Best Time to List Your home in Springfield

The Springfield residential real estate market is still going strong. So you want to give some thought on when you list your home.

According to Redfin, to sell for the most money, you should put your home on the market on a Wednesday. To sell the fastest, list on a Thursday. Avoid Sunday, which is the worst day to list.

Most real estate agents will advise you against listing your home right before a holiday weekend. This is probably true for big holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. But we have found the more minor holiday weekends popular for home buyers, especially for people moving to the area. Memorial Day weekend, for example, can be a very busy time for showings.

Regardless of when you list your home, you want your home to look its best and be available for showings during the first 48 hours after you list it. That's when your home is likely to generate the most interest.

Most important, as always, is your home's price. If it is in good shape and priced right, it will sell any day of the week!

We would be happy to talk about your home and neighborhood in more detail if you want more information.

Top 5 Reasons People Are Moving

Home sellers in Springfield are enjoying a very strong market right now. Low interest rates are probably driving most of the activity. Here are other top reasons people say they are moving, according to Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey:

1. Want to be in a different neighborhood (40%)
2. Need a home with different features (28%)
3. Need a bigger home (22%)
4. Want location with better weather, views, and/or lifestyle (19%)
5. Need to lower cost of living (17%)

Read more about the current buying and selling trends.

Springfield Home Buyers Ahead of the Curve

Home buyers in Springfield seem to have to wait a little less time than buyers in other places throughout the country to get their mortgage loans. But new federal rules designed to make mortgages easier to understand are adding a few days to the process.

According to Ellie Mae, the average application-to-closing time was 49 days in October, which was the longest time to close a loan since February 2013. Conventional and FHA loans each took 49 days while VA loans took an average of 50.

Robin Schilling, mortgage loan officer at Arvest Bank in Springfield, says the loan process is typically taking 30 to 35 days in Springfield, but lending companies are requesting a lead time of 45 days as they work on a first in, first out basis. Rural development loans, she says, are always subject to longer turnaround times because they have to go to the USDA for review.

The new federal rule, Know Before You Owe, went into effect in October and is adding about three to five business days to the loan-approval process, Schilling says. The rule replaces four disclosure forms with two new ones—the loan estimate and the closing disclosure. The new forms are easier to understand and easier to use. The rule also requires that you get three business days to review your closing disclosure and ask questions before you close on a mortgage.

To supplement the rule, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has created several tools to help you navigate the loan process, including a home loan tool kit.

For more detailed information about loans or to apply for a loan, contact Robin Schilling at 417-885-7312 or rschilling@arvest.com 

When should you lower your asking price?

Obviously, home sellers want to make as much money as they can when selling their homes. The issue is finding out what price will do that. 

Here are key issues to consider:

Determine the best listing price. A good real estate agent will conduct a comprehensive market survey to assess the best listing price based on sales of similar homes in your area and the agent's expertise. How much you want to make from the sale of your home has nothing to do with the listing price. Market drives the price. See other factors that go into setting the listing price. 

The market price is the price at which a seller and buyer will agree. Your real estate agent should be able to give you a range of value, usually known as market value. Your market price will be somewhere within that range of value. If you choose to list your home at a price higher than the market value range, the house will most likely not sell. 

Be realistic with the timing. Just as the market determines price, the market often dictates how long it will take to sell your home. Your agent can tell you the average number of days comparable homes in your area were on the market before they sold. Homes listed for more than a million dollars are likely to take considerably longer than lower-priced homes. Factor this in before deciding to lower your price. 

Sometimes, you can't wait. If you are being transferred and cannot buy a new home until your current home sells, a proactive strategy on pricing may be in your best interest. Some people say you can't really under-price a home—the market will always correct the price up or down. 

Assess and adjust. Pay attention to how many showings your home is getting. If several buyers have toured your home in the past month and no offers have been made, the price may be too high for the market. 

Good agents request feedback from agents who show or preview your home. They may offer insights into other reasons buyers are walking away from your home. Sometimes, an odor or a water spot on the ceiling may be souring people on your home. In that case, it may be best to take your home off the market, make improvements and then re-list. That way, you reset your days-on-the-market meter and start anew.

