Know Your Real Estate Market

Know Your Real Estate Market, Part 2

Whether you’re building, remodeling, or selling a house you have to know your real estate market, and one of the best tools available to know your real estate market is the open house.

Visit as many open houses as you can. Visit new homes as well as existing homes.
Get off your butt and into the car. No sitter, no problem. Take the kids.

Grab your camera and your tape measure as well as a method to keep notes.

Buy a new laser tape measure (About $20). They’re cool. They make the job of measuring rooms inconspicuous as well as easy (only takes one person to use it). Why wonder “how big is this room?” Zap it with your laser tape!

The benefit of an open house to actually sell the house is always a point of debate. But the value of going to open houses as a potential builder, buyer, or seller is invaluable.

You can pick up more tips and more ideas in one weekend of going to open houses and just about anything else you could do.

Web sites, magazines, TV shows, or building supply showrooms, don’t give you the same feel of how different things look in different houses and/or how they tie together.

Some people feel embarrassed, or feel it’s wrong to go to open houses if they are not really in the market to buy such a house. Nothing could be further from the truth. Real estate agents are thrilled to see you whether you are in the market or not. You are a potential client!

You can pick up tips on room sizes (carry that tape measure), floor coverings, countertops, appliances, paint colors, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, landscaping, staging, and the list goes on & on.

A good real estate agent on duty will point out the salient features of a particular house that will help make it sell. Some of these features may not add much of a dollar value but they add to the marketability of the house.

Absorb these little tidbits and store them in your brain’s hard drive or take copious notes. Take photos if you want.

I’ll be back with more on “Know Your Real Estate Market.” There hasn’t been a better time to buy, build or remodel in my memory, and that goes back almost four decades of being in the Housing industry.

(I know I’m old)
Carl