Where Have All the Short Sales Gone?

A few years ago, short sales were everywhere. You couldn’t mention real estate without talking about short sales. Now, short sales are scarce. What happened? 

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If you remember, just a few years ago, short sales were everywhere. These days, you don’t hear about short sales very often. What happened? Where did all of the short sales go?

In short, the market has changed. Home values have risen, the market has improved, and sellers are no longer being forced into short sale situations. 

A short sale is when the owner of the home owes more money than what the home will sell for in the current market. Since the market has improved and home values have risen, those sellers are no longer underwater. They’ve become solvent, so if they need to sell their house, they are able to sell it for more than what they owe rather than being forced to sell for less than what they owe.

Now is the best time to sell a home since 2007.

What does that mean for buyers? Since values are rising, you could’ve gotten a better deal last year than you will this year. However, you could’ve gotten a better deal in 2014 than you could’ve in 2015. The good news is that if this trend continues, you will get a better deal this year than you would if you wait until next year to buy a home.

As a seller, if you tried to sell your house a few years ago but were unsuccessful, it’s very likely that your home value has gone up. You can sell today for more than what you owe. It’s also very possible that you can sell for more than what you were asking a few years ago because the market has improved so much.

If you have been renting that house out and waiting to sell it, now may be the time to put it on the market. In fact, now is the best time to sell since 2007. We don’t know what the future holds; we’re hearing that some markets are slowing down, but the market here in Athens is still wide open.

I will keep you updated on the latest market trends as we move forward. If you have any questions in the meantime, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

An Organized Closet in Less than an Hour

Looking to buy or sell a home in Athens, Georgia? Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home,click here for a FREE Home Price  Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (706) 621-6085 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

I recently found a good video on HGTV that I thought would be helpful to you if you're preparing to sell your home. It's essential that when you show your home to buyers, it's clean, organized, and decluttered. You'll want to empty out your closets, or at the very least, get them organized.

One thing you can do to get organized is to put up shoe hangers in your doors, and store everyday items inside them such as cleaning supplies, utensils, or anything else that you can fit in them.

Another way to cut down on clutter is to get organized. Use labels, or pick up storage bins to keep items like cords or wires in.

A tip for organizing your closet is to divide your clothes into four different sections: hang, sell, donate, keep, and fold. Once you have something marked out for every category, you can then organize your closet in any way you see fit. Here's an extra tip: you can use belt hangers to hang your necklaces and other jewelry.

I just thought this video would be useful for organizing your home whether you're selling or if you just want to tidy up a bit.

If you need any assistance with staging, decluttering, or selling, please don't hesitate to contact me!