http://housingnewswatch.com Guide to Curb Appeal & The Housing Market in General Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:12:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A short sale is when a home is sold for less than what is owed and the bank accepts the sales proceeds as full payment. This type of sale is becoming more prevelant as market values go down and unemployment goes up. It can also happen when loan rates reset ... http://housingnewswatch.com/avoid-foreclosure-do-a-short-sale/ This will be one in a series of posts on how an agent adds value to a real estate transaction. Almost all of the information available to agents is available to buyers and sellers on the internet. This creates what I call the super empowered client  who at the first meeting often ... http://housingnewswatch.com/how-does-a-real-estate-agent-add-value-to-a-transaction/ Benny Cass in the Washington Post led with a great headline when he said "Only the Freshist Will Do". He was talking about how important it is to have the most recent sales information when picking a sales price. Many markets in Montgomery County are dropping at a rate of 1.5% ... http://housingnewswatch.com/the-importantce-of-the-most-recent-information/ One of the first things to do when selling your home is to find out how many months inventory are in your market. Start with your own neighborhood and obtain the following information: Number and prices of homes activly on the market Number and prices of homes under contract. Number and prices ... http://housingnewswatch.com/months-of-inventory-in-your-market/ Did you know that women make approx. 90% of real estate buying decisions?  What this means to sellers of homes is a heavy emphasis on clean, new and fresh. In today's slower market, it often means new flooring, fresh paint, updated kitchens and baths. This is especially important if the ... http://housingnewswatch.com/prepare-your-home-for-the-person-who-makes-the-buying-decision/