What is the BEST day to list your house!?

Did you know that Friday is the best day of the week to list your house for sale.  According to MSN Real Estate and AOL Real Estate, the day you list your house for sale is important because you get 4 times as much traffic on the day of debut than on any other day of the week.   Fridays just make sense.  Most buyers often spend the weekend looking for homes and many agents make those appointments on Fridays and the newest listing is often very appealing!

Thursday is also a good day.  Listing on Thursday insures that you get the listing into the computer before agents schedule their weekend showings.  If it shows up too late on Friday, they've already made their schedule!

Sunday, however, is the worst day of the week.  Many homebuyers don't tour as many homes during the week, so buy the time the weekend comes, you're house has already been listed for 5 days!

Real Estate Buzz Words

Geez, I was so busy today, I almost forgot to post!  :)  Busy is good!

About the "buzz words"!

Real Estate "buzz words" is a term used for the words you use in your listing description.  It is important to choose your words carefully because some words can be seen as negative.   Using the right words can sometimes result in a higher sales price.

I found two great articles that have great advice:  MSN Real Estate and Zillow.

As your realtor, I will make sure your description appeals to the buyers in our local area, but here are some guidelines

1.  Be specific!  Instead of "wood floors" be more specific in your description.  Use adjectives.  "Oak floors" might have a more positive reaction.

2.  "Updated" is a good word or dropping high end appliance names always gets peoples attention.  People like to hear brand names not just a general statement.

3.  Buyers often want turn key homes, so using the term "fixer" or "investment" can sometimes turn buyers off.  However, sometimes this can also attract first time buyers looking to buy a "fixer upper" property in a good location (nice neighborhood and/or school district) at an affordable price.  "Income property" might be a good term to use if the latter is the case!

4.  Watch out for superlatives... "charming" or "cozy" make the buyer think "small,"  "classic" could make people think "old", etc.

5.  Anything that saves they buyer money is great... "energy efficient," "solar," "low HOA fees"

Of course your realtor will create a description of your home, but it's important that you communicate to your realtor what you want to convey to the potential buyers!

Friday Favorite!

I saw this video yesterday and it's about my FAVORITE city... LAFAYETTE!   If you are not a local and are moving to Lafayette, this is the perfect video to watch to get your excited about your new city!

Supply and Demand for Homebuyers in Lafayette

Evidence that demand remains extremely strong, the number of Lafayette Parish pending home sales reported in January rose by over 30% over January 20012. The 306 reported pending sales was also a record breaker exceeding the 298 previous record reported in January 2007. 

So too for the $61 plus million in dollar volume of pending sales reported in January. This bested the previous January record reported in January 2007 of just over $60 million .

As far as the balance of supply and demand, the report shows that January 2013 ended with a 5.2 overall number of month’s supply of housing in Lafayette Parish. This is down from 8.2 month in January 2012. Both re-sales and new construction saw their respective number of month’s supply drop in January 2013 as compared to January 2012.

This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the REALTOR Association of Acadiana Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Board nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Board may not reflect all real estate activity in the marketplace. 

Real Estate Market in Lafayette is Looking Up!

We know now that 2012 was a very good year for housing in Acadiana. In Lafayette Parish the number of home sales reported to the REALTOR Association of Acadiana Multiple Listing Service (MLS) rose by 22.5% over 2011. New Construction home sales increased by over 30%, while sales of previously owned homes rose by 19%. Although sales did not attain the levels of our post-Katrina/Rita years of 2006 -2007, we ended 2012 pretty close to those record years.

So what might 2013 hold for us? Of course, only one month’s data is not sufficient evidence to predict any sort of trend, but the January 2013 report one certainly can’t repress a feeling that 2013 may end up being our best year ever in residential sales. 

• The number of Lafayette Parish closed home sales reported to the MLS in January (199) was up by 43% over January 2012 (139). 
• New Construction sales rose by 41%
• Re-sales were up by 44%

While those are impressive statistics, even more impressive is that, according to my monthly sales tracking data, the closed sales reported this January was an all-time record breaker. The closest past January number reported was in January 2007 when 173 sales were reported to the MLS 

This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the REALTOR Association of Acadiana Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Board nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Board may not reflect all real estate activity in the marketplace. 

Friday Favorite

I love all three of these ideas for the kitchen!  I couldn't just pick on!   It'd be great to have a place for my pans without having to dig through them all to find the right one!  It'd be great to have a place for all my baking needs without having to waste counter space with them in containers.  It'd be great to have a place for my cook books too!

