Homeowners who are trying to sell their home in this historically slow market know first hand just how hard it is to attract buyers. While location and size are important factors for buyers, the sales prices is likely the number one way that sellers attract buyers. So what is the key to setting the sales price for your home?
Determining an asking price for your home is more of an art than an exact science, but one of the key components to finding a competitive sales price is to obtain and examine a list of comparable sales (commonly referred to as “comps”) for homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood.While you can consult online home value sites, such as: Zillow, Trulia, and Homes.com, be cautious about using these “estimated” home value sites, as they can have a steep margin of error. Your best bet is to request comps from a local real estate agent or broker who will have access to all the recent sales in your area. A knowledgeable agent will be familiar with recent sales as well as other homes currently on the market and how they compare to your home.

Housing News in Hampton Roads

August housing stats for Hampton Roads continue to look up!  Trends like year-over-year drop in active listings and year-over-year increases in under contract sales and settled sales offer hope of a stabilizing local market.

The number of homes listed for sale dropped 15.78% when compared to August 2011. Marking the 18th consecutive month that active listings have dropped.  The absorption rate is the highest it’s been since tracking began in October 2008. The region’s months’ supply of inventory is currently down to 7.04 months. The following is a break down of month’s supply of inventory by city.