The demand for homes in our area has rebounded to a certain degree, due to such factors as continued growth of immigrant population, lack of vacant land and new development, proximity to New York City, well-performing schools and relatively low property taxes. In addition, the combination of historically low mortgage rates, lower home prices and relatively high income levels of two-earner house holds in New York City has created a favorable buying opportunity for many families. Buyers now are not speculators, they are buying a home to live in and they realize that their very large investment may not show any appreciation for a long time, therefore, they are pragmatic, they set up a budget, (often necessitated by strict lending guidelines), they shop and compare and they expect to get the best value they can find.
On the sellers' side, it's been only five years since the peak of the real estate market but many homeowners are still expecting those high prices to return before they can make important decisions about changing their lifestyle, retiring, downsizing, etc. Well, the truth of the matter is that these prices are not coming back this spring or anytime soon.
The strategy of pricing your home at the current market levels will create more exposure, resulting in more showings to savvy buyers who will appreciate the value and place realistic offers quicker out of fear of loss.
Comparing our statistics, we have maintained the same ratio of sell price to list price. 96% in both 2009 and 2010, and the average "days on the market" has stayed below 60 - 58 in 2010 and 56 in 2009, while it took an average of 70 days to sell houses in 2008.
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