Kids, on the other hand, would like a glass of apple juice, please.

Parents are forever juggling their other adult responsibilities with the needs of the children, so when you add home sale showings to the list, it might seem to make for a stressful situation. But a home sale doesn’t need to be disruptive — after all, it’s just one more ball in the air!

A few tried-and-true tactics make the process easier:

• If you’re blessed with grandparents who live close to Boerne, this is the time to enlist their help. Showings are simply well disguised opportunities for extra quality time with Gram and Gramps. No family in the area? See which play date parents will step up and volunteer for an occasional last minute get-together.
• Avalanches of toys — especially when they stray far from the kids’ room —don’t do much to advance the home sale you’re trying to accomplish. Make a game out of organizing toys into attractive storage boxes, complete with a ceremony for the moment when yesterday’s are put away and today’s opened up. If your kids are old enough to roll their eyes at this idea, I bet they’re old enough to help you with emergency cleanups. That will be easy (and maybe even fun) when you sit down together to create a written Emergency Home Sale Drill, complete with who’s responsible for doing what, and in what order. And don’t forget: successful drills merit special rewards!
• If some very young ones are in the mix, sleep-deprived adult noses can sometimes become desensitized to the simple truth that dirty diapers put off even the keenest of prospects. In addition to your regular diaper disposal regimen, don’t spare good quality air fresheners. The ones that emit seasonal scents common to our area are best.

We’ll help by giving at least an hours’ notice for any showing (24 hours whenever possible). Our teamwork will result in a serene setting for all our Boerne home sale showings.  Give one of our REALTORS® a call today!

The post Your Boerne Home Sale and Kids Do Mix! appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.

We can look at trends and directions, but if there is a change afoot, we won’t be sure of that for about 60 days.

San Antonio new home under construction

Last week, The Wall Street Journal found a way to present unusually fresh numbers. Reporter Nick Timiraos ignored the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, which reported statistics from back in March, and leapfrogged into April with the first solid news about our much-anticipated spring selling season.

It shows a startling 2.7% one-month increase: the largest March-to-April gain in any of the 17 years since the series was first reported.

“The monthly gain blew away all past Aprils,” said an economist at Credit Suisse. The basis of the reports comes from last Wednesday’s release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer-price index, which measures prices in the whole economy (at least as seen by manufacturers and wholesalers). It’s a backdoor way to gauge housing prices when you examine prices received by real estate agents.

The numbers showed a 9.1% gain over housing prices from a year ago…and remember, big price rises were already happening by then. The takeaway, per the Journal, “Don’t be surprised to see continued increases in prices and sales in the next batch of housing reports.”

Looking specifically at recent San Antonio housing prices, both the median and average prices jumped in April, posting gains of 6% and 5% respectively according to the San Antonio Board of REALTORS®.  The total number of sales also jumped 21% year over year. Days on Market have dropped to 84 days with 96.8% of homes being sold at list price.

If you would like specific statistics about your neighborhood, give us a call today. We can be reached at (210) 695-0694 or by filling out our brief contact form.

The post San Antonio Sellers Get Early National Housing Prices News appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.

Proper staging is critical to selling your San Antonio home.

The Real Estate Staging Association is always telling the world that when you are selling your home, you can expect to spend 73% less time on the market if you use the services of a professional staging company. Although this is an outcome everyone aims for, the cost of full bore professional staging can be a budget-cruncher.

A compromise solution is to combine a little personal elbow grease with some of the ‘inside’ tricks stagers use. When selling your home in San Antonio as quickly as possible is the goal, it’s worth following through with these staging pointers:

Magic Act

Everyday living creates clutter — but to establish the look of a well maintained, move-in-ready home, the debris has to disappear. You don’t need to be David Copperfield or Houdini, but you will need a dedicated place to store all that stuff out of sight. No place on the property? Go ahead and rent some temporary storage space.

Bland is Better

The Swiss are known for remaining neutral despite centuries of European strife. When it comes to selling your San Antonio home, avoiding controversy can serve you just as well. ‘Neutral’ means sticking to inoffensive color schemes. Stagers know that when it comes to matters of taste, extreme decorating styles tend to drive off some potential buyers. When it comes to selling your home, creams and beiges create the kind of clean look that’s more universally appealing.

Consistency Wins

When the budget is tight, setting a theme throughout your home may seem beyond reach. So instead of replacing a lot of furniture, see if making subtle changes in home accessories and textiles can’t accomplish wonders. Selling your home in San Antonio quickly can hinge on such small touches as placing bunches of uniformly colored flowers with matching throws in several rooms. It can create the kind of uniform look that stagers strive to achieve. It is also critical to use rooms as they were intended. Many buyers have a hard time envisioning what their furnishings will look like in a new home.

