I’ve been watching inventory trends in the Spokane Valley for several weeks.  By far the most bloated price range is $175,000 to $199,000 with a whopping 17.5% of all the listings in the Spokane Valley packed into this one price range. 

This happens to be a pretty hot price range for First Time Buyers so this “bloat” only equates to 8.7 months of inventory only slightly higher than the Spokane Valley’s 7.2 overall average.  Sellers in the 175-199k price range can expect to spend an average of 119 days on the market (2 days shorter than the Spokane Valley’s average).  If you happen to be a seller in this price range, consider a price drop below $185,000 as the bulk of the sold homes this year in that price range have sold below 185,000.

What about other price ranges?  The Spokane Valley has a few “troubled” ranges with 20+ months of inventory sitting on the books. Most price ranges over $375,000 have 18 months or more of inventory – some could not even be calculated.  If you are in these price ranges – don’t worry – buyers are still out there, but they want the same for less or MORE for the same.  Now more than ever it’s important to highlight the key features of your home and in some cases get your price down some to show value to potential buyers.  Regardless – you will spend a little longer on the market than average, but if you price your home with the market and your home is marketed correctly, you will sell.

Do you have a Spokane Valley Home you’d like evaluated?  We have a GREAT MARKETING PLAN, and would love an opportunity to show you what we can do.  Set up an appointment here.  Don’t worry if you’re looking to Buy a Spokane Valley Home For Sale we have a site for you too!

Tags: Spokane Real Estate // Comments

 In the spirit of the holidays and, well, Real Estate – I wanted to share some of my favorite ideas for home related gifts.  Many are mostly functional gifts, but with current economical times many gift-buyes are leaning towards a more functional gift this Holiday Season.  Here are four of my favorites:

Give the Gift of Warmth: with an Avista gift certificate that can be used just like a check to pay heating bills.  Energy bills can often be one of the largest expenses a family has during the holidays, and the gift of warmth will be remember year-round!

A Home Warranty:  Can you say budget protetion?  The gift of a Home Warranty can cover many unexpected household failures from appliances to broken pipes.  The home warranty is a sensible gift for any homeowner.

Carbon Monoxided & Explosive Gas Detector – admitedly not the “funnest” gift of the season, BUT Carbon Monoxide is the number one cause of poison related deaths in America.  A simple $50 gift can save the life of your loved ones.   I prefer the one with the explosive gas detector to alert me if my furnace stops functioning correctly.  This is a must have!

Address Plaques are in!  We’ve had several of these and there’s  no better way to add some fun to the front of your home than with a custom address plaque. 

Do you have a favorite home related gift?  Do share.

Tags: Fun, New Ideas // Comments

I’ve been asked this several times in the past week: “Is it okay to decorate my home for the holidays when I have it listed?”

My answer has always been: “If you want to.”

The more I think about it – that doesn’t sound like professional advice – kind of like shrugging my shoulders and giving a Jeff Foxworthy-esc “Yah-ump-too.”  Analyzing it a bit further and reaching back to the advice we give all year is – depersonalize the home so we can sell.  Decking the halls to the max is hardly depersonalized.  But then again, tis the season.

Think, think think, it’s hardly fair to give a resounding “No.” and then I remembered.  One of the core fundamentals I learned in my staging courses was compromise. In this situation, compromise doesn’t mean “go a head and decorate your house so you can see it from space,” but a mere modest sampling of your FAVORITE decorations tastefully displayed.  Of COURSE you can have a Christmas Tree decked out with ornaments, and heck – even lights on your house – just make sure it doesn’t distract or completely stand out in your neighborhood, because as much as you may like it – the potential buyer may not.  

 My advice: Keep it simple, take it down after Christmas.

What are your thoughts?

Tags: Fun // Comments