*** All pictures found on Pinterest

Places to Donate Mardi Gras Beads for a Good Purpose!

Do you need to get rid of your Mardi Gras beads? LARC and The Arc of Acadiana collect these beads so they can detangles, recycle, and mend beads for resale and provide employment opportunities to their disabled clients.

 You can donate them through LARC to:

• any Goodwill of Acadiana store (throughout the year)
• St. Thomas More, Fatima, and Live Oak Elementary (through February 28)
• Mall of Acadiana:  donate beads at the customer service desk and you will be entered to win a $25 mall gift certificate (through February 28)
• Raising Canes: donate beads at the Ambassador/Kaliste Saloom Rd only and you'll be entered to win a Raising Cane's prize pack worth $35 (through February 26)

You can also donate through The Arc Acadiana  to:

• Service Chevrolet Cadillac
• Hub City Ford
• Moss Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz
• Acadiana Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Mazda
• Courtesy GMC, Buick
• Giles Nissan, Volvo, Subaru
• Southwest Volkswagen
• Hampton Toyota, Mitsubishi
• Sterling Kia, Hyundai, Suzuki

100 Days of Organization

I found these great ideas at the thenest.com.  You should check them out, but here are a few of my favorites so far.

1.  Store your grocery bags in a tissue box.

2.  Use a ladder to store your high heels.

3.  Store left over paint in mason jars instead of keeping a little paint in a huge gallon container.

4.  Tape photos of your shoes on your shoe boxes.

Friday Favorite

I just love this idea for right inside a garage door entryway!  It's a great place for kids book sacks and daily chore lists, but can be great for men and women too!  Hang your purse, or even put a small shelf for your husband instead of a hook so he can put his keys and wallet in a dedicated spot instead of thrown on the counter!  

*** Picture found on Pinterest

10 Tips for Buyers and Sellers

MSN Real Estate posted a great article with 10 tips for buyers and sellers.  Here is a summary:

1. Get off the sidelines:

• Lots of buyers are waiting for the market to hit rock bottom, but that moment has passed.  However, interest rates and home prices are still pretty low.  
• For Sellers waiting for the market to improve, the time is here.

2. Screen your buyers:

• Make sure potential buyers are pre-approved. 

3.  Create a good impression:

• Most buyers start their search online, so make sure the photos on your online listing are good.  Rooms should be clean and clutter-free and the outdoors should be well manicured.

4.  Renovate wisely:

• Sometimes the littlest projects bring in the most bang for your buck!  Buyers want to come into a move-in ready home, so finish those projects that got started but you never finished or even give the walls a fresh coat of paint.  No need to to a major remodel when you won't be the one to enjoy it!

5.  Build your team wisely:

• Hire a qualified real estate agent (my number is 337-849-4051).  Get a good appraiser, inspector, and title company.  Look them up on Angie's list of the Better Business Bureau to make sure they have good reputations.

6.  Don't let your heart lead your head:

• Price your home right from the start.  Your experienced agent should be able to give you a strong number, based on comparable sales, up-to-date appraisals and specific neighborhood time on the market trends.

7.  Open your marketing options:

• Market your home on pinterest, twitter, facebook, or LinkedIn.  

8.  Run the numbers:

• Are you in a good position to buy?  Get a credit report and fix any blips that need fixing to save on mortgage interest rates.  Assess your monthly income and bills to figure out what you can really afford for a monthly payment.  Don't forget that you'll have to pay closing costs, inspection fees, legal fees, loan fees, etc.

9.  Work your ground game:

• Do a criminal check of the area 
• Talk to neighbors about the pros and cons of the area
• Research schools
• Do a run through of your work commute to check out the traffic patterns
• Visit at different times.  There might be trains, pet noise, unkept yards, etc.

10.  Leave nothing for chance:

• Turn on the stove
• Run the water
• Flush the toilets
• Turn on the AC and heat

HGTV's February 2013 Color of the Month

I thought they'd go for something pink or red to celebrate Valentine's, but they surprised me and chose...

Robin's Egg Blue

*** Picture found on HGTV

This color can coordinate well with many popular colors and can be traditional, vintage, or modern depending on how you want to use it in your room!  

*** Picture found on HGTV

Here is a Pinterest board celebrating the color, but I'll post some of my favorite pictures for a sneak peak!

Friday Favorite

Last week I posted about hidden trash cans!  This week, the idea I found on Pinterest is similar but found in the bathroom!  I love the convenience of these hampers hidden in the bathroom.  There would be no excuse for your other half to have their clothes thrown on the floor! :)

*** Picture found on Simply Natural Decor's blog