It's Ground Hog Day

I was watching Ground Hog Day over the weekend with my son. This was the movie with Bill Murray where he went to Punxsutawney PA, as a newscaster, to report on Ground Hog Day. He ends up repeating the same day over and over in the town until eventually the cycle is broken. (I do not explain movies very well!) Ground Hog Day would be the perfect theme for a lot of clients I am dealing with in North Georgia. The Atlanta area had a good year last year. Reports of a 1 to 2% price increase, lower inventory, and new construction. That is great news for an area that went down approximately 30% after the market peaked in 2005! Unfortunately we have sellers who had bought their home at the peak of the market. They also put additional money into their home as upgrades. Our sellers are under the impression that the market has turned around to the point that they can receive a higher amount for their home. The reality is that when a market goes down 30% and has since gone up 2%, we have a long way to go. In other words it is Ground Hog Day: Bill Murray has woken up in bed to the same Atlanta housing market he saw last year. Bottom line: Yes our market is doing better but it is not back to the 2005 levels. Our sellers need to take this into account when they decide to sell their home.

Is There any Pixie Dust out there?

After seven successful years in a bad real estate market, The Wells Team has a pretty good idea of what works when it comes to marketing and selling a home. What has worked for us: •Pricing the home correctly from the start •Putting some money into the home, if needed, prior to listing the home. This includes new carpet, paint, and yard work. •Having very good pictures on the internet •Being available to show a home at any time •Flyers Those are just few of the many. However we have listings that have been sitting on the market for considerable length of time. For the most part these listings are very nice homes that are show ready. There becomes a point when our clients, in the above situation, grow incredibly frustrated with us because their home is still for sale. This is where the "pixie dust" comes into play. Our clients want us to find the "pixie dust" that will make their home sell. This is what we have tried: •Bonus to the buyer's agent •Offer to pay closing cost •Decorator allowance •golf course memberships •$5000 towards a golf cart •home warranties Unfortunately we not seen any of the above make the difference. I want to know if any of you have any "pixie dust" you can share.