Santa Fe Real Estate

Selling Your Santa Fe Home? 3 Quick Fixes Before You Show

Rich Gonzales — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:00:13 +0000

Many people say it’s the kitchen and bathrooms that really sell a home.

Buyers prefer that both are clean and in move-in condition. They want to unpack their dishes and glassware as well as their toiletry bag and feel comfortable in their new home right away.

Here’s 3 quick and easy touch-ups you can make before you start showing your home to potential buyers:

Paint the kitchen cabinets. If your cabinets are a but dated, you don’t necessarily have to reface them, simply paint them white. It will give your kitchen an lighter, brighter and cleaner feeling.
Put some new hardware on the kitchen cabinets. Again, buying a few new nobs/handles can restore life to older cabinets and save you money in the process.
Re-grout or clean the bathroom tile and grout. Dirty grout = huge turn-off for a potential buyer.

When in doubt, ask one of our friendly Santa Fe Real Estate Experts

Continue reading about quick home fixes here

Forecast: Drops in Home Values Less Severe in ‘12

Warren R. Sacks — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:00:46 +0000

It will be a year of not-as-bad numbers for home values.

Zillow’s home-value forecast released on Thursday predicts a drop of 3.7% this year, which only looks like an improvement when measured against the 4.7% drop in 2011. Some markets hammered by the housing bust, such as Phoenix, Los Angeles and Riverside, Calif., should bottom out for home values in 2012, according to Zillow, and might even see a slight increase in values.

But other markets, particularly Atlanta, Chicago, and Seattle, are projected to show significant further home-value declines on a year-over-year basis in December 2012. The forecast from the real-estate company covers the top 25 metro markets.

Zillow has compiled these interactive charts to show how the outlook breaks down by market. Of course, a forecast is just that, and unforeseen factors could change the housing market’s course.

Want to know what your Santa Fe Home is worth?

High-income real estate agents lead the pack on tech

Rich Gonzales — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:00:17 +0000

Top-earning real estate agents — those who take in $100,000 or more per year — tend to work more hours, close more transactions, favor Apple devices, spend more on marketing and technology, have higher commission splits, and update their websites and social media accounts more often than agents earning between $30,000 and $50,000, according to a survey conducted by InmanNext, an agent-focused website operated by Inman News.

Windows Reveal the True Housing Market

Warren R. Sacks — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:00:36 +0000

ORLANDO — Maybe the clearest way to look at the housing market is through a nice glass window.

Susan Marvin, president of Marvin Windows and Doors, a small, privately held family company based in Warroad, Minn., wants to believe that the housing market is improving, but the numbers say otherwise.

Housing starts and permits are at or near all-time lows. So are new-home sales. Existing-home sales, while improving, remain at near-historic lows. These are the reasons why Ms. Marvin’s company projects that 2012 will be a flat year for the window business, no better than last year.

Read our Santa Fe Real Estate report.

Santa Fe Real Estate Definitions: CMA

Rich Gonzales — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:00:01 +0000

Comparative Market Analysis or Competitive Market Analysis is often referred to as a CMA. A CMA is a study or comparison of recently sold homes properties that failed to seeas well as propeties currently on the market that are substantially equivalent to another home in terms of selling price location style and amenities.

Click to get a Comparative Market Analysis of your Santa Fe Home Home

The Gift Letter: Was It a Loan in Disguise?

Warren R. Sacks — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:00:35 +0000

If you’re thinking of helping a relative or a friend purchase a Santa Fe Home this is a must read.

Q. A relative needed help with the down payment on a home, so I gave him $25,000. I signed a gift letter to the lender. Shortly after the home closed, a different relative paid me back the $25,000. Should I still consider the money I gave him as a gift? Should I file a 709 gift tax form?

–California

A. This is a tricky situation. Given the circumstances, I suggest that you talk to an estate planning attorney—though it would have been better if you’d done that before you got involved in this transaction.

The gift letter that you signed undoubtedly had wording to the effect that you did not expect repayment and that the recipient was under no obligation to you. Presumably, you also had to provide other documentation, such as bank statements, that showed that you had the money and didn’t have any unexplained large deposits before the gift was made.

220 Deals Per Year Thanks To The Internet

Rich Gonzales — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:00:41 +0000

Michael Pannell, is making waves in the Dallas Real Estate Market, generating 220+ deals per year and 97% of his business comes straight from the internet. Michael now plans to move into the San Antonio and Houston market as well. Geek Estate‘s, Daniel Beer was able to sit down and talk with Michael and get his thoughts and insights on being a Realtor in the 21st century.

Read the interview with Michael Pannell

What steps are you taking to enhance your business in the new digital age? I can show you what Barker Realty is doing.

Bernanke: No ‘Silver Bullet’ for Housing Woes

Warren R. Sacks — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:49 +0000

The Santa Fe Housing market continues to improve slowly.

What more can the Federal Reserve do to help the home-building industry?

That was the question in the air when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke took the podium Friday at the National Association of Home Builders’ International Builders Show for a keynote speech.

Thanks to Fed monetary policy, interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages are already at or near their lowest levels in recorded history, making it cheaper than ever for consumers to finance the purchase of a home. And two weeks ago, Mr. Bernanke signaled publicly that short-term interest rates will remain low through 2014.

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Santa Fe Realtor Tips For Handling a Seller Who’s “Just Not That Into You”

Rich Gonzales — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:02:10 +0000

As Valentine’s Day approaches, most people go shopping for flowers, chocolates, gifts, or someone new to share their life with. In the real estate world, buyers are out shopping for that perfect home to “settle down with.” Given the ups and downs of a real estate search and the love affair many buyers have with potential homes, many real estate agents feel their job is one part agent, one part therapist, and one part matchmaker.

Santa Fe Realtors Read the Tips Here

Will Foreclosure Deal Hurt Homebuyers?

Warren R. Sacks — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:49 +0000

Will the deal help Santa Fe Real Estate recover faster?

The government’s settlement with five banks today will provide some relief to distressed homeowners, but experts say it could be a setback for future home buyers.

The finalized agreement, which follows a yearlong push to settle allegations of foreclosure abuses by lenders, is worth up to $26 billion and will provide cash payments to borrowers who went through foreclosure over the past few years. It will also forgive some principal for borrowers who owe more on their home than it’s worth. But mortgage experts and bank sources say that in the longer term the settlement could make it harder for many Americans to get a mortgage. “It has the potential to make mortgage credit less available and expensive in the future,” says Bob Davis, executive vice president at the American Bankers Association.

Search for Santa Fe Forclosures.