Archive for the 'Selling Your House' Category
How You Can Profit From Getting Rid of Your Junk
June 24th, 2008 categories: Green Living, Redding, Ridgefield, Selling Your House, Talking Real Estate, Wilton
You’ve decided to sell, you’re moving or you just need to clear some junk out of your house. Living in Ridgefield, I can tell you how to do it quickly, easily and profitably. I help all of my real estate clients clean-out their homes and ready them for sale. Here’s 4 ways to make it easy and profitable. I love this stuff so CALL ME to help you with any of this! 203-313-0414
Craigslist - I use craigslist to sell mostly oversized or bulky items that are tough to ship. Price items to sell quickly, not to make a huge profit and they’ll be gone in a day or 2. Remember, your primary goal is to rid your house of all the stuff you no longer need or use. When moving last year, I sold a sleeper sofa, several old dressers, bikes and more on Craigslist. And the best part is, people show up, pay you and take your stuff away…. easy money!
Freecycle - Free/Recycle… “Freecycle”. It’s a national network of freecyclers with a growing local presence. I’ve been hearing more about Freecycle lately but haven’t yet tried it myself. The idea is if you’ve got something that’s still within it’s useful life but you need to get rid of it, say an old Laz-y-Boy, a washer/dryer or garden tools, there’s someone out there that will take it for their own use. This gets it out of your house and keeps it out of the landfill; very environmentally friendly. Although you get no cash for your stuff, you get it removed for free.
eBay - I use eBay mostly for things of relatively high value that are easy to ship. I’ve sold used mp3 players, cell phones, cameras and more on eBay with little effort and much success. You can set your own price or run an auction. Either way it helps you clear out your attic or basement of old video cameras, telescopes, toys, shoes, clothes and more.
Goodwill - Donate items at Goodwill. Goodwill Industries has convenient drop-off locations throughout the area and can even be called on to pick up furniture and other large items. Here’s a reliable way to donate items and they’ll also give you a receipt for your taxes.
The Dump - When all else fails, take it to the local transfer station. For a fee, you can drop most anything. The trouble is you do all the work and then pay for the privilege of filling a landfill with your old couch. This is usually my last option but they are always ready to take whatever I’m getting rid of.
Remember, I am always available to help you use any of these websites. Together we can get your house de-cluttered and put some cash in your pocket!
Related Posts on Real Estate Chocolate:
- Now You Can Have Local Organic Food and Live Healthier in Ridgefield
- 4 Ways to Live Clean and Green in Ridgefield, CT
- Home Sellers: Don’t Make This Mistake!
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Ridgefield, CT Real Estate: 3 Reasons Why the Luxury Segment Remains Strong
April 14th, 2008 categories: Buying Your House, Market Data & Statistics, Recent Transactions, Ridgefield, Selling Your House, Talking Real Estate
When you look at the numbers it’s clear that the high end of the Ridgefield, CT real estate market remains strong. Over the last several years, housing stock priced in the over $1.5M bracket has grown due to new construction as well as price appreciation.
Taking a look at all Ridgefield homes that sold for over $1.5M transaction volume has remained stable for the past 3 years (see table). So far in 2008, we are tracking 2007 exactly. Demand remains high in the luxury segment of the market for several reasons including:
- Ridgefield continues to offer an extremely desirable mix of small town, country, great schools, culture, entertainment, proximity to NYC, value and more
- virtually all new construction is at the high end
- interest rates remain at historic lows
Click here to view all luxury Ridgefield CT homes currently for sale
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Q1-07 | Q1-08 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridgefield Real Estate: # Homes Sold Over $1.5M | 42 | 43 | 42 | 4 | 4 |
