Archive for July, 2009
Can Chocolate enhance your Open House?
July 30th, 2009 categories: Interesting Tidbits, Real Estate News
Recently I did an Open House for a beautiful 1930’s era Colonial in the North End of Asheville in the Grove Park area.
The home was vacant except for a couple pieces of furniture in the living room and the air conditioning was off – in July! At that moment, when I realized I would be sweltering in my lined suit for the next two hours, I was admittedly cranky and not happy to be there. My thoughts kept going back to why hadn’t the Listing Agent given me a hint? But, the show must go on.
Since this was my first look at this home, I began my vigil of checking out all the rooms and familiarizing myself with all the details. Everything was very clean, painted and spiffy, it reminded me of my grandmothers home. All the bedrooms were upstairs and living area on the first. OK, it’s a nice house and I had resigned myself to the fact that the sweat was going to ruin my good hair day, you see, I have naturally wavy hair and I prefer to wear it on the straight side, the smallest amount of humidity and the wave would spring into action, my good hair day was soon to be over. But that’s a girl thing . . .
So, in the face of adversity, at least that’s how I saw it, I walked into the kitchen and my day suddenly changed! There on the counter was a very large plate of fresh chocolate chip cookies! The Toll House kind! And wait, there was also a dish of Hersheys chocolate mini bars. Had these owners called my husband and asked him what they could do to make me happy for my two hour presentation of their house?
People, not only did this chocolate transform my attitude, but every person that walked in that door thought I was their personal friend who had baked these confections just for their arrival. They were friendly, open to conversation about the house, and simply stayed longer and saw more of the house. They eagerly signed in to my Register and were open to my explanations of the potential this home possessed. If a potential home buyer stays longer to consider that home just long enough to see themselves living there, THAT’S the difference chocolate can make!
So, the next time your agent does an open house for you, remember chocolate equals happiness on several levels, including selling your home!
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Mortgage week in Review
July 23rd, 2009 categories: Mortgage Reviews
On Wednesday, the Fed released its minutes from the June 24 FOMC meeting, and most of the news was negative for mortgage rates. The minutes revealed an upward revision to the Fed’s forecast for economic growth and inflation in 2009 and 2010. In addition, Fed officials expressed a strong reluctance to increase any further the program to purchase mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Mortgage rates are largely determined by MBS prices. When the Fed initially announced its MBS purchase program in November, morgage rates immediately dropped, and they dropped again significantly when the Fed announced an increase in the program in March. The Fed has a substantial involvement in MBS markets, and any change in this program would have a major impact on mortgage rates.
The housing sector date released during the week showed improvement. June Housing Starts rose 4% to the highest level in seven months. Building Permits, a leading indicator, jumped 9%. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) sentiment index increased to the highest level since September 2008. According to the NAHB, the first-time homebuyer tax credit, low mortgage rates, and “attractive” home prices are helping home sales.
MBSQuoteline 2009
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