Selling Your Home for All It's Worth by Karen Mackey, Realtor

10/08/2023

I am taking a “pause” in my real estate career but please reach out if in the market to buy or sell so I can connect you to a top notch Realtor in any State. Need a lender or contractor, I can help with this, too. I’ll be back! All my best and hope to hear from you soon.

11/03/2021

Market ‘Unpredictability’ Forces ZILLOW Offers to Fold

November 3, 2021

Zillow Offers was once one of the largest instant offer firms in the iBuying sector, but the “unpredictability in forecasting home prices” is prompting it to shutter that arm of its business for good.

KeyBanc analyst Edward Yruma told MarketWatch that most of the homes that the company had recently purchased were now worth less than what it paid for them. Of 650 homes analyzed by Yruma, he says the markets with the most homes listed below the purchase price that Zillow Offers bought from are in Phoenix, Charlotte, N.C., Las Vegas.

About two weeks ago, Zillow announced a temporary halt to new purchases for its iBuying program for the remainder of the year as it worked through a backlog of about 9,800 homes. It cited labor and supply shortages for not being able to renovate homes fast enough and relist them.

But on Tuesday, Zillow made it official: Zillow Offers would be no more. The company also announced it would lay off a quarter of its workforce, or about 2,000 people, as a result.

“We’ve determined the unpredictability in forecasting home prices far exceeds what we anticipated, and continuing to scale Zillow Offers would result in too much earnings and balance-sheet volatility,” CEO Rich Barton said in a statement.

Barton said that Zillow will instead focus on “creating an integrated and digital real estate transaction that solves the pain points of buyers and sellers while serving a wider audience.”

Zillow Offers will complete the purchase of an additional 8,200 homes—worth up to about $265 million—it is currently under contract to purchase. The company expects to lose up to 7% on those homes, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Zillow Offers began about three-and-a-half years ago. The company had once predicted the iBuying arm could generate $20 billion a year. Home flipping was the company’s largest source of revenue, despite it never turning a profit, The Wall Street Journal reports. Zillow Offers lost $381 million last quarter.

The booming homebuying market with high demand and low inventories has prompted home prices to rise rapidly. Other iBuyer competitors like OpenDoor and Offerpad reportedly began to slow their purchases in one of the largest iBuying markets, Phoenix, this summer. Meanwhile, Zillow had accelerated its purchases, according to Mike DelPrete, a tech strategist who studies iBuying. Zillow was also paying more than its competitors for each home—purchasing homes, on average, priced $65,000 higher than the median, DelPrete’s analysis shows.

10/05/2021

Staging: Create Quality Online Images to Peak Interest

You only get one chance to make a first impression. Nearly all—99%—of millennial home buyers start their search online, according to NAR's data. Even in a hot market, staging a photo-ready property can directly influence a buyer's decision to see the home in person and submit an offer.

Many homes are going under contract the first weekend they're listed—and sometimes without any preparation for the market. Still, real estate professionals can't promise sellers their property will stand out and receive the highest offers unless buyers fall in love with the home. That's where staging makes a big difference!

09/24/2021

Open House Saturday Noon to 4PM Sept. 25th
https://www.facebook.com/1130856246/posts/10224984812704124/

09/23/2021

Just Listed in Clarksburg Town Center for $674,500. 4-bdrms 5-baths 3-finished levels 2-Car Garage Faces love Pond. If quality counts, you won’t want to miss out on this property!

Listed at $674,500, MLS , 4 beds, 4.5 baths, 2-car garage, 3,542 square feet, built in 2002, “Room to Roam” in this Miller and Smith Quality Built Home with over 3,500 finished square feet. The only M&S floor plan in Clarksburg Town Center offering a private above garage Fourth Bedro...

09/16/2021

Psst…Coming Soon in Clarksburg Town Center.
“Room to Roam”
$674,500
4 Bedrooms
4.5 Bathrooms
3-Finished Levels
Finished Separate Living Over 2-Car Garage
Brand New Dual System HVAC
New Floors, Granite Vanities, Refinished Wood Floors, New Carpet, Fresh Paint Inside and Out
Relaxing Front Porch with Pond Views
Side Brick Paver Patio
Gourmet Kitchen w/Cherry Cabinets, Island, SS Appl.

