Thursday, December 12, 2013

 
How to make sense of the Durango Real Estate Market.  With segments of the market being quite busy and others still struggling, how do you make sense of Durango's diverse real estate market? First and foremost, you can take a gander at the quarterly statistics provided by the Durango Area Association of Realtors to see what is happening in the segment of the market you are interested in and chat with your Realtor about it. As they say, the language of business is numbers so its critical to know the numbers for your homes placement in the market. We study these numbers often and discuss they daily at the office. One of the benefits of being in one of the largest offices in the region (and now with the largest real estate company in America - Keller Williams Realty) is that we discuss and debate these things all the time. Our company provides perhaps the best and most reliable statistics in the industry.

Durango's in-town market for homes under, say, $475,000 is just cranking. Following national trends, people are wanting to be in town. As the marker gains momentum in town, we will start to see gains in the pricing for homes out of town pick up as well.

As you may know, many folks pull their homes and property off the market in winter season.  This may be a mistake. Certainly, in some market segments this might make sense such as with seasonal cabins or the like. Still, we are cranking right now at Team OWNdurango.com with more homes 'under contract' than at any one time over the last years (which was a pretty darn good year)! So, with reduced homes to compete against, the savvy Seller may want to consider listing now! Click this link to see what properties we listed in our area this week:



Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Durango Real Estate Home Inventory is LOW! How to List Now and Sell for MORE!




Here are 11 reasons to consider listing NOW: 

11. By selling now, you may have an opportunity to be a non-contingent buyer during the Spring, when many more houses are on the market for less money! This will allow you to sell high and buy low.
10. You can sell now for more money and we will provide for a delayed closing or extended occupancy until early next year.
9. Even though your house will be on the market, you still have the option to restrict showings during the six or seven days around the Holidays.
8. January is traditionally the month for employees to begin new jobs. Since transfers cannot wait until Spring to buy, you need to be on the market during the Holidays to capture the market.
7. Some people must buy before the end of the year for tax reasons.
6. Buyers have more time to look for a home during the Holidays than they do during a work week.
5. Buyers are more emotional during the Holidays, so they are more likely to pay your price.
4. Houses show better when decorated for the Holidays.
3. Since the supply of listings will dramatically increase in January, there will be less demand for your particular home. Less demand means more money for you.
2. Serious buyers have fewer houses to choose from during the Holidays and less competition means more money for you.
And the number one reason why your seller should list during the Holidays …
1. People who look for homes during the Holidays are more serious buyers!

Monday, November 11, 2013

Durango Veterans Day Parade

Durango prepares for its Veterans Day Parade. Thanks from our family to yours....your service is greatly appreciated!

Friday, October 25, 2013

How to Sell and Price a Home In Durango That You NEED to Sell Soon?


Thanks for reading Team OWNdurango.com's blog. So, how do you sell a home quickly that you absolutely NEED to sell. In Durango Colorado. If you are in-town and under $450,000 no problem, just call you agent and get that puppy listed. For everyone else...keep reading. As I said, if your not downtown,  the key is to have your agent do an analysis of your home and other homes in your area/genre. Look at which homes sold recently, the price and sales concessions the Seller had to make (if any) and days-on-market. A seasoned agent will understand how to price your home as the next to sell in the price/area/genre. Look closely at the numbers and stats. This is still not a market in which you can ask for a premium price and hope for an offer. You have to have a compelling reason to sell and that reason is an aggressive price. I'm not talking about a dropping your drawers or a fire-sale, just price it as the best deal in your catagory and make sure you have a hungry, full-time agent.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Durango Colorado

Today our local Association of Realtors posted the 3rd Quarter Statistics for our market and its no wonder its like pulling teeth to be the one to get the contract on that desireable listing. In town homes sales are up 24% over this time last year (and would be more if we had inventory, I suspect). Home sales in the County are up 34% over last year. So, the keys to getting the deal is to get in the home early, make your offer at or above full price and be sure your agent writes a compelling cover letter as to why to go with your offer. We do a little social media research on the Sellers to find common interest between Buyer and Seller and make that connection.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Keller Williams Realty Helps Raise $350,000 for Colorado Flood Relief » KW Blog

How does your Company step up to help house people displaced by floods? Colorado was recently devastated by floods. We felt it here in Durango, Colorado but they had it really bad on the Front Range of Colorado. So how cool is it when your Company steps up with over 400 Keller Williams Realty Agents to physically help out and over $350,000 to help house people displaced by the flooding. We here at Team OWNdurango.com are proud of our local leaders Larry Turner and Geoff Overington for driving 6 hours to go and help out, we are proud of our Regional Leadership for organizing the work and the money and we are proud of KW Cares for sending kw's President Mary Tennant to Colorado to cough up the check. KW rocks! Check the link below for more on the story.
Keller Williams Realty Helps Raise $350,000 for Colorado Flood Relief » KW Blog

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Durango In Town Homes For Sale Video by Team OWNdurango.com 2812 W 2nd Avenue



Hey there, if you saw my Blog yesterday about 'How to Buy a Home In Town Durango' you know it all about getting there early and making an offer immediately. To that end I have been doing videos of all new in-town listings that pop up. Check out our YouTube, Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Facebook pages for more. Its amateur for sure but better than nada! Cheers, Sebastian with Team OWNdurango.com

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

How to Buy a Home in Downtown Durango in this Sellers' market

Buying a home in downtown Durango has been a real challenge lately....but don't despair. If you stick with it and have a great Realtor, you will find your next home. No doubt, the Buyers' market we've had for the last few years is no more. It seemed a switch was flipped at the beginning of this year. The investors jumped in first and then the many people who had been parked on the fence finally jumped in as well. And why not....add historically low interest rates (even now we're half, yes half, of the historical average interest rate) to historic low pricing and you have the make of a great opportunity. As a national average, prices are still roughly 12-13% undervalued according to Keller Williams Realty International. 

Now, to specifically address how to get that downtown Durango home in this Sellers market:  first, make sure you have an agent that is working full time and preferably at one of the larger firms. Often, agents will announce to their co-agents that they have that elusive in-town listing coming and those in-house agents get a first crack at the listing. Also, be sure your [full-time] agent sets you up to automatically get new listings emailed directly to you. That way you can chase down your agent early and get in to see the listing immediately. A couple of hints: if the home is in the area you are dying to purchase, google the address and see if you can find photos, older virtual tours or any other info to get ahead of the curve on making a choice that this house is for you. Another idea.....ask your agent to draw up a contract and bring it to the showing....if its the right place and the price is reasonable....sign the offer at full price (or more) and put a quick deadline on accepting the offer. Your agent will almost always have an 'out' for you in the contract so if you have to submit the offer sight-unseen, you can probably negotiate first and see the home later - if its not what you want then respectfully back out of the contract and let someone else have at it. 

The key is to have an experienced agent that you can feel comfortable trusting in these sorts of 'urgency situations'. They should be able to help you feel good about the pricing so long as they are consistently looking at the in-town market (for instance, we here at Team OWNdurango.com pre-view and video all new in-town listings). And make sure your agent works full-time and as I said, preferably in one of the larger offices. Many clients want to sleep on a big choice like this but unfortunately the saying 'you snooze, you lose' is too often the case here. Again, you should have outs in the Contract if your agent is worth a salt. All you have to do is lose one house you are excited over to learn this lesson the hard way. Many agents don't want to push clients on this sort of approach but the truth is, if they don't push you may never get into that downtown home.

Need a full-time, experienced and award-winning agent....check us out at Team OWNdurango.com