Choosing to hire a Real Estate Broker, or going it alone as FSBO (For Sale By Owner) will depend on considering the information below. While some people may not mind the time investment and research needed to do a FSBO, others may find it more advantageous to hire a Real Estate Broker to do the research, showings, negotiations, paperwork, and knowing where to find other professionals needed to complete the transaction.

FSBO Advantages:

1. Save on commission that you would pay a listing Broker
2. Control over listing price
3. You will need to have knowledge of marketing methods and expenses
4. Control over scheduling showings, inspections, appraisal, etc.

Real Estate Broker Advantages:

1. Objective perspective of the current market (non-emotional evaluation)
2. Pricing Strategy – access to relevant market data to properly price your property to sell quickly for the highest possible price.
3. Marketing network access – MLS (which is also connected to national real estate websites), Broker networks, social media – all to maximize exposure for your listing.
4. Network of Professionals – inspectors, photographers, title examiners, lenders – Real Estate Brokers know where to turn for assistance.
5. Full-time communicator/coordinator – takes calls, schedules and shows your property, fields questions.
6. Negotiator
7. Understands all of the legal regulations, contracts and paperwork involved in the sale of real property.
8. Statistics show how homes listed with a Real Estate Broker tend to sell for a higher price than FSBO’s (in recent years averaging as much as 20% higher), generally enough to cover the commission and then some.

Courtesy of Title Company of the Rockies (c) 2021

You are ready to put your home on the market, opening it up to potential homebuyers from all across the country. Selling a home can be a complex, and sometimes time consuming process. To avoid seller’s fatigue, you will want to make sure you highlight the best features that your home has to offer. Match those standout features with the current trends in real estate, and homebuyers are sure to present an offer in a flash.

So what are some of the features to highlight when you list your home for sale today? Let’s take a look at five essential home features below.

1. The Great Outdoors

One of the most sought after assets of a new home for prospective homebuyers these days is an attractive- and private- outdoor space. Outdoor spaces can encompass a broad range of possibilities: from lounging on an elegant chaise lounge to taking a dip into a refreshing swimming pool, if your home has a backyard you will definitely want to emphasize this feature.

Paint a picture for homebuyers to imagine how they would spend their time on the patio, in the backyard, on the rooftop terrace, or on the front porch. If your home is perfect for families and you would like to sell to a family with young children, show them how your backyard is perfectly suited to playground furniture, a paddling pool, and a fabulous home BBQ set up- ideal for Fourth of July celebrations.

Even a balcony can provide a luxurious break from being inside, especially for people who work from home. Pacing back and forth during long telecommute phone calls is made that much more pleasant when it is done in the great outdoors. Show off the outdoor spaces and outdoor furniture and amenities your home provides and buyers will be that much more excited about your home.

2. A Room With A View

Does your kitchen glow in a beautiful golden early morning light that streams in through the big windows there? What about the sunset views from the upstairs bedroom? Or does the guest bedroom overlook a blossoming garden?

Whatever views and natural lighting your home offers, this can be a top selling point for buyers comparing your home with other similar options. A beautiful view and abundant natural light can make it stand out from the competition. If you are planning to give remote viewing opportunities to interested buyers, consider scheduling them at a time when the view looks the best- if you can see it from your home, highlight the sunset, or if the living room looks radiant in the golden glow of the late afternoon, schedule your virtual (or in person) tours to coincide with that event. You will want your homebuyers to fall in love with your home; highlighting the dreamy natural views, inspiring urban vistas, or beautiful sunny lighting will spark that essential seed of interest in their minds.

3. WFH Office

These days, more and more people are transitioning to remote work platforms, which means that a superb work from home office is absolutely essential. Some homebuyers may even be packing up their old home with that specific aim in mind- to find a new home better suited to working from home.

If your home already has a great home office, be sure to show it off! Highlight all the important features that make it ideal for remote working. Emphasize the super fast speed and reliability of your home Wi-fi network- from E-commerce to remote co-working to Zooming with colleagues abroad, having a fast and reliable internet connection is key to maintaining an uninterrupted work flow. Showing off these key features will make remote workers more interested in buying your home.

If you will be selling the home furnished, show off the ergonomic desk chair, different office lighting options, and spacious office desk that automatically lend themselves to great productivity and focus for future work from home residents.

4. Home Security

Buyers will be reassured to see that the home they are interested in already has a top notch home security system. Do you have a smart home security camera that can send updates to you from wherever you are, even on your smartphone? Show that off. Does your home include a safe where new owners will be able to store their most valuable items, like passports or family heirlooms? Make sure to share that as well.

If prospective homebuyers can see that you have already taken precautions to create a safe and secure home environment, then it cuts down on the work and hassle that they will need to expend once they move in- which can be a huge selling point for buyers who already have a lot of logistics on their minds.

5. Gadgets and Appliances

Think about all the tasks that homeowners will need to do throughout the home each day, week, and month. What kinds of gadgets and appliances can your home offer to help make their daily lives easier and more convenient?

If the home you will be listing for sale includes a dishwasher, a microwave, a brand new refrigerator, and a state-of-the-art stovetop, make sure to emphasize those amenities. A separate laundry room is a great feature to share, especially if you have a new washer and dryer.

