First time buyers have very little time to take advantage of the tax credit which can mean as much as $8000 in their pockets!  To qualify, buyers must not have owned a home for at least 3 years, and they must close the sale by November 30, 2009.  Rest assured that realtors everywhere are contacting their senators and representatives recommending an extension of this popular program, but as of today the deadline is November 30. 

If you know someone, one of your children, a friend who has not owned a home in 3 years, urge them to consider taking advantage of this program.  We’ve sold several buyers wonderful homes this year that would probably still be renting if someone hadn’t given them the good advice that this program, combined with wonderful interest rates, is the chance of a lifetime!

Call us today at 636-391-2100!

Finally…Congress has several proposals to extend or add to your ability to purchase a new home in this time when houses are on sale for 20% off! 

Of course, Congress has not been known to follow through on much of their agenda.  So who knows if any of this will come to fruit.  However, here goes: First, you probably already know about the $8,000 credit for first time home buyers (who have not owned a home in 3 years — if you owned a home BEFORE that, but haven’t owned one in 3 years, you are able to use this $8,000 also!).  This credit has started a buying spree among first time buyers for lower price homes!  But buyers using this money must CLOSE their purchase by Nov. 30th or they will lose the money! 

And  the move-up market is still slow!  So… some Congressional members are proposing 1) extending the credit for another year or, at least, a longer period of time to help buyers continue to become homeowners.  And another proposal was that Congress up that $8,000 ro $15,000 for move up buyers and possibly for all buyers…or just extend that $8,000 to everyone. One great stimulus to help the housing industry!

Whether any of these proposal actually go through, what it tells me is that the government, especially Congress, is acknowledging that they need to encourage buyers to get out there and buy while we still have a plethora of homes on the market!!  So, don’t hold your breath, but do consider taking a look at the fabulous variety of homes available at incredible prices!  You won’t have this opportunity again in your lifetime.

Everyone is thinking it is time to buy … foreclosures!  Big discounts… The newspapers say so!  The television says so.  The internet says so.  It must BE so!  Well, there are foreclosures throughout the country, but the numbers and types vary according to the area of the country and even the community you are looking at!  Very desireable areas may have few or none.  Areas that were already troubled have many more.  But St. Louis real estate is, in many ways, unique.  We have been such a stable real estate market for as long as I have been in real estate (25 years!) that we had few people who overextended as they did in California or Florida!  In addition, foreclosures here are listed in the Multi List system, so, if you are looking for them, you will find them scattered here and there.  And often not exactly where you would like to live!  Every family has a dream house in a dream area and it is sorta hard to put that house in that area — exactly!  What I suggest, as interest ratess are now pushing 4-1/2% and we may never see that again!, is to call us and let us do the hard work for you!  We are specialists in putting together that house in that area at the right price.  Or, if you want to browse on your own, go to our website, www.theirvineteam.com and take a look at the newest and latest listings!  You’ll find it isn’t only foreclosures that will be interesting.  Many many, in fact, most homes have adjusted their prices to compete with those distressed houses!  And they could very well be that perfect house in the perfect area you have been dreaming about your whole life!  Get on board before it is too late!

I know, this market can be frustrating and confusing for both buyers and sellers! And we in St. Louis county, St. Charles county, Chesterfield, Ballwin, Ellisville, Wildwood, and Town and Country are no different than other parts of the country!! Let me try to help with that confusion a little!  First, you need to understand that there IS a difference between “price” and “value’.  Price is the amount you are asking for your home, while value is what a buyer perceives the property is worth.  And these can be two different amounts!  Value, as determined by a buyer, can be influenced by many factors such as: location, condition, comparison to other homes in your price range, features one home has that another doesn’t have.  But, by paying attention to details that can have a positive impact on the value, you as a seller can significantly increase your chance of snagging a buyer who agress with your idea of value!

First, look at a few simple things:

1)  Size makes a difference in perceived value!  So, you want to make your home appear larger than its actual square footage.  You do this by reducing the amount of furniture, knick-knacks, and clutter and making the rooms look “naked.”  The space will then feel bigger.  Builders have done this for years by vaulting ceilings or making two-story rooms!  While the actual square footage may be small, the rooms appear large!

2) Cosmetics are extremely important.  Fresh paint inside, walls, ceilings, and even woodwork, makes the home appear newer.  And remember, this home may be your old home, but it is someone else’s “new” home.  So make it look new.  And painting can be done so inexpensively.  Clean carpeting and, if you think it might be too worn, don’t hesitate to replace it.  You will find many carpet places will bill you at closing now. 

