Chattanooga Real Estate Blog

Woo Hoo!

Sales were up in August by 5% over July numbers!  Enjoy that sentence because it’s the only good thing we have to report. 

The difference of 100 closings from August 2006 and August 2007 is a 13% decrease.  Available listings continue to climb with a 15% increase from last August.  We still have a 9 month supply of homes available.

I may start breaking the figures down into different areas or price ranges.  The stats that I give are for the entire MLS and it’s very general. 

Today buyers have many, many choices when deciding on which home to make an offer.  With so many homes on the market it’s all about price.  I know people hate to hear that but it’s true.

I’m going back to good ole Bloodhound Blog because once again I think one of Gregs posts says it all:

What should you do as a seller? Whatever it takes.

Here are a couple of ideas:

First, have the house appraised, price the home below that appraisal and leave the appraisal report out where buyers can see it.

Second, have the home professionally inspected. Do all of the repairs in the inspection report, then have the inspector back to confirm your work. When everything is ship-shape, leave that report out where buyers can see it.

You can’t control lenders or interest rates. You can’t control the price of homes into the future. What you can do is take away every buyer objection over which you have control.

Nothing matters more than price, so if you won’t price your home to the current market, you needn’t bother with anything else. Your house will not sell. But if you’re committed to doing whatever it takes, these ideas could swing the balance.

Well said.

Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wants an end to prepayment penalties for home mortgages and a $2 billion federal fund to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Clinton also wants the government to impose new disclosure requirements on mortgage brokers and curb their ability to dictate lending terms.

“We need to act now with smart, practical solutions to strengthen our housing and mortgage markets,” Clinton told The Associated Press. “We need to put an end to fly-by-night mortgage brokers peddling loans to unqualified applicants based on inflated appraisals.’”

You Go Girl!!!

Real the entire article with both Republican and Democratic thoughts, plans and ideas on our current foreclosure crises at ForeclosurePulse Blog.