Ridgefield Transactions >$1.5M Since 1/1/07
| Street Number | Street Name | Bedrooms | List Price | Sale Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 162 | OLD WEST MOUNTAIN RD | 7 | $7,200,000 | $5,500,000 |
| 110 | SOUTH SALEM RD | 5 | $4,595,000 | $4,200,000 |
| 599 | BRANCHVILLE RD | 3 | $5,000,000 | $4,100,000 |
| 8 | HAWTHORNE HILL RD | 5 | $4,200,000 | $3,843,500 |
| 154 | RIPPOWAM RD | 7 | $4,100,000 | $3,500,000 |
| 396 | SILVER SPRING RD | 5 | $3,250,000 | $3,150,000 |
| 41 | PEACEABLE ST | 5 | $3,100,000 | $3,050,000 |
| 282 | BRANCHVILLE RD | 5 | $2,600,000 | $2,400,000 |
| 105 | NOD HILL RD | 6 | $2,495,000 | $2,300,000 |
| 10 | SAW MILL HILL RD | 5 | $2,179,000 | $2,200,000 |
| 122 | NOD HILL RD | 5 | $2,250,000 | $2,200,000 |
| 4 | SPECTACLE LN | 6 | $2,275,000 | $2,200,000 |
| 24 | MARKET ST | 5 | $2,195,000 | $2,175,000 |
| 91 | GOLF LN | 5 | $2,195,000 | $2,150,000 |
| 10 | LEE RD | 5 | $1,950,000 | $2,125,000 |
| 8 | SAW MILL HILL RD | 5 | $2,179,000 | $2,100,000 |
| 216 | FLORIDA HILL RD | 5 | $2,250,000 | $2,062,500 |
| 44 | KING LN | 5 | $2,150,000 | $2,060,000 |
| 225 | SOUTH SALEM RD | 4 | $2,250,000 | $2,050,000 |
| 3 | GOLF CT | 5 | $2,195,000 | $2,025,000 |
| 77 | GOLF LN | 5 | $2,134,750 | $1,985,000 |
| 2 | MAIN ST | 5 | $2,199,000 | $1,975,000 |
| 8 | GOLF CT | 6 | $2,199,000 | $1,962,500 |
| 178 | OLD BRANCHVILLE RD | 5 | $1,969,000 | $1,900,000 |
| 23 | FLAT ROCK DR | 5 | $1,790,000 | $1,840,000 |
| 36 | SAW MILL HILL RD | 3 | $1,950,000 | $1,825,000 |
| 20 | SILVER SPRING LN | 5 | $1,799,000 | $1,799,000 |
| 27 | NOD WEST DR | 4 | $1,875,000 | $1,787,500 |
| 26 | OVERLOOK DR | 5 | $1,895,000 | $1,765,000 |
| 110 | NURSERY RD | 5 | $1,839,000 | $1,728,750 |
| 119 | BRANCHVILLE RD | 4 | $1,775,500 | $1,725,000 |
| 106 | GREAT HILL RD | 0 | $1,950,000 | $1,725,000 |
| 70 | NORRANS RIDGE DR | 5 | $1,799,000 | $1,720,000 |
| 16 | GREAT ROCKS PL | 5 | $1,699,900 | $1,680,000 |
| 20 | BELVEDERE CT | 5 | $1,575,000 | $1,600,000 |
| 7 | ELEVEN LEVELS RD | 4 | $1,690,000 | $1,600,000 |
| 76 | GOVERNOR ST | 4 | $1,599,000 | $1,599,000 |
| 78 | CANTERBURY LN | 4 | $1,685,000 | $1,599,000 |
| 89 | SILVER SPRING LN | 4 | $1,620,000 | $1,585,000 |
| 596 | BARRACK HILL RD | 4 | $1,639,000 | $1,575,000 |
| 214 | WILTON WEST RD | 4 | $1,699,000 | $1,562,500 |
| 97 | OLD WASHINGTON RD | 4 | $1,579,000 | $1,555,000 |
| 38 | SILVER SPRING RD | 5 | $1,599,000 | $1,530,000 |
| 53 | SAW MILL HILL RD | 5 | $1,525,000 | $1,525,000 |
| 16 | KIMBERLY CT | 4 | $1,615,000 | $1,525,000 |
| 61 | BARRY AVE | 5 | $1,545,000 | $1,517,500 |
| 279 | NORTH ST | 5 | $1,579,000 | $1,510,000 |
Related Posts:
- Ridgefield, CT Real Estate Market Report: Home Sales April 2008
- Home Sales Roundup - Ridgefield, Redding and Wilton CT Real Estate - March 2008
- All Luxury Ridgefield, CT Homes Currently for Sale
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Home Sellers: Don’t Make This Mistake!
April 10th, 2008 categories: Selling Your House, Talking Real Estate
You just sold your house, well almost. An accepted offer means you’re on the 5 yard line… just a few yards from pay dirt. And if you’ve properly prepared for this day, the hard work is over. The only thing standing between you and the goal line is the buyer’s home inspection.
The inspector is searching for defects and systems that are either failed or likely to fail. As a seller, you want be sure that the home inspection doesn’t turn into “negotiation-round 2″. Or worse, a deal breaker.
Sellers: fix the issues before they become a problem and kill your deal. This YouTube video offers some good insight into what problems inspectors find most. View it now so you can be as prepared as possible to successfully market you home.
An Avoidable Deal Breaker in Ridgefield, CT
My own experience of the last 2 weeks drives this point home.
My buyer fell in love with a new real estate listing in Ridgefield. Even in this challenging market there was a competitive bid on this property and we ended up winning this house by paying over asking price. When the inspection uncovered some previously undetected termite damage, the deal fell apart and my buyer moved on to buy a different house.