Town Center amenities to include outdoor pool, fishing pond w/pier, community center, playgrounds, walking paths and so much more all included in your HOA fee.
(Coming Sept. 23rd)

08/31/2021

https://pictureperfectllctours.com/20233-Kellys-Ln

Listed at $199,500, MLS , 3 beds, 3 baths, 1-car garage, 1,730 square feet, built in 1994, Welcome to this Clean and Spacious Move In Ready 3-Level Garage Townhome in Robins Glenn! Owner has replaced so much to include NEW Carpet; NEW Paint Thru-out; NEW LVP Flooring in both Full Bathroo...

08/12/2021

UNDER CONTRACT in 3-days! Rates are great; inventory is available; call me for any questions you may have about your market area or general questions about the Metropolitan Real Estate Marekt.

Listed at $419,000, 3 beds, 3 baths, 1-car garage, 2,160 square feet, built in 1991, Pride of Ownership! Huge End Unit that feels like a Single Family Home. Updates throughout include Hardwood Floors; LV Flooring; SS Appliances; Custom Blinds; Granite Countertops; Table Space Kitchen with White Cabi...

08/10/2021

Survey: Bidding Wars Aren’t the Big Problem Anymore

August 10, 2021

Many “would-be” home buyers say they aren’t having much luck in finding a home. Sixty-six percent of buyers who were actively engaged in searching for a home in the second quarter say they’ve spent three months looking without success.

In the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of this year, active house hunters blamed being outbid by other offers as the most common reason for their inability to make a purchase. But the top reason changed in the second quarter: More would-be buyers said that high home prices are sidelining them lately, according to The Housing Trends Report, a survey from the National Association of Home Builders.

Thirty-nine percent of active buyers surveyed said the inability to find an affordably priced home was the main reason they couldn’t buy.

A line graph showing the four reasons would-be buyers cannot find a home to purchase.
Forty-three percent of surveyed buyers said if they continue to be unsuccessful, they will expand their search area while shopping for a home. Forty-two percent will remain persistent and continue looking for the “right” home in the same location.

Overall, most long-term house hunters aren’t willing to give up. The share who are likely to put off their home search until next year or later has declined over the last two quarters, dropping to 20% in the second quarter. Home buyers continue to search for the right home, even if it takes more than three months to finally find one in their price point.

08/07/2021

Karen Mackey, Realtor / GRI Karen.Mackey@
C21Redwood.com

08/06/2021

MLS Finds That Listed Homes Sell for 17% More

In a two-year analysis, homes on a mid-Atlantic MLS sold for more money than similar homes that sold off of it. Bright MLS, a multiple listing service that supports more than 95,000 real estate professionals from Pennsylvania to Virginia, conducted the study of 442,829 records for home sales transactions completed between January 2019 and December 2020.

The median sold on the MLS was about 17% higher than the homes sold off of the MLS, the study found.

“We have always known the power of the MLS network, and past studies have shown that homes shared cooperatively on the MLS sold for more,” said Brian Donnelley, Bright MLS president and CEO. “We’re proud to be able to confirm with our extensive data that promoting homes through our MLS delivers significant value over other methods.”

The study also analyzed properties that were labeled as “office exclusive” listings and marketed solely within one brokerage. The majority of those listings were ultimately marketed through the MLS before they were sold. Homes that Bright MLS promoted from the beginning were under contract faster than properties that started as office exclusives. Also, comparable homes that were marketed through the MLS sold for more than those marketed otherwise through exclusive arrangements, the study found.

“There is a “perception” that selling outside the multiple listing service, either with an agent or as a For Sale By Owner, can save time and money for the consumer,” said Elliot Eisenberg, a real estate economist and a former senior economist for the National Association of Home Builders and also an author on the study. But Eisenberg said the study shows otherwise and that the fastest sales for the most money use the MLS to market the homes for sale.

08/01/2021

Rates are Great!