January 05, 2010
Making "Cents" of Prices for Lakefront Homes in Walworth County
As a realtor, I sometimes feel like the proverbial parent saying, “Are you listening?” With an extremely challenging real estate market in 2009, and subtle movement in the last quarter of the year, it’s clear to me that the sellers who take my advice will have a highly likelihood of having “Sold” signs on their front lawns come late spring. Take the case of two lakefront sellers to whom I recently spoke. One couple has a lovely, solidly built and beautifully finished lakefront on Booth Lake in Walworth County. The other is a much larger lakefront on Lake Beulah. Both are determined sellers; neither “has to sell.” Here’s the difference: the sellers on Booth Lake took my advice and staged their home, appreciably raising the wow factor and increasing their “sales opportunities”. They were disappointed in my price suggestion, but are determined to sell this year. Thus, when their home hits the market it will be hard to resist both in terms of price and presentation. The Lake Beulah sellers spent quite a bit of time telling me how “special” their house is and how it outshines the competition. Their price expectations are unreasonable; in addition, as lovely as their property is, there is still much room for improvement and staging would help tremendously. If I were to bet money on which home would sell before summer (and as a listing agent I am definitely betting my marketing dollars on exactly this) it would be the Booth Lake house. In this market you have to win the price war and the beauty contest and that’s exactly what these owners have committed to doing. So sellers, if you “don’t have to sell” but are committed to selling give me a call. Together we’ll examine the market and prepare your property for this year’s Beauty Pageant! And for those buyers out there, don’t settle for the runner-up. In this market you have every right to expect a property to be priced competitively and to outshine the competition in terms of presentation. For more seller and buyer tips, visit my website!
Posted by:
Janis Hartley
Tagged With:
booth lake,
home staging,
lake beulah,
lakefront homes,
market stats
and walworth county
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