Seller Strategies for Finding A Replacement Home

Team CHR Selling

Right now, sellers can sell quickly and for more than their home has ever been worth in many cases and still have options to implement strategies to protect themselves in case they cannot find an appropriate, exciting or acceptable replacement home. Here are some of those strategies:     Have home totally prepared, ready to go to market, then find …

Another Real Estate Bubble?

Team CHR Buying, Selling

Is it deja-vu? Have we seen this movie before? The metro Denver real estate market has made a dramatic turnaround — going from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market in short order. With prices rising dramatically, is this just another bubble that is going to come crashing down? Not necessarily. Historical perspective shows this. The accompanying chart shows the …

Multiple Offers Impact Buyers … and Sellers

Team CHR Buying, Selling

Multiple offers on a given property become common any time we enter a strong seller’s market. This phenomenon can create frustrations for buyers. Less appreciated is the fact that it can create headaches for sellers too. This multiple offer situation is new in the sense that it is different from what we experienced in 2008 through 2012. However, it is not …

Brand New Homes… and Chess

Team CHR Buying

Imagine you are back in high school and that you play chess about once a year. A nerdy guy asks you if you want to play chess. It just so happens that behind those pimples and thick-rimmed glasses and pocket protector is the president of the school’s chess club. How’s that going to work out for you? This situation pretty …

Benefits of Using an Agent When Buying a New “Build

Team CHR Buying

What can an agent do for you with a new home purchase?     Your Agent is Paid by the Builder: The builder will pay the fee due to your agent with no increase to the purchase price of the property.   Negotiation Expertise: Builders, like every seller, may be negotiable on the sales price. An agent can help you determine when …

The Challenge of Repositioning

Team CHR Buying, Selling

Repositioning. What is it? You own a house. You need to sell it to buy another because the one you own is too small, too large, too old or in the wrong area. Or, you’re just tired of it. Or, there has been a marriage, a divorce, a death, a job change, or … well, the list is endless. Repositioning is …

Buy Now For Maximum Purchasing Power

Team CHR Buying

Those thinking of buying a home may want to get that done as soon as possible. Rising home prices along with rising interest rates are the two factors that are creating this urgency. According to most recently published statistics for the Metro Denver real estate market, residential mortgage rates have risen by approximately 1% on a 30 year fixed loan …

The Myth of the Winter Slump

Team CHR Buying, Selling

Here is a piece of conventional wisdom about real estate: It is slow in the winter. The holidays are busy. People are preoccupied with other things. No one is thinking about real estate. Not so fast. The stats tell a different story. If we look at the winter months of late December thru late March, it is not uncommon for …

Buying Beats Renting – Part 1

Team CHR Buying

Some research by Trulia caught my eye recently. It presented an in-depth analysis of buying/owning a home versus renting. It did this analysis for dozens of markets across the country and concluded that buying beats renting in most cases. Unlike so many of the articles I see on this topic, I thought Trulia did a valid kumquats-to-kumquats comparison (apples-to-apples is …

Buying Beats Renting – Part 2

Team CHR Buying

A previous post explained why buying a home is more financially advantageous than renting in the current Denver market. It was an argument made in a Trulia post I read recently. As good as it was, the article left out one variable that I wanted to explore a bit — namely, appreciation in the value of the home. In the Trulia piece, …

Zillow Zestimate Zaccuracy

Team CHR Buying, Selling

One of my daughters told me about a friend that negotiated a price on a condo she bought in Chicago based on the Zillow Zestimate of the value of property. Ouch! Those zanny Zillow Zestimates (how much alliteration can I squeeze in here) are familiar to many of you. If not, just know that a “Zestimate” is Zillow’s term for their estimate …

Thinking Outside the Trapezoid

Team CHR Buying, Selling

We’ve collected a series of posts related to Innovation — we call it “Thinking outside the Trapezoid”. Yes. We know. The typical phrase is “thinking outside the box.” However, that phrase is a traditional metaphor for the idea of thinking in innovative and creative ways. Using it is, in and of itself, not very creative and innovative and therefore not …