Homes are not like cars. Every house is different. Ideally, you'll have an agent who knows the market well, provides good advice about the best listing price and works with you to get the most from the sale of your home.

The best inheritance: A succession plan for family real estate

You had the foresight to invest in real estate. But have you had the fortitude to plan for its future?

Most real estate and legal experts will tell you that a plan for family-owned property is essential—for the family and the value of the investment. Often, it is not an easy conversation to have with family members. That’s where the fortitude comes in. Whether transitioning to a new owner or an outright sale, these five steps should be part of your discussion.  

1. Plan for real estate tax liability. You don’t want your family to be forced to sell the property to pay real estate tax debt. Planning gives your heirs more options.
2. Consider tax-friendly ways to transfer assets. Gifts and trusts are among the tools that offer owners significant tax benefits.
3. Tell heirs your plan and don’t wait to resolve any issues that arise. Let them know how you arrived at your decisions and share your vision. This conversation can help preserve the relationship between the children or grandchildren, and it gives them an opportunity to ask you questions and for your advice
4. Revisit the plan regularly. Some tools require more regular monitoring than others.
5. Introduce your heirs to your advisers. Let them know who you trust for financial, tax and legal advice.

The recurring mantra is: It’s never too early to plan for when you can no longer make the decisions regarding the family’s assets. The biggest gift you can leave your family may be a legal document on how you give it.

Why Do You Need a Realtor?

Of course, as real estate agents, we think a realtor on your side can make your real estate transaction more successful in terms of money, time and headaches. An increasing number of home buyers agree. About 88% of home buyers purchase their home through a real estate agent or broker—a share that has steadily increased from 69% in 2001, according to the National Association of REALTOR®’s 2013 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. 

Here are just a few of the ways a realtor can help you:

• Save you time in searching for the right home.

• Help you identify and eliminate properties that are not worth pursuing.

• Find homes that are not yet on the market.

• Help you find a neighborhood that suits your needs.

• Refer you to the best lenders in the area and help you get pre-qualified for a loan.

• Help you figure out how much home you can afford. 

• Guide you on the best price to list your home.

• Detail all of the costs involved in buying or selling a home.

The terms
You may find it helpful to know some of the industry terms.  To sell real estate in Missouri, you must be at least 18, pass the real estate examination and have a real estate agent or broker license. Agents have to work for brokers. Murney Associates is the broker for The Stenger Group. You can check to see whether any disciplinary actions have be recorded against your agent or broker through Missouri's real estate commission.

If an agent uses Realtor with a big "R," that means he or she is a member of the National Association of REALTORS. The main advantage to you is that this means they have agreed to abide by a code of ethics. 

Whether buying your first home, downsizing or building your investment portfolio, a good real estate will provide expertise and guidance all through the process. 

The Many Dangers of Overpricing Your Home

All of the home sellers we’ve worked with wanted to get the most they could out of their homes. No big shock there. And for many, time was also a factor. They didn’t want their homes to sit on the market for months, which often decreases how much you can get for your home as well.

Our goal is to help you set a list price that will get you the best price, quickly and with minimum hassle. If your home is listed at a price that is above market value, you will miss out on prospective buyers who would otherwise be prime candidates to purchase your home. (See the chart.) If you list at a price that is below market value, you lose out on potential profit and diminish the value of your home. 

More buyers purchase their properties at market value than they purchase above market value. The percentage increases as the price falls even further below market value. Therefore, by pricing your property at market value, you expose it to a much greater percentage of prospective buyers. This increases your chances for a sale while ensuring a final sale price that properly reflects the market value of your home.

Timing is of the essence

Another critical factor to keep in mind when pricing your home is timing. A property attracts the most attention, excitement, and interest from the real estate community

and potential buyers when it is first listed on the market. If your home is improperly priced initially, it can miss out on its peak interest period, which could cause it to languish on the market. This may lead to a below market value sale price or, even worse, no sale at all. 

Your home has the highest chances for a successful sale when it is new on the market and priced reasonably. This is where we can help. We can give you up-to-date information on what is happening in the marketplace and the price, financing, terms, and condition of competing properties. With these analyses and our experience, well help you find the right price for your home.

Source: Murney Associates, Realtors