Claire Garlick, Author at Blessings Realty | Colorado Springs and Monument Realtor

Preview Open House this Sunday, 8/27 at 11am-2pm! 751 Century Place, Monument

August 26, 2017 By Claire Garlick Leave a Comment

This lovely home was built in 1992 and has a total of 1,164 sq. feet and has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and is listed for $267,000.

This charming 1-level living home on a corner lot, features a master bedroom with private bath; window seats in living room and 2nd & 3rd bedrooms; and access to backyard patio from dining room. A bonus room in garage would be perfect for an office space, playroom or workshop. The garage can also be converted back to a 2-car garage. Large fenced backyard with patio is ideal for BBQ or playing (and basketball hoop in front). An over-sized shed provides lots of extra storage space. Within a mile of quaint downtown Monument you can savor the locally-owned restaurants, shops, galleries and spas and enjoy the local events such as Art Hop, Concerts in the Park, 4th of July festivities and numerous other holiday activities.

The home has fresh paint inside and outside; new fixtures; new carpet in living room and bedrooms; new 16″ tile in DR, kitchen and bathrooms; new granite double sink in kitchen; and new granite counters in kitchen and bathrooms. The tile entry leads into a spacious living room with double windows, wood-burning fireplace, and vaulted ceilings. Sip your coffee on the covered front porch while enjoying the stunning views of Mt Herman!

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Home Prices Up 6.64% Across the Country! [INFOGRAPHIC]

August 25, 2017 By Claire Garlick Leave a Comment

Some Highlights:

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released their latest Quarterly Home Price Index report.
In the report, home prices are compared both regionally and by state.
Based on the latest numbers, if you plan on relocating to another state, waiting to move may end up costing you more!
Alaska & West Virginia were the only states where home prices are lower than they were last year.

Study: FSBOs Don’t Save Real Estate Commission

August 24, 2017 By Claire Garlick Leave a Comment

One of the main reasons why For Sale By Owners (FSBOs) don’t use a real estate agent is because they believe they will save the commission an agent charges for getting their house on the market and selling it. A new study by Collateral Analytics, however, reveals that FSBOs don’t actually save anything, and in some cases may be costing themselves more, by not listing with an agent.

In the study, they analyzed home sales in a variety of markets in 2016 and the first half of 2017. The data showed that:

“FSBOs tend to sell for lower prices than comparable home sales, and in many cases below the average differential represented by the prevailing commission rate.” (emphasis added)

Why would FSBOs net less money than if they used an agent?

The study makes several suggestions:

“There could be systematic bias on the buyer side as well. FSBO sales might attract more strategic buyers than MLS sales, particularly buyers who rationalize lower-priced bids on with the logic that the seller is “saving” a traditional commission. Such buyers might specifically search for and target sellers who are not getting representational assistance from agents.” In other words, ‘bargain lookers’ might shop FSBOs more often.
“Experienced agents are experts at ‘staging’ homes for sale” which could bring more money for the home.
“Properties listed with a broker that is a member of the local MLS will be listed online with all other participating broker websites, marketing the home to a much larger buyer population. And those MLS properties generally offer compensation to agents who represent buyers, incentivizing them to show and sell the property and again potentially enlarging the buyer pool.” If more buyers see a home, the greater the chances are that there could be a bidding war for the property.

Three conclusions from the study:

FSBOs achieve prices significantly lower than those from similar properties sold by Realtors using the MLS.
The differential in selling prices for FSBOs when compared to MLS sales of similar properties is about 5.5%.
The sales in 2017 suggest the average price was near 6% lower for FSBO sales of similar properties.

Bottom Line

If you are thinking of selling, FSBOing may end up costing you money instead of saving you money.