If this summer will find you selling your San Antonio home, don’t neglect your own version of staging. If you are just deciding on your choice for your REALTOR®, give us a call: we can start with an in-home consultation!

The post Setting the Stage for Selling Your San Antonio Home appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.

Inspector looking at attic space.

If you are readying your home for sale this spring or summer, one of my favorite tactics to set your property apart from other Shavano Park listings is to order a pre-inspection. If you’re not familiar with the term, a pre-inspection is a less detailed, less expensive visual inspection designed to report major conditions certain to be noted in the final. Why add this extra expense? Won’t buyers ultimately get their own inspection?

Yes, they will. But the purpose is not to replace a final inspection — it’s to attract more offers and hasten a final sale by minimizing re-negotiation.

Picture yourself as a prospective buyer. Shavano Park listings which headline the availability of a pre-inspection report automatically seem to be offered by someone who is proud of their property’s condition and unafraid of what the final inspection will reveal. To skittish prospective buyers, it serves to lessen the “fear of the unknown” that can make buyers hesitate before writing an offer. If there were a formula, it would look something like:

Eliminating objections = Attracting more offers

Pre-inspected listings let you document major conditions that have either been addressed or left for the future owner to remediate as he or she sees fit. By noting how your asking price includes precise dollar allowances for named conditions, you display openness and conviction in the basis for your pricing. Shavano Park listings written after a pre-inspection are a lot more likely minimize last-minute re-negotiation: if you have ever been asked at the last minute to knock off  $20k from an accepted offer, you know the value of that.

It is worth noting that any serious defects that a pre-inspection identify must be disclosed, for better or for worse. But fear of a major discovery shouldn’t dissuade you: any major defect will certainly be discovered by the buyer’s inspector. The old saying applies: knowledge IS power.

If you plan to add your own property to the Shavano Park listings any time this year, my job is to see that it brings you top dollar. Contact one of our REALTORS® today to talk over the way we will get that done!

The post Pre-Inspection Reports Help Shavano Park Listings Stand Out appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.

That’s what happened last week. USA TODAY’s online headline focused on the 15-year fixed mortgage rate, “at a record low 2.61%.” The cable news channels talked about record low rates, too (although if you hit the ‘pause’ button long enough to read the TV graphics, you saw that the national average for 30-year loans was still a shade away from the actual record low).

Never mind that; it’s still surprising that mortgage rates continue to linger at such tempting lows.

Reproduced with the permission of Mortgage-X.com

The reason is hardly a secret: the Federal Reserve is holding rates down to energize the real estate market — a key element of the overall economy. Yet, with existing home sales notching up in the first quarter at the briskest pace in four years, you would have thought that mortgage rates would have been loosened up at least somewhat. And with new home sales doing their best since 2008…

Of course, it doesn’t matter what anyone expects: the results of dipping mortgage rates is just plain good news for everyone in the San Antonio real estate market: buyers and sellers alike. Those low mortgage rates act to offset the rising U.S. house price index. The result for buyers is a more valuable home without the expected increase in the monthly payment. What more of an inducement to enter the real estate market could there be?

In short, if you’re considering whether it’s time to buy (or to sell your current home and trade up without busting the household budget), last week’s national and local market signs are even clearer than they have been recently. There are definitely opportunities out there! Why not give us a call at (210) 695-0694 for an up-to-the-moment San Antonio real estate market evaluation?

The post San Antonio Real Estate Market Balancing Act: Rates vs. Rises appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.

Anyone who has looked at entry- to mid-level homes for sale in San Antonio probably knows what I mean. Mortgage rates remain near historic lows, and as the prices of homes for sale continue to rise, fears that we could soon see a repetition of a real estate equity loss seem increasingly unlikely.

Why the lack of inventory? There are several reasons. Buyers may be ready to buy again, but some sellers are still not in a position to offer their San Antonio homes for sale. When the housing market collapsed seven years ago, some homeowners’ equity loss was such that they remain unable to sell. Prices may be on the rise, but some need more time to return to pre-crash values.

Buyers always want to buy at the bottom, but sellers want to avoid selling there. Buyers are watching that bottom fade into the distance, but some sellers, pleased to watch their homes growing in value, are content to wait longer.

NAR says that there were just 1.93 million existing homes for sale on the national market in March, down nearly 17% from the prior year. In a well-balanced market, what had been a six month’s supply fell to just 4.7 months’ worth.  Nationally, homes for sale now stay on the market for just 62 days, down from a median of 91 days only last year. Glenn Kelman, CEO of an online national real estate brokerage, put it succinctly: “Somebody rang a bell and said the boom is back, and nobody wants to be late to the party.”

