What every seller should know
Sunday, December 30, 2012
BY MARY DIDUCH
STAFF WRITER
The Record
As 2013 emerges with signs of a bottoming out of the real estate slump, homeowners who have been sitting on the sidelines may finally be ready to take the plunge and put their homes on the market.
But for those hoping to sell in the spring, the most popular season for home sales, now is the time to make a few New Year’s resolutions to pave the way for the best deal.
Many North Jersey real estate agents say 2013 is as good a time as ever to sell, as the housing market is slowly creeping back — though still far below the peak.
While home values nationwide have begun rebounding, prices in the New York metropolitan area, which includes North Jersey, ticked down 1.2 percent in October compared with levels a year earlier, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index. Home prices in the region are back to the levels of February 2004 and have dropped 23 percent from their peaks in mid-2006.
https://www.northjersey.com/realestate/185191522_What_every_seller_should_know.html
“Many North Jersey real estate agents say 2013 is as good a time as ever to sell”
Yeah, they also say now is as good a time as any to buy.
They make their money on churn. If they were stock brokers they would be fined for their practices. But the NAR is a powerful lobby so, here we are.
Do NOT under any circumstances ever think that a Realtor is working in your best intrest.
Rob, for the past 5 or 6 years, sellers have fled the market because they have not been able to sell their home for a profit or incur too much of a loss that cannot be covered.
As I have written on this very site, there is an incredibly motivating opportunity for those who wish to sell their home: 1) buyers are scooping up properties in record numbers because of low rates and 2) these low rates cannot continue to fuel this market forever; at some point, higher rates will return and the buyer’s market will cool.
A savvy seller will recognize that if he/she is serious about selling, unless Ben Bernanke calls for QE4, the first half of 2013 is a good time to move.
As for being fined for our practices, I have never forced a seller to sell nor a buyer to buy. The days of ‘churn’ are ancient history. Additionally, as licensed professionals, if we violate our code of ethics, we are subjected to stiff fines and possible suspension or revocation of our license to practice real estate.
If I represent a seller, it is my fiduciary responsibility to get them the best price for their property. If I represent a seller, it is also my fiduciary responsibility to get the best price for the buyer. All of this takes time, patience, skill and nerves of steel. There is no such thing as an easy closing. I celebrate each time my seller can sell their home and move on with their lives and when my buyers take possession of their first home and begin their life.
My job, as with any other Realtor, is to advocate for my client whether they be buyer or seller. There are thousands in Bergen County alone so if I don’t do the best job for my client as I possibly can, there are many others to choose from. I do not take the responsibility for what is usually a person’s largest purchase in their lives for granted.