When buying your first home, you’ll find there’s never a shortage of free advice. But in a world of so many opinions and instant experts, there are always going to be a few myths floating around to confuse you. As an experienced agent, I hear many first homebuyers make statements that illustrate they’ve been innocently…
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Price data trends are most powerful when you’re able to drill down into a neighborhood or its surrounding area, providing you with real-world examples of how a market is behaving. Talking to a local agent, such as myself, about property values for the type of home you’re either selling or buying is always a smart…
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It’s amazing how your decision on where to position your television can dictate the rest of the living space in your home. For first-time buyers who’re just moving into their home, it’s one of the first decisions they need to make as they sit among all the packing boxes, trying to work out what goes…
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Preparation is everything when it comes to painting, they say. And real estate agents will tell you one of the cheapest and highest-impact strategies to enhance your home before sale is to paint the exterior and interior. Many owners will opt to paint themselves, especially if the priority is inside the home. And while preparation…
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Zillow economists have crunched the numbers! They’ve analyzed their page-view traffic for nearly 2,300 American cities – plus data on property value growth and days on the market – to rank their users’ most desired locations. Would you guess Zillow users wanted the excitement of New York or L.A.? Or would they prefer those peaceful…
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We’re seeing a strong rise in the number of properties for sale this month – and with spring just around the corner, the trend is only going to get stronger. Across America, we have 17% more properties on the market than 12 months ago. Which means, many owners are about to up their DIY game,…
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The impending imposition of a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports has sent ripples of concern across our housing and construction industry. Tariffs placed on eight countries plus the 27 members of the European Union are to take effect on March 12, 2025. They could significantly impact the cost of home construction and…
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When buyers walk through your home for the first time, there’s no shortage of inquisitiveness and skepticism. They’ll ask an agent such as myself about the price and the seller’s willingness to negotiate. There’ll be questions about local amenities, the age of the HVAC and lots of other queries important to each buyer. But there’s…
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Hardwood floors are an amazing selling point. Buyers just love them and will pay a premium to win a property that puts high-quality timber under their feet. Many owners prepared to invest in their home can spend several thousands of dollars on sanding back the floor and recoating it with varnish to make it look…
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Spring is in the air – and it’s not too late for owners to put their property on the market in the next few weeks to capitalize on buyers’ renewed enthusiasm and optimism at this time of year. Industry researcher CoreLogic has reported that average values for US residential properties have risen 3.9% in the…
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