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| Inside Your Newsletter this Month... |
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| Are You Overestimating Your Home's Value? |
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Seventy-seven percent of home sellers think their homes are worth more than the agent's recommended selling price.
A recent study published in the Journal of Housing Economics and quoted in RISMedia found that homeowners are overestimating the value of their properties by 8% on average.
The study harkens back to an earlier survey of real estate agents, the vast majority of whom felt their clients were overestimating the worth of their homes - some by as much as 20%.
These incorrect assumptions on the part of homeowners often have unfortunate results in terms of initially overpricing their properties, then dropping prices by too much when offers don't happen.
Of course, it's human nature to think optimistically about your home's value. Emotional attachments color people's perceptions about their home's worth. It's
actually rooted in psychology and our natural human tendency toward loss aversion.
And, as RISMedia reports, homeowners believe prices will continue to rise; a 2014 report by the Federal Reserve found that 39% expected home prices to rise, compared to 6% who expected a decline.
Homeowners also are naive about the impact of upgrades on the value of their properties. In many cases, you may get back only a percentage of what you put into home enhancements, and many improvements don't come close to paying off what they cost, especially if they're not in line with the neighborhood norm.
Sellers sometimes list their houses for a high price in hopes that someone will be willing to pay the asking price and turn the inflated value into realized value. But too often, owners don't understand their local housing market. This underscores the need to use reliable data, including recent sales comparables, to know exactly what a house is worth. Real
estate agents are in touch with local markets and offer reliable - and realistic - pricing advice.
Don't try to go it alone. |
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| Music Has Charms...But It Also May Make You Smarter |
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Whether music wakes you up or puts you to sleep, relaxes your muscles, or stimulates your senses - whatever its effect, it seems that music is good for you, and your brain. Or so researchers say.
While most see music as useful for stress relief or simply for enjoyment, according to University of Toronto psychology professor Glenn Schellenberg, it also achieves a great deal more. Schellenberg writes, "Music lessons in childhood...are associated with small but general and long-lasting intellectual benefits." And these effects, he says, are not limited to musical ability but appear to improve one's reasoning ability, language development, and spatial skills.
An article by Corrigall, Schellenberg, and Misura in Frontiers in Psychology explains: "Recent reviews confirm that in addition to being good listeners, musically trained individuals exhibit enhanced performance on tests of verbal abilities, including vocabulary, phonological awareness,
reading, and spelling. Music training is also associated positively with performance on tests of spatial abilities and non-verbal reasoning."
Citing several studies of music's impact on the brain, the Fun Music Company concludes: "We often hear about an analytical person, like an accountant, being 'left-brained' while a more 'free spirit,' like an artist or poet, is considered 'right-brained'...Music is one of the few activities that stimulates both sides of the brain." And it appears that when the right and left hemispheres are stimulated at the same time, general cognition improves. Best of all, the kind of music you like isn't important. As long as you enjoy it, apparently your IQ will too. |
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| This Month's Smile: Bloopers |
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We're always amused by other peoples' mistakes - especially public ones. Here are some great bloopers from blooper-prone sources.
These headlines are from The Media Online:
"Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges"
"Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers"
"Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead"
Collected by teachers from students:
"Sewage is supplied by the city of Harrisburg, and is maintained by a maintenance crew."
And the medical establishment:
"She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December." |
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| Wondering How Much Your Home Is Worth? |
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How has the price of your home or rental changed in today's market? How much are other homes in your neighborhood selling for?
If you're wondering what's happening to prices in your area, or you're thinking about selling your house, I'll be able to help.
Just give my office a call for a no-fuss, professional evaluation
I won't try to push you into listing with me or waste your time.
I'll just give you the honest facts about your home and its value.
And maybe I'll also give you the "inside scoop" on what's happening in the housing market near where you live!
Just give my office a call or reply to this email to arrange an appointment. Alternatively, stop by at the office. |
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| Manage Fall's Clutter and Mess with a Mudroom |
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September means transitions. School begins and seasons change. There are more backpacks - and dirt - in your home. So why not consider creating a mudroom to ease the transition from outside to in?
Mudrooms should be located where they will be used. Usually that means at the front or back of your home, near entrances. They offer a dedicated space to store items like shoes, boots and coats so the rest of the home stays clean. And they're not exclusive to big properties. Small city homes - even condos - can include mudrooms.
To design your own mudroom, first look at the space available in your home. Just adding storage for shoes and coats can transform a back porch into a mudroom, but even a hallway near a door can hold a bench with storage space underneath.
A ground floor laundry room also may work for you; dirty clothes
can be tossed directly into the washer. You might even consider a dog station to wipe muddy paws before they track up your floors. Use durable surfaces and consider indoor/outdoor carpeting for easy cleanup.
Mudrooms can be fun as well as practical. Have good lighting. Use different-coloured personalized storage for each family member. Let the kids choose their own storage containers - they'll buy into the concept if they have a stake in it.
Also remember your mudroom is for everyone. Even guests. Provide a basket of slippers, a welcome place to sit and somewhere to put bags. They'll love you for it. |
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Judy Stringari
REALTY WORLD Golden Hills
2680 South White Road
Suite 265
San Jose CA 95148
1-408-313-9067 Cell
1-408-223-3647 Office
1-408-238-6896 Fax |
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| www.JudyStringariRealEstate.com |
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| Judy@RWnetwork.comm |
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| Are You Selling Your Home? Get My Free Guide |
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First impressions count. So if your home isn't looking its best, you could fail to get the best price for it.
Put that problem right by requesting the free report, "Great Ideas for Quick, Easy Fixes That Will Help Your Home Sell." |
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| Just reply to this email and I'll send it right out to you. |
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| Quick Quiz |
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Each month I'll give you a new question.
Just reply to this email for the answer.
What is an unexpected ancestor of the hippopotamus? |
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| Recipe: Parmesan Polenta |
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| Serves 4 |
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3 1/2 cups chicken broth |
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1 1/2 cups dried quick-cooking polenta (cornmeal) |
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1/3 cup grated good-quality Parmesan cheese |
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| Note: You can find cornmeal in the rice or ethnic food sections of most grocery stores. |
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| Directions |
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Place broth, milk, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Slowly pour the polenta into the boiling liquid while whisking vigorously. Reduce heat to simmer and stir occasionally with a wooden spoon for about 10 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and stir in cheese and butter. It should be about the consistency of quite soft mashed potatoes. Serve immediately on its own (with more grated cheese and cracked pepper on top) or as a bed for braised meats or vegetables. |
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| Ask the Agent: This Month's Question |
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How do I know if it's time to list ?
Did you fall out of love with your home during the summer? Many people do, as nothing makes your home feel more crowded and messy than having the kids and their clutter home for two months. Here are some signs it may be time to list.
Your home is bulging at the seams - and it isn't just the summer parade of guests and kids' clutter. You or your spouse may want to work from home and don't know where to put an office. Or your teens need their own bedrooms. If an addition isn't in the cards, it may be time to list.
Then there are the SOLD signs sprouting up around your neighborhood. Are you sitting on a gold mine? If you've been thinking about listing, now may be the time - while your neighborhood is hot. You likely will have more equity in your home now than you had in the
past, and, especially if you're downsizing, it could be time to cash in. |
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