Paula Henry

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Archive for March, 2008

Pricing Your Home to Sell ~ Part 1

March 31st, 2008 categories: Indianapolis Real Estate News, Indy Home Sellers

The following graph illustrates the importance of pricing a home when you sell. I don’t know who created it, but, the information provided in the graph is timeless. I have seen it happen time and again.The graph explains the percentage of buyers who will buy your house based on the asking price vs. market value.

Pricing your Indianapolis Home

For example, I currently have clients who are searching for a home with specific criteria in a determined price range. Their criteria is four bedrooms, two baths and room for an office, with a price range between $150,000. and $175,000., in a particular area of town. They are from out of town, so I search every home online and send to them. More importantly, they are searching the entire Indianapolis Homes Listing inventory on their own and send me homes they want to see. Once they have chosen the homes they want to see, we head out on a home tour.

If you have a home which matches their criteria and you are above the price range, you will be eliminated. I do run a search for overpriced homes up to about 5-8% over their price range, When I find homes which have been on the market for awhile, I include those on the tour also. If they are new to the market and overpriced, we usually skip them. There is too much inventory to see all the homes which are overpriced.

You can see by the graph, when priced at market value, you will attract 60% of the buyers in that price range. Price your home too high and you lose buyers. When priced below market value, you attract a larger pool of buyers.

Many homes which are priced correctly are those which have been on the market for awhile and have reduced their price, sometimes more than once. This strategy will work against you. Buyers always ask how long the home has been on the market. Buyers know they have room for negotiating the price when the home has been on the market for awhile.

Price it right in the beginning and you will sell quicker and for a higher price than reducing the price gradually. Once your home becomes “old news” you will have a harder time getting top dollar.

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Is it Better to Rent or Buy?

March 29th, 2008 categories: Indianapolis Real Estate News, Indy Home Buyers

The answer really depends on your personal objective and time frame. The longer you plan to live in a home, the more sense it makes to own. While I can’t simply answer the question for you, I have found this cool tool which can assist you in evaluating the costs involved for both options.

By inserting a few details you can determine how long it would take to break even, depending on down payment, interest rate and costs to buy. You can also utilize the advanced settings to include more specific costs and deductions.

This is simply a “numbers” tool and does not consider other intangibles associated with owning your own home. Things like:

painting the room the color you want
growing a garden or landscaping
installing a fence or basketball goal
updating your home
the security of knowing the landlord can’t move you at the end of the lease.

In matters of finance, it is always best to check with your financial advisor.

Click here to use this tool.

New York Times Rent or Buy Calculator

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Community Open House at Chapel Glen in Wayne Township

March 28th, 2008 categories: Indianapolis Real Estate, Indy Home Buyers, Indy Neighborhoods

Are you looking for a home in an established neighborhood in Indianapolis? Welcome to the community of Chapel Glen in Wayne Township! Chapel Glen is a long time favorite of buyers searching for homes on Indianapolis’ west side.

You’ll enjoy the beauty of nature everyday living in this community. Situated on tree lined streets, the homes in Chapel Glen are meticulously maintained, as is the community grounds. The community amenities include walking trails, a park, playground, basketball court, tennis court, swimming pool and public school.

Indianapolis Homes Chapel Glen

Community Open House ~ Sunday, April 6th ~ 1:00-4:00

Seize the opportunity to view the available homes for sale in Chapel Glen on April 6th. Local Realtors have teamed together to present a Public Open House.

Come out and see for yourself the reason this neighborhood has remained a favorite.The homes currently available include brick ranches, two-story and tri-levels, ranging in size from 1466 sq. ft to over 3200 sq. ft. Several homes have a basement. There sure to be a home to suit your family’s needs and lifestyle.

Chapel Glen Neighborhood Show

Chapel Glen Community Amenities Show

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Investors Set Sight on Indianapolis Real Estate

March 20th, 2008 categories: Indianapolis Real Estate News, Indy Market Trends

Indianapolis Ivestment HomesRecent phone calls and requests from my home search site indicate the Indianapolis Real Estate market has piqued the interest of investors around the country. Some have expressed an interest in foreclosed and bank owned homes, while others are looking at anything which is a deal.

There are many cities around the country with a higher inventory of foreclosure and bank owned properties than Indianapolis. So, why are investors looking at Indianapolis for their investments? It’s all about price! Indianapolis has the lowest priced homes in the nation for a city our size.

Let’s look at a few statistics:

There are currently 21258 properties for sale in the Indianapolis area.

7146 of these properties are listed for less than $100,000. The number equals 33.6% of all active properties available.

4339 of these properties are in Marion County.

634 properties in Marion County are priced less than $25,000.

Granted, not all of these properties are a good investment; some are.

Is investor activity good for the Indianapolis real estate market? I believe it is! Most of the investors I have spoken to are interested in a price point less than $75,000. Most will pay cash and fix up the property. Some will flip the property for a quick profit, while others will fix up the property and hold as a long term investment.

Regardless of whether they fix for a profit or hold as an investment, the benefit of rehabbed homes will increase the value of properties and the surrounding neighborhood. Nothing blights a neighborhood more than vacant, run down homes. What do you think? Is investor activity good for Indianapolis?

Authored by Paula | Discussion: No Comments »

Indianapolis Real Estate Blog Finds New Outlet

March 9th, 2008 categories: Indianapolis Real Estate News

You can now find the Indianapolis Real Estate blog, IndyRealEstateTalk.com at RSSHugger, a spam free blog directory which understands the power of SEO.

How ingenious to have every participant write a review of their site for submission or pay twenty dollars if you don t want to write a review. They receive a backlink and my blog is listed in their directory with an RSS feed.

If you have a blog, go get hugged today at RSSHugger.

Authored by Paula | Discussion: 2 Comments »

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