs done by homeowners.

11. Seal your asphalt driveway.

12. Plant bulbs for next Spring!

13. Work on your grass....green and weed free.

14. Smells...no strong odors from cooking, baby diapers, pets smells or teenage boy scents.

 

Invest $1,000 - $2,000 to get your house ready to sell and you will get over $10,000 in value.

 

House Sales Are Up!

Sorry for my fuzzy scan...though you get the idea...things are looking better in the housing market!

 

Dielmann Sotheby's Phone App....Try it!

I tried our new Dielmann Sotheby's International Realty phone app the other day and it is very cool.  I was standing in a house with a client and was able to pull up all of the other houses for sale in the area.  This included all of the houses for sale....not just Dielmann Sotheby's.

Try it....it is free!

Text DSIR to 87778 for the mobile app download

HD Photography Used to Sell Real Estate

HD Photography in real estate pics is the next rage. Take a look at these before and after pics from this SITE. Thank you reader Cristina for pointing this out to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

The Spring Real Estate Market is Here and Going Strong!

The flowers may not be blooming yet and the grass is not green, though the Spring real estate market in St. Louis is already going strong.  Especially in the high-end market. Do you believe that 21 properties in St. Louis that are $1 million dollar plus homes have gone under contract in the weeks after New Years?  Believe it or not, we need more inventory on the market to handle these Buyers. If you are thinking about waiting until April, you may miss some good Buyers! We are also seeing all price ranges get increased action. A listing I had on the market for 6 months last year, I brought back on the market with a little lower price and it was sold within a week! Open Houses that I have had over the last Sundays have bought out more than twice as many potential Buyers than I saw last Fall.

Buyers may be concerned that interest rates may be going up. I think that people are just tired of waiting out the market and want a new home now. 

Just because a home is not on the market, does not mean it is not for sale.  I have had great luck recently matching Buyers up with Sellers who have hinted that they are interested in selling. These opporuntities you will not find in the paper or Realtor.com. This is where working with a savvy realtor helps.

Looking to Buy a House This Spring? ListingBook is the Best Tool to Search for One.

Looking on-line for a home can be frustrating.  You need to make sure that you are using the right tool to get the job done. Zillow, Trulia, Blockshopper and other similar resources are not always up-to-date or accurate. Realtor company sites do not always have ALL houses listed on it. Agents have the MLS to search for listings. The next best bet is ListingBook. ListingBook has formed an alliance with the local St. Louis MLS to provide an ideal way for the public to search for a home. Our local MLS synchs with ListingBook every 30 minutes. This is the only site that gets updated that often...the best the other can offer is nightly synchs.

To sign up for a free ListingBook account, just click HERE.

Seller can also use ListingBook to get an idea of the market and house's competition.

 

Getting Your House Ready To Sell

If you are thinking about selling your house in 2011, now is the right time to start thinking about it and taking action. In St. Louis the Spring selling season starts in early February, so you really just have the month of January to get your house in market-ready condition. Here are some tips:

• Declutter, declutter, declutter....this means the basement, your closets, everything. Limit tabletop items to only 3.
• Before you start showings, remove family photographs. This helps declutter your house and helps focus nosey realtors and buyers away from looking at your family and back on your house. I am one of these offenders. If I see family photos in a house, I immediately try to figure out if I know the people. About 1/3 of the time I do.
• Freshly paint any surfaces that are marked up. If you have a room with a strong color, consider painting it a neutral color. Repaint walls that were "sponged" in the 90's.
• Removed wallpaper
• Replace your "beat-up appliances with new ones
• Paint or restain your deck
• Get rid of any houseplants that are lanky or sad
• Stop smoking in your house
• Clean the carpets
• Wash your windows inside and out
• Remove the screens from the front windows of your house-the windows will look sharper
• Stop cooking strong smelling foods like curry
• Take a critical look at your front door. If it needs painting or replacing, take care of this now. Try adding a brass kick plate.
• Make sure your house is in good condition on the outside. Pealing paint or loose mortar are turn offs and may single that the house has not been tended to
• Look at your hardwood floors and determine if they need refinishing. The cost is not as bad as you think.
• Replace carpeting that is worn or have carpeting with waves in it stretched.
• Spruce up your kitchen with new counters, floor and even cabinets if necessary.
• Thoroughly clean your house from top to bottom and maintain it.
• Add new mulch to your flower beds.
• Buy some pretty flowering plants for your interior of the house.

Although there will be an investment to get your house in order to sell, the investment is very worth while. Considering that price reductions are usually $5,000 -$10,000 each time you have to make an adjustment, a $5,000 investment that gets your house sold quickly is smart!

As a licensed broker/salesperson with Dielmann Sotheby's International Realty, I would be please to provide free consultation to anyone who is interested in selling their house.

Ted Wight, 314-607-5555 or tedwight@aol.com