Real estate values may be trickiest aspect to sales

Buyers see prices as too high, sellers too low; sometimes an agent can help bridge this disagreement By Amy Dettore, Columnist, The Times “I got a low ball offer.” I’ve been selling real estate a long time and I always try to put myself in my client’s shoes, to try and understand what they are feeling. Now, I speak from experience and appreciate the disappointment that so...

Devastation in OK reminds how good we have it here

Aside from its natural beauty, Chester County is largely protected from natural disasters By Amy Dettore, Columnist, The Times It breaks my heart to see all the devastation from the deadly tornado in Moore, Ok. It sometimes feels like it’s just one thing after the next of negative things occurring in our world. It really helps to put things in perspective when you consider the big picture. We...

Rising prices mean a real estate recovery

If you’ve waiting to sell, the time might be now By Amy Dettore, Columnist, The Times In case you haven’t heard, it’s unanimous…the Real Estate market has improved and continues to do so. The statistics overwhelmingly support this outlook. Nationally, home prices rose 8.1% in January, the biggest year over year gain in prices since 2006. Check out this link to an article that...

Real Estate Insider: Shocker! Not enough homes for sale

It may come as a surprise, but there is a shortage of good properties on the market By Amy Dettore, Columnist, The Times I think it is safe to say that we are no longer experiencing the doom and gloom of real estate sales. Have you been approached or contacted recently by one of us Realtors? We are desperately announcing that “THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF INVENTORY PEOPLE!!!!”…now is the...

Sell now? Yes, you might get a better deal

Because of low housing inventories, listing your house now might bring a better price By Jill Goldman, Special to The Times Now that we have entered the holiday season you may hear a popular myth that houses don’t sell at this time of year. Not true! In fact, at this time of year we see a surprising number of buyers looking for housing and a predictably low number of homes on the market. Why?...

A homebuyer’s nose can tell a lot

If you might want to sell your home in the future, be aware of the impact of storm damage By Jill Goldman, Special to The Times Hopefully everyone made it through the recent “storm of the century” with your homes and your sanity relatively unscathed. With the prediction that we are going to have a lot of snow and potentially a few more power outages this winter, however, we thought we should...

Home renovations can help sales, but be smart

Picking the right things to fix up can make all the difference By Jill Goldman, Special to The Times Many of you have considered home renovations over the past year, and know that they types and costs of such projects vary greatly.  The most affordable renovation is usually the one that provides the biggest benefit when selling, and that is fresh paint.  Yes, just fresh paint.  Good paint can...

Economy has changed how people live in their homes

By Jilll Goldman, Special to The Times As we all know, the unfortunate downturn in the economy has caused prices to decline, inventory to soar, and mortgage qualification criteria to become overly burdensome.  These factors have had a chilling effect on the housing market.  Having said that, our area has stayed afloat better than some, and we are clearly seeing an upturn in prices and a slowing...

Staging your house to sell

Editor’s Note: pinch-hitting in this week’s Real Estate column is Katherine Kosciewicz, owner of Brandywine Staging, to discuss how to set your home up for viewing by potential buyers. By Katherine Kosciewicz, Special to The Times Light and bright sells, experts say. Home staging helps houses sell for the highest price in the shortest time. Staging is all about preparing a home for...

Housing price rebound could be happening

Everything appears to be in place for housing market recovery By Jill Goldman, Special to The Times A sharp boost in home prices during the spring could signal a recovery in the long-suffering U.S. housing market, according to an industry report issued Tuesday and reported in CNNMoney (by Les Christie, Aug 28, 2012). The S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index, which covers more than 80%...