Homeowners who have been thinking about selling are increasingly liking what they see in today’s market — including the prospects for trading up. Even those whose previous evaluations were unsatisfactory are finding it worth another look. If you would like to find out what your home is worth today, give one of our REALTORS® a call or fill out this short form below.

The post Supply of San Antonio Homes for Sale Struggles to Keep Pace appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.

I’ll try not to dampen those springtime spirits too much, but for anyone currently looking into the Dominion luxury home listings, some advice may be in order:

Online love at first sight is a really bad idea.

Those Dominion luxury home listings can indeed be truly alluring, and using your computer (or iPad, or smartphone) to winnow through the current crop of terrific Dominion luxury home listings is a supremely practical approach.

But do remember that any warm glow you experience after checking out a particularly fetching online tour is best held in check until after you have paid an in-person visit. Then the love affair is more likely to be the real thing.

Especially when it comes to the luxury home listings, they have been created by talented professional stagers and photographers (not to mention musicians, when a video is part of the presentation). We work with them to create an immersive online experience, which is all to the good.

The only drawback comes if we do such a good job that Dominion luxury home prospects fall head over heels.  If reality can’t possibly match the romance of their mind’s eye abstraction, well…just ask a teenager’s parents about what the falling out of love experience is like! Until you have contacted me and we’ve made a real life, in-the-flesh house tour, what we are dealing with is — let’s face it — puppy love.

Seasoned buyers know that stunning photos can’t begin to reveal all the details that make for ‘the real thing.’ Does the kitchen fit a family’s cooking style? Is that gorgeous landscaping a good setting for kids and pets? Is the neighbourhood right for a particular family?

If your own home belongs among our eye-catching Dominion luxury home listings, you probably also know that prospective buyers will be genuinely impressed when they visit in person. If that’s the case, we hope you’ll be contacting us soon for a complimentary consultation. We can be reached at (210) 695-0694 or fill out our simple Contact Us form and we will promptly follow up with you.

The post Dominion Luxury Home Listings & Springtime Romance appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.

Since the daily routine is going to be thoroughly undermined, on the day of your move, do as much as is practical to retain a calm atmosphere. If possible, provide a small quiet area where the pets can stay out of the way and safely clear of any wide-open doors. If you have portable fencing that’s strong enough to do the job, remember to make it available with the first wave of unpacking.

Chance, our loved mascot taking a well deserved nap.

Fostering calm is especially important while your goods are being moved in and out by big, scary strangers.  If you will be using cages for transportation, make sure they are roomy enough, and put in some familiar, comforting toys. For especially excitable pets, you may want to consider spraying their cage ahead of time with a pheromone formulation that helps retain calm.

Relocating to San Antonio or moving into any new home is apt to create opportunities for pet prison breaks. A move can disrupt behavior patterns for even the most loyal four-footer. Both cats and dogs who have gotten lost during relocation have famously made their way back home — even when home isn’t there any more. Prevent such misdirected heroics by making sure the garden has been fully secured before you move – and have all collars equipped with new tags with new San Antonio contact information. A doubly failsafe method is to have your pet micro-chipped.

Relocating to San Antonio will be a big event, and a big adventure. Pup and Kitty will settle in shortly: the truth is, as soon as you are content, they will be, too. If you are in the early stages and have not yet found your new San Antonio home, we offer some of the best service in town – and we’d be delighted to introduce you to some of our best neighborhoods!  Call us anytime at (210) 695-0694 or fill out our contact form and we will follow up with you.

The post When 4-Legged Family Members Are Relocating to San Antonio appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.

Here are the details on what you have to do to enter:

• Describe what room/area you want to renovate and what the renovation would mean to you personally in 300 words or less, you can include up to 5 photos.
• Visit one of 6 select bloggers for details on submitting your idea.
• Each of the select bloggers will select their favorite renovation project idea
• The six finalists will be voted on by the public at houselogic.com
• The finalist with the most votes will win $20,000 for their home renovation.

For more details and to submit your idea, click on over to the Boost Your Roost page to get started. Good luck!

The post What Would You Do With $20,000 To Boost Your Roost? appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.

This is more proof of what Realtors in Texas have been preaching to our clients, NOW is the time to buy. The San Antonio real estate market has been on an upward trend when it comes to resales and new home sales for quite awhile now. Historically low interest rates and strong job growth continue to fuel our real estate market. Current interest rates make buying much more affordable than renting, especially with a tight rental market, and prices of homes will continue their gradual ascent here.

To find out more about the sales activity in your San Antonio neighborhood, or in a neighborhood that you are thinking about purchasing in, please contact one of our Realtors today.

The post New Home Sales Surging appeared first on UrbanLUX Realty.