2007 Housing Trends: Part Three Whats Out
2007 Housing Trends: Part Three Whats Out
Last in a three part series Ill share some interesting insight from various publications experience and trends in our local Chicagoland residential real estate market.
“As is” in home sale marketing. Anything went in the boom market but if you’re planning to use “as is” in 2007 forget it. Buyers see As Is as a red flag about the home and the seller. With all the competition from existing and new housing an As Is will chase the buyers away.
Buyer incentives. Free cars don’t sell houses realistic pricing does. Gimmicks only confuse and distract buyers. Cut to the chase and deduct the cost of your freewithpurchase from your current price and send the signal to buyers that you’re selling real property not personal property.
Endless Open Houses. The open house pendulum has swung from “the house sold in the first day” to “we need to have our house open every Sunday”. Desperation is when your home is open every Sunday and dont think buyers dont know this and keep track. Plan on every three weeks if you must have a public open house.
Overfullprice offers. It was a strategy in the boom market to underprice a home and let the market set the selling price. Not today! One thing that won’t change in 2007 is that every buyer will want a deal and you had better be prepared for them to walk if they don’t get one.
Bedrooms not large enough for a bed. In the boom rehabbers and developers learned the fastest way to profit was to increase the room count of an existing home. Bedrooms shrunk to walkin closet size when a fourroom onebedroom was gutrehabbed into a fourroom twobedroom. Or the doorways and windows eliminate required wall space. Savvy agents kept asking can you fit a queensize bed in either room? And the answer was usually no.
Loads of glass upper kitchen cabinet doors. Buyers say it looks great but many who specified and experienced it firsthand don’t have the time to keep their kitchen cabinets organized. Plus if you hate washing the windows having more glass in a greasy room like a kitchen is highmaintenance.
Bowlshaped abovecounter bathroom sinks. The splashing and overall upkeep have earned these the reputation of nice to look at but no thanks don’t want one.
Any shiny metal finish. Brushed nickels and pewters are in and antiqued and polished brass is out.
Stainlesssteel refrigerators and dishwashers are a fading trend. The cold look and higher maintenance of steel is shifting buyers to specify warmer colors in kitchen appliances.
Spiral staircases. Once the rage for midseventies makeovers these are now death to a home seller. The boomers have aged their kids don’t like them theyre unfriendly to pets and a danger to young children and elderly parents. Take yours out and put in a standard staircase inside or out before you sell.
Bamboo floors. The first reviews are in on this popular ecofriendly flooring and they’re not pretty. Complaints range from easily dented and scratched to prone to warping from variations in our climate and humidity levels.
Hardwood laminate floors. These noisy poor relatives of solid hardwood simply dont stand up to multiple sandings to remove stains or change colors.
Home sellers who smoke in their home while its on the market. Buyers HATE secondhand and stale smoke odors. Marketing your home is not the same as living in it. If you have to smoke go outside. Clean the smoke smell from the house carpet window treatments etc.
About the writer: Kris Kombrink has been working in his familyowned real estate business since 1995. Specializing in Geneva St Charles and Batavia Illinois residential real estate his team stays on top of the latest trends while maintaining superior customer. Learn more about his team at http://www.kombrink.com or email kriskombrink.com
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