Had the seller fixed the damage prior to marketing the house, it would have been no problem. By losing this buyer, the seller made it to the red zone but couldn’t score the touchdown.
Contact Brad or me and we’d be glad to help you eliminate inspection issues before they become a problem in selling your house.
Related Post:
- How to Save Money and Add 20% to the Value of Your Home
- 4 Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home In 2008!
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Ridgefield, CT Real Estate Market Report: Home Sales April 2008
April 7th, 2008 categories: Buying Your House, For Agents, Market Data & Statistics, Ridgefield, Selling Your House, Talking Real Estate
Ridgefield Real Estate Market Commentary
March is always a transitional month in Ridgefield. As the spring weather arrives in Connecticut, so do the home buyers. Contrary to the doom and gloom news reports, Brad and I have been working with buyers that are actually making reasonable offers and buying homes. In the past few weeks, several Ridgefield homes went under agreement within days of listing. No doubt that it’s a challenging market but this tells us that the good houses listed at realistic prices have no problems getting sold… quickly. Although buyers maintain a power position in the market, they are making buying decisions and will continue to do so.
Even with the current lull in transaction volume, the Ridgefield real estate market is certainly not on life support. Demand will always remain relatively strong here for several reasons: great schools, affordable homes, proximity to lower Fairfield County, Westchester County and NYC and an overall quality of life that people really, really enjoy. If you already live her, you know what I’m talking about.
Market Stats for Ridgefield CT Real Estate
The numbers say that Ridgefield real estate is still tracking behind last year. Inventories are a little higher (6%) and the number of single family home closings are down by 27% compared to March 2007. Over the next 8 weeks, we’ll see inventory climb (normal for this time of year). We never sell through all of these homes. This spring it will be the owners with realistic expectations that are going to be the most successful. For buyers, this market brings together three major factors in their favor: historically low interest rates, a great selection of homes to choose from and prices that are the most reasonable in recent memory.
We are always available to help you understand what’s going on in today’s real estate market and what it means to you. We know the market numbers better than anyone and always make certain that our clients are armed with the most important market data and the best real estate advice to get the best deal possible. Contact us anytime to talk about your situation.
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How Some Officially Reported Data is Misleading and Why You Need to Know the Truth
March 24th, 2008 categories: Buying Your House, For Agents, Market Data & Statistics, Ridgefield, Selling Your House, Talking Real Estate
I am about to share with you one of most important, yet most elusive, real estate market statistic: Days-On-Market (DOM).
No one can miss the media hype about crashing real estate markets, the sub-prime lending mess, and foreclosures. What we’ve seen here in the current Ridgefield, CT real estate market, however, doesn’t really match any one of these headlines.
The Ridgefield real estate market has not crashed, in fact we conducted 3.7% more sales in 2007 than in 2006 with just a minor softening of prices. The sub-prime mortgage situation has only indirectly effected our business in that lenders now require more documentation from borrowers. And we’ve only seen a handful of foreclosure sales, nothing extraordinary.
So what has changed? It can’t be business as usual, can it?
The biggest change I’ve seen in the current Ridgefield real estate market is that it’s taking longer for homes to sell. How much longer? Well most agents can’t really tell you.
Anyone can share with you what’s reported in the MLS. On this measure, though, the MLS-reported DOM is misleading, absolutely useless. Let me explain.
- The MLS calculates DOM based on each particular listing.
- The MLS “resets the DOMO meter” when the seller change agents.
- Many Agents game the system by re-listing the same property multiple times thereby constantly resetting the DOM meter.
As far as I know, we are the only real estate office in Ridgefield that calculates the True DOM. It takes a lot of effort and skill but we do it because it is such an important market indicator. We want to be certain that you (buyers and sellers) have the most important, most up-to-date and most accurate market data available on which to base your real estate decisions.
True Days-On-Market
| Year | Average ACTUAL # Days on Market TRUE DOM | Average DOM per MLS |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 211 | 99 |
| 2006 | 157 | 84 |
| 2005 | 116 | 66 |
The real story shows a market time much longer than “officially reported”. Sellers need to use the real numbers to set expectations and adjust listing prices. Buyers must be aware of a property’s entire listing history not just the current listing and what is reported on the MLS listing sheet.
The Kimmelman-Gutman Group believes that we must be real estate market masters for our clients. Dig deep into the data, understand it, be the local real estate economist. Only then can we provide you the best service and value. Contact us if you’d like to learn more.
Related Posts:
- Grab your Pick Ax Now! Why You Need to Mine Nuggets From Ridgefield’s Mountain of MLS Data
- How Is The Ridgefield, CT Real Estate Market?
- Why 2007 Was A Great Year for Ridgefield, CT Real Estate
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