Thursday, October 08, 2009

Letters from the field: Good Realtors are busy now

"We're so busy", one exhausted Ravenswood broker said , "It's like the good ol' days".




It's been almost impossible to blog these days...and it's a shame as the market is very dynamic at the moment and the stories very interesting. Local Chicago Realtors are bumping into each other while running non-stop to satisfy the federal first time buyer tax credit demand. Next week is about the latest you want to write an offer to get in under the November 30th closing deadline. That's the story I'm hearing from many colleagues, and that's the case with yours truly. I've literally been out with clients everyday looking at properties for almost a two week solid run.


Smart sellers with the ability to lower prices just enough under the competition are greeted with multiple purchase offers more than I can remember. The simple rules for selling in this market are to your home for success and price in the bottom 30 percent or so. It will fly off the shelf in most markets, but especially for first time buyers.
The challenge has been getting first time buyers fully prepared to jump in time on a great lowered price. Who can blame them with the dismal statistics over the past several years?

Even with the increased demand, some sellers seem reluctant to at least paint their home a fresh neutral color... the best bang for the buck. Or, at least their Realtor did not club them over the head with blunt advice (and not take "no" for an answer). I don't really use a club, but it may seem like it.










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