Anchorage Real Estate Market Update for Summer 2014

There are many great Anchorage area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (907) 865-6404 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Anchorage Real Estate Market Update for Summer 2014

We are halfway through the year so now is a great time to give you a real estate market update about what's been going on in Anchorage.

•  The Anchorage market is a little different right now than what we have seen historically. Usually when we have low inventory, that typically signals we are in a sellers market, but that is not necessarily what we are seeing right now.
• We currently have over 700 homes on the market available to purchase, which comes out to about 3.75 months of inventory on hand. 
• What does this mean to you? Well in our heavy seasons we have had anywhere from 12-15 months of inventory, so we are definitely at a much lower inventory than we are used to.
• The average sale price of a home in Anchorage is $355,000 and the average days on the market for a home is about 67 days.
• Properties on the market that are priced correctly are selling quickly, but overpriced homes are staying stagnant on the market. Properly priced homes are also getting multiple offers.

Overall, this is a good market, but not quite as booming as it should be. Sellers are benefiting from low inventory and an increase in sale prices while buyers, although with limited options, interest rates are as good as they have been in a long time and now is a great time to lock in a rate. If you have any questions about the market or are looking to buy or sell real estate in Anchorage, please give us a call or send us an e-mail. We would love to help out!

Follow These Tips to Bring Out Your Home’s Beauty!

There are many great Anchorage area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (907) 865-6404 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Follow These Tips to Bring Out Your Home’s Beauty!

When preparing your home for sale, follow these tips:

1. Work on your curb appeal. This could be trimming your yard, planting flowers, sweeping your doorstep and even wiping down your doors. Your first impression needs to be warm, welcoming and awesome!
2. De-cluttering your home. Take down any personal pictures and remove anything that you will not be using from now until the time you sell the house. Pack it up and put it out in the garage! If you decide to list with the Dar Walden Team, I will walk through the house and help you with this.
3. Kitchen. De-cluttering is especially important when it comes to the kitchen – completely clean off your countertops and only keep things that you use every day. The countertops need to look large and inviting! This also goes for the refrigerator and cabinet tops. The kitchen and master bedroom are the two biggest influences on a potential buyer. 
4. Master bedroom. When de-cluttering your master bedroom, be sure to remove items from your night stands, leave only the essentials and buy a presentable bed ensemble. May your bed look fluffy and inviting!
5. Bathroom. Make sure your bathroom is clean – especially your mirrors! If you use the energy efficient light bulbs, swap them out for tradition light bulbs. Since the energy efficient bulbs take time to warm up, this could harm your bathroom’s appeal. Lighting is very important – especially here in Alaska!
6. Touch up your walls. If there any dents or chips in your walls, be sure to touch them up. Be sure to clean your baseboards and if anything needs to be re-caulked, don’t hesitate to do so.
7. Clean your carpets.

If you have additional questions or need clarification, please reach out to me by phone or email.

Thanks and have a great day!

It Pays to Hire an Active Real Estate Agent

 There are many great Anchorage area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (907) 865-6404 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today I'm going to be talking about the differences between a passive agent and an active agent.

The Passive Agent

• Will use the three P's
• Puts the property in the MLS.
• Puts a sign in your yard.
• Prays that your property sells.
• Pricing: They will take into consideration the seller's opinion on the value and increase the price when listing the property.
• Experience: This agent will likely be a lower production agent. The less homes one has sold, the less practical experience they will have.
• Marketing: They will wait for buyers to come, and maybe do a few open houses and pass out some flyers. They will not be reaching out and grabbing prospective buyers.
• Communication: By nature, this client will avoid communication, especially the difficult conversations like why your home is not selling or why the pricing is not correct.

The Active Agent

• An active agent will go above and beyond these actions and utilize an aggressive marketing strategy to ensure that your home is sold at a premium price.
• They will market your home on various websites and also pass out e-flyers to the 1,400 realtors in the Anchorage/ Eagle River area.
• They will put your home on the Keller Williams site for national coverage, and they will pre-market your home to the top agents in town before it ever goes on the market.
• Pricing: Will perform a comprehensive market analysis to find an attractive price.
• A range in value will then be determined from which the seller can choose because the motivation of the seller is always what the agent has to keep in mind.
• Perhaps you're downsizing and don't need a very high selling price, or you want to move away from Alaska and want your home priced to sell quickly. An active agent will listen to your needs and price accordingly.
• Experience: Active agents will likely be selling hundreds of homes per year and have an enormous knowledge of local neighborhoods and locales.
• They will be proactive (rather than reactive) in solving problems because of their knowledge of the industry.
• Marketing: Active agents will attack buyers aggressively to get a home sold. They will utilize hundreds of websites on the internet to prospect for buyers, because 93% of all buyers now find their homes on the internet. A good agent should have your home up on at least 300-400 websites. This type of agent will utilize any avenue possible to funnel buyers towards your property.
• Communication: Feedback will be honest and upfront. They will want to communicate and educate you about the home selling process in order to sell your home quickly. Not only will they talk to you, but they will hound other agents to figure out what prospective buyers thought about your property.

In conclusion, a passive agent will be able to sell your home, but not as quickly or efficiently as an active agent. An active agent will sell your home quicker and for a much better price. If you're paying the same commission for both, it would be silly not to utilize the services of an active agent.
If you need a competent, experienced, and reliable agent then contact me and I would be glad to help with all your real estate needs in the Anchorage / Eagle River area. Give me a call at (907) 240-2804 or email me at Dar@DarWalden.com