Kitchens and bathrooms are critical to most buyers. So updating these two rooms can bring you more money and a quicker sale as well. We have even had people put in granite counters just to sell the house (no, they aren’t as expensive as you think and can even be put over your old counters).  This is an improvement that pays for itself in a quicker sale and buyers are so impressed in older homes to see these two rooms updated.  In a bathroom, you may want to replace corroded faucets.  Not expensive, but something people will notice. And clean out those closets, including the linen closet.  People don’t want to buy a home with small closets.  They are leaving small closets.  They want bigger!  So cleaning out your closet will give them the perception that they are getting that bigger closet.

Pay attention to the entrance and yard and clean it up, put fresh mulch there and maybe a wreath to welcome those buyers. This is a buyer’s first introduction to your home.  When I showed a house, I could usually tell how tidy the inside of a home was — by the outside!  Remember that buyers stand at your front door waiting to get inside and will be looking at the brass doorknob, the doorbell, the light.

3) Take care of the obvious, like spots on the ceiling from a small leak.  Buyers tend to “horribleize” and, if they see one thing wrong, they imagine lots of other things wrong that they can’t see! I know you lived with those spots, that worn carpeting, the stain on the basement wall.  And you don’t want to spend money now, when you are leaving.  But this might just be the reason you can leave!  If you ignore things, you might get to live in your old home for a much longer time!

I know this sounds daunting.  But the money is small — and we are selling homes quickly that listen to these hints!  Just give us a call and we can fill you in, by coming out and doing a personal assessment of your particular home!  Our number: 636-391-2100!

We are once again fortunate to have been invited to participate in the Bill Barrett Top 500 Real Estate Event held in Orlando in conjunction with the National Association of Realtors Annual Conference.  We have been involved with this prestigious group for nearly 10 years now and the amount of information that is shared among these top real estate agent is simply not available anywhere else in the country.  Many of these 50 real estate agents design their entire yearly business plan based on discussion, advertising, technology, and real estate techniques that are shared among this group at this annual event. And it is such an honor to be included with these “moguls of real estate“.  More than that, sharing ideas helps The Irvine Team perfect their abilities to help clients and customers reach their goals when it comes to buying and selling.  Certainly, we need as many new ideas as possible to help in the St. Louis, Chesterfield, West County, and St Charles markets in this challenging period.\

But good news is The Irvine Team has closed 145 sales so far this year, so the challenges that have faced us have certainly not slowed us down! Now is a particularly good time to go home shopping in St. Louis.  Traditionally, interest rates are the lowest in December and begin to rise as January progresses and demand increases.  And the inventory you have to choose from is maximized, as many people want to move before the holidays!  If you want to browse, please use our easy-to-use MLS search.

“This is the type of Real Estate market that two years from now everybody is going to say, ‘I wish I had bought then’.”  This is a quote from Rich Levin, noted real estate prognosticator.  Here are the factors, according to Levin, that are lining up for the next 6 to 12 months to be that year — you should have bought.  And the beauty here is, if you listen, you can still do it to minimize your housing costs and maximize the house you buy!

First, Financing:  Interest rates are still the lowest they’ve been for decades.  And, traditionally, when they hover close to 6%, they usually don’t “hover” for long, quickly rising with the demand for housing.  You have an opportunity to take advantage of these lower rates before the economy turns the corner and rates start rising with the healthier economy. 

“But I hear getting a loan is almost impossible,” some potential buyers repeat.  As St. Louis’s # 1 Realtor for many years, I can tell you that we have not seen difficulties in obtaining loans for the vast majority of our clients.  Lenders are eager to loan money (actually that is how banks make money!) to real estate buyers as long as they have good credit.  And we can still get low down payment loans, just not those 100% loans that caused the real estate melt down.

Inventory:  We note that new home inventory is slowly being absorbed into the marketplace, at prices that are definitely attractive to buyers who want to make money in the future.  Builders don’t know how to be grocery clerks or truck drivers, so they keep doing what they do know how to do: build houses.  That is one of the reasons we in St. Louis, St. Charles county and Jefferson county got into such an oversupply of available housing.  If you don’t have enough new buyers coming into the marketplace to absorb that inventory quickly enough, the inventory will build — and builders will have to run a “sale.”  And, because those builders are reluctant to add to the inventory until they get rid of their already existing “spec” homes, that inventory should shrink and has been shrinking nicely.