Does your home include smart tech upgrades, like voice-activated surround sound, automatic smart thermostats that can sense when someone is in a room, or smart lighting that can adjust based on your personal preferences and the time of day? Especially for interested parties who are millennials, smart tech gadgets boost your home’s appeal, making it seem that much more contemporary and luxurious. A beautiful home with new appliances in the mix can sweeten the deal for any potential homebuyer, putting your home above and beyond the other options on a homebuyer’s list.

Show Off What You Love

No matter which features you choose to emphasize in your home, make sure you remember to include the features that made you fall in love with that house in the first place. By showing potential homebuyers what you truly love about the home, they will be more likely to fall in love with it too.

Take stock of all the best features the home has to offer and highlight those as you invite prospective homebuyers to view your home listing. Any individual features that make your home unique can give you the necessary edge over the competition, helping you to bring the right buyers to the table just that much faster.

Victoria Standridge

With the modest opening of the economy, the real estate market in Summit County took off this Summer.  Beginning in June, sales have skyrocketed, new listings have stayed fairly steady, resulting in extremely low inventory.  Inventory is about half of what it was a year ago.

Prices have gone up and i don't believe prices can go down until inventory increases.

We are doing in-person and virtual showings.  Sometimes the virtual showing are needed to get an offer in before the property goes under contract.

As well-paid knowledge workers who can do their jobs anywhere now flock to these “Zoom towns,” home prices are surging and housing inventory is dwindling.  What is a “zoom town” ?  How is Colorado benefiting from this new  trend?  What towns qualify as “zoom” towns? Will this be a long term or short term phenomenon?  How much more can real estate in the zoom towns appreciate?

What is a zoom town?

A “zoom town” is a place where highly paid knowledge workers have flocked to ride out the pandemic and work in style outside of a major metro city with ample recreational opportunities.  These places are typically smaller and very desirable to visit with world class amenities.  They are called Zoom towns as a reference to the video conference app, Zoom, that is heavily used by the knowledge workers.

What towns fall into this category in Colorado?

Colorado likely has the most zoom towns that fit this profile.  Every ski resort town from Crested Butte, Durango, Steamboat, Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge, Winterpark, etc… Furthermore many front range cities are also becoming zoom towns from Fort Collins to Evergreen and Golden.  The Coronavirus has propelled each of these cities with low inventory and increased demand

What is the short term impact on real estate?

If you have been to any mountain community this summer, this is the busiest I have ever seen it in the last 16 years.  It is like a July 4^th holiday weekend every day of the summer with towns packed with tourists and new residents.  At a recent remote trailhead on a Tuesday, historically I would see a handful of locals, this year there were 50 cars and 40 of them with out of state tags!

The virus has amped up demand to unprecedented levels, especially for single family homes.  At the same time inventory in most resort communities was very low prior to the pandemic and now basically zero.  This has led to a rapid increase in prices.  Official statistics are not out, but I would suspect many mountain communities will see appreciation 15%+ especially on the lower end.  This trend looks to continue for the next several years as high net worth location neutral workers flock to the “trendy” mountain towns in groves.

What will the long-term impact be on real estate?

Typically, in a normal economic model, increased prices would lead to an increase in supply until the two come into equilibrium.  Unfortunately, this cannot and will not happen in any of the mountain towns.  There is basically no available inventory of land and it is very difficult and expensive to build.  This will lead to increased prices over the long term until some tipping point is reached where prices rise high enough that demand is tempered.

I have no clue what the magic number will be for each resort town.  For example, in Aspen, the average home price is around 5 million with the median over 2 million yet Aspen continues to increase further with no slowdown in sight.  Even in more “affordable” mountain towns, it is nearly impossible to get a single-family home for under one million.

Summary

The mountain towns throughout Colorado are going to take a giant “leap” in prices over the next several years.  In the long-term appreciation looks to continue until a magic price is reached that will temper demand.  If Aspen is any indication most resort towns have a long way to go before this is reached.

Written by Glen Weinberg, COO/ VP Fairview Commercial Lending.  Glen has been published as an expert in hard money lending, real estate valuation, financing, and various other real estate topics in Bloomberg, Businessweek ,the Colorado Real Estate Journal, National Association of Realtors Magazine,  The Real Deal real estate news, the CO Biz Magazine, The Denver Post, The Scotsman mortgage broker guide, Mortgage Professional America and various other national publications.

Fairview is the recognized leader in Colorado Hard Money and Colorado private lending focusing on residential investment properties and commercial properties  both in Denver and throughout the state. We are the Colorado experts having closed thousands of loans throughout the state.

For the past five weeks, the real estate market in Summit County has been slowed by the Stay-at-Home order.  Marketing activity has been limited to virtual tours and open houses.  As of this week, we are able to provide in-person showings of homes for sale.

We currently have 500+ homes for sale in Summit County, about the same number as when the stay-at-home order was imposed.  Sales during that time have been about 70, slower than the usual April, particularly in higher-priced properties.

With showing activity now allowed, i expect to see more properties coming on the market, but sales activity will stay low through May.  At that time, with travel to Summit County permitted, we will see sales activity increase.

We will continue to use live virtual showings throughout the Summer.  Give me a call to show you how this is done.