Menifee
Working as a Menifee Real Estate Specialist I deal with a fast moving market place! From 2001-2006 South Riverside Country was one of the quickest growing real estate markets in the country almost a 30{c8f127ee0ae8e843244cc4fdd37fe5c6d1494d04024f10fe6afe3d18700f5f1b} average appreciation for five straight years. We can change from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market in a blink of the eye and because of that the fundamentals are often ignored.
In addition, due to the rapid appreciation, the Menifee real estate market was at the center of the current loan debacle. When selling a Menifee home your competition won’t typical standard sellers. It will aggressively priced short sales, foreclosure and bank-owned homes, and investor flip properties. You base your listing price on a model match that sold at $260,000 and then a nightmare of a bank-owned shows up at $190,000, thereby affecting your listing price. It happens every day in the Menifee market where new home tracts are so dense.
You can’t change the market but you can focus on six fundamentals that can help you sell your Menifee home:
1) Understand the Menifee real estate market, not the national market – Menifee real estate moves much faster than 90{c8f127ee0ae8e843244cc4fdd37fe5c6d1494d04024f10fe6afe3d18700f5f1b} of the national market. Your true competition here is short sales, bank owned, and investor flip homes. Some homes can’t get specific types of financing perhaps (i.e. flip homes) or are damaged which excludes FHA and VA financing where perhaps yours can. That means you have a bigger pool of buyers and more flexibility so you can command a higher price.
2) Research and set a reasonable list price – Understand the actual value of your home. Do not defined as what you put into it, but its size, condition, community and location. The whole picture not just location, location, location. With all the Menifee short sales, flips, and foreclosures homes here, your actual home value has to be weighed intelligently in consideration of the direct competition. Define your list price expectations by understanding step one.
3) Condition of your Menifee property – So many Menifee homes are in foreclosure and their curb appeal is terrible. They have weeds sprouting everywhere, dead lawns,trash down the side. Many Menifee short sales are left vacant by owners that gave up and consequently look even worse. Your Menifee house will have an immediate advantage if take the time to tighten up your yard and make that important first impression. Trust me, it isn’t fun showing listings with destroyed front yards and interiors that are worse than the yards!.
4) Relaxing interior atmosphere – When a home buyer views your Menifee short sales, they should feel immediately comfortable. That feeling of being home is really what they are shopping for. You can help them find it by having some classical music playing at low level and a nice air freshener – simple. With 70{c8f127ee0ae8e843244cc4fdd37fe5c6d1494d04024f10fe6afe3d18700f5f1b} of the Menifee homes I show being smelly, dirty, and messy these little things make a huge impact to potential buyers. Do you know there was a time sellers baked cookies to fill the house with that homey smell and now I show bank owned listings with litter, holes in the wall, stained carpet, and water damage?! Make your home a stark contrast to those and you win comming out of the gate!
5) Understand Your Buyers – Most people move to Menifee to have a family or for a bigger home. The majority of buyers are relocating from out of state, Orange County, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Menifee is much cheaper than down south and within a reasonable commute range. Buyers are moving here to have familes, get nicer homes, and good schools. So show them where their kids can play or the fun of having a large yard. Putting your home in line with their desires is a very smart selling tactic!
6) Smart and Win/Win Negotiation – Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes when it comes to things like furniture, equipment, etc. When buying a home in Menifee, they are often getting a larger backyard and lots more square footage then where they are moving when considering the rest of Southern California. Maybe they offer a little too low but you counter with the price you want and the nice BBQ or shed with tools. Last month one of my listings got too low an offer but was able to get a higher price by including the washer and dryer. The wife had planned to get news ones anyway!