What that leaves on the market is pre-owned homes that have not sold through the  year. And now you, as a buyer, can take advantage of a wide array of homes that are available at very attractive prices in nearly every corner of the St. Louis market — St Charles county, West County, South County, Jefferson County, North County. 

And those who do decide to jump in now, before the spring, will not see prices this reasonable (read “cheap”) for many many decades.  It is like being offered a Mercedes at Yugo prices!  Once you buy that “Mercedes at that Yugo price,” you can sit back and chuckle as others finally decide to dip their toes in the market and find less inventory, higher prices, higher interest rates — and that ol’ Mercedes at Mercedes prices!!  This is so similar to people who look at the stock market when Walmart, for instance, is at its peak and decide it is a good buy.  They buy it at the peak and then see it drop to lower levels.  The old adage, “Buy low, sell high” applies here to housing as well.

Is it smart to buy now?  It doesn’t take an Einstein to take advantage of this once in a lifetime housing sale!

If you want to start browsing and dreaming, just call us at 636-391-2100 or visit our website and get started — before the rest of St. Louis wakes up and gives you competition!!

Welcome to the first-ever Irvine Team real estate blog!  I was a journalism major in college so, although rusty, I plan to add to this “blog” weekly — so you, too, can be well-informed on real estate in St. Louis, St Louis County, and St. Charles County! And we intend to include other interesting area things, like movies, restaurants, things to do with kids.  All real estate all the time can get overwhelming! And if you are relocating to the St. Louis area, please use our complimentary MLS search for all your needs. 

First of all, we are seeing — FINALLY — some good news in the field of real estate sales!  Monthly home resales (as opposed to new construction) rose the most in five years in September, according to figures just released.  What does this mean for us in Middle America??  Well, first, to be cautious, it may not be a permanent turnaround, as getting a loan is getting more difficult and interest rates have gone up. However, the Irvine Team has sold 150 homes so far this year — that’s a home every 2 days!  So homes are selling, despite what the media would have us think. 

The other lesson we are learning is that price is king!  Adjusting your price and making your house look like a display does work, when it comes to getting a contract!  At the Irvine Team, we have a Certified Home Stager  to help our sellers present their homes in the best possible light.  If you would like to learn more about staging, contact our client care manager, Kate Thompson, Kate@The IrvineTeam.com.   And we do monthly updates on specific areas that compete with our listings — so sellers can see quickly what is selling — and not selling — in their neighborhoods and reflect that in their homes.  After all, while a home is a lot of things to a homeowner, to a seller it is a commodity, just like a car.  And that buyer is looking for the best “deal” he can get out there.  In fact, sellers are really scared they might overpay…so we find they are taking a much longer time to make up their minds!

So why do I say this upswing is a good thing?  It means we are finally starting to sell homes — sales were up 5.5% over the previous 30 days and 1.4% over the last 12 months. And it also means that affordability is coming into the market — and that is good news, no matter where you live!   The median price of existing homes in September was down 9% over the previous 12 months and a whopping 18.5% in the West.  Glad we don’t live out west!  While we do not have the depth of foreclosures in the St. Louis marketplace that they have in other parts of the country, the National Association of Realtors estimates last week that 35-40% of the resale homes nationwide were distressed sales.  If a home in a neighborhood has a foreclosure within 1/8 of a mile of it, it could affect the price by 1%.  And, if there are more than one, it can add to that figure!

At the Irvine Team, we have just been certified to handle “short sales” and “foreclosures”.  And it isn’t as difficult as one might think.  The CDPE designation means we are experts at assisting home sellers in distressed situations as well as expediting transactions for motivated buyers.  For more information, just call the Team at 636-391-2100.  Or contact us here.

Now, on to fun stuff!  Bos and I saw the movie “The Duchess” last week and thoroughly enjoyed it — getting out of the real world and back into the 18th century! The Duchess of Devonshire is, by the way,  an ancestor of Princess Diana.  What I didn’t know is that the Duke of Devonshire, who was a very powerful man second only to the king, had a mistress who lived with he and his wife for 25 years! 

And we also heard that Agostinos, which was at the corner of Manchester and Clarkson, is moving into the restaurant quarters where “Tsunami” used to be on Long Road in Chesterfield Valley.  Don’t know when it will open, but maybe we will get our own “Little Hill” in West County! 

Remember, if you need advice on housing, staging, distressed sales, we are at your “beck and call”. 

Kathy