Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
As a Franklin TN home buyer, you may be wondering how important a website is to your home search. Having a good website to search for homes is essential to your search.
Portal sites may work well at the beginning of your search. However, as you progress in your home search, you'll find these sites won't provide you
Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
The internet has revolutionized the way consumers buy and sell products. Savvy home buyers and sellers want information and the internet is the quickest way for them to gather it.
Home buyers and sellers now have an opportunity to search for information that used to be only accessible to real estate agents. The internet has made
Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
The Franklin housing market is booming right now. As a matter of fact, it's unusual to see a house not sell and the listing expire.
Unfortunately, this occurrence is quite common at the luxury home level. In our area, a luxury home is
Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
For the last two years, Franklin has been in a strong seller's market. Sellers are beginning to think that having an agent isn't really a neccessity to the transaction. There are approximately 200 items we perform for our sellers from the beginning of the transaction until we finally close. Let's focus on one facet of selling your Franklin home that will be the most time-consuming: marketing.
Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
You've finally decided to buy a house. With the advent of internet real estate portals like ZTR, you don't think you need a buyer's agent. After all, the information you're looking for can be found on one, if not all, of these websites. Why bother with a real estate agent? Doesn't it make sense to not use an agent and keep that money for yourself?
Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
Last week, Franklin Homes Realty LLC was contacted by a buyer who was interested in seeing a Franklin condo for sale. She thought we were the listing agents and wanted to see the condo.
We explained that the condo wasn't our listing and asked if she was working with an agent. Once it had been
Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
Thinking of selling your Franklin TN home? While we are currently in a seller's market, properly pricing and preparing your home for sale is crucial. Make sure you do all you can prior to listing your home and chances are it will be sold before you know it.
Follow these 5 tips to selling your Franklin TN home quickly:
1. Price it Right – Price is determined by your local real estate market, not by your REALTOR®, and not by you. When you insist that your property be priced above the current market value, your property will not sell. When real estate agents agree to such tactics, it’s called buying the listing. They agree to your price just to get the listing. Once they secure the listing, they continuously ask for price reductions. It is so important to price your home right in the beginning. It is a proven fact that you will receive the largest number of showings on your property in the first six weeks on the market. In our current market conditions, you'll undoubtedly get lots of showings the first week if you're priced right. 
2. Prepare Your Home to Sell – This refers to the condition and the livability of your house. Is your house in move-in condition? Is there deferred maintenance? Are the walls freshly painted? The carpets recently cleaned or replaced? Are all your appliances and fixtures working? These are all things that must be addressed prior to putting your house on the market. Price it right and prepare it to sell and you'll likely see a quick sale.
3. Hire the Right Agent - Your agent must be qualified and experienced enough to work in the current market. He/she should be knowledgeable in marketing your house to the largest number of buyers. This marketing shouldn't be limited to our local market. Your home should be marketed to a global audience. Buyers are moving here everyday from other parts of the world and country. You want to make sure you hire an agent who understands how to get your house in front of buyers. Having an agent well-versed in on-line marketing and social media is crucial to the quick sale of your Franklin home.
4. Be a Cooperative Seller - Sellers can actually hinder the sale of their property by having unrealistic attitudes about showings and the condition of their home. A seller that limits the number of showings to certain hours or insists that his agent always be present for showings, may limit the number of buyers that actually view the property. A seller also must agree to keep his house in showing condition every day. Beds must be made, dirty dishes need to be washed and put away, bathrooms and kitchens must be clean and rooms need to be de-cluttered. These things factor into a buyer’s decision to make an offer or not.
5. Choose the Right Market Conditions – Market conditions refer to the number of other properties that are currently on the market in your area. The more properties that are on the market, the longer a house takes to sell. Market conditions are also influenced by other factors including, but not limited to, the current economic market, the current unemployment rates, current financing guidelines and Acts of God, such as flooding. If you don't need to sell and the market conditions aren't right to do so, wait. However, those are the times that are usually best to move up in size. Remember, while you may take less on the sale of your home, you're likely to make up the difference when you buy another. That is if you stay in a neighborhood with similar market conditions.
Look at your home through the eyes of a buyer. Each of these areas are all within the control of you as the seller. You are trying to sell your most valuable asset. Why would you want to do anything that would hinder the sale of your home?
Use these 5 tips to selling your Franklin TN home quickly. You'll be happy you did when your agent puts a SOLD sign in the yard.
When you are ready to sell your Franklin TN home,
About Tammie White, Franklin TN REALTOR®Tammie White is a REALTOR® and Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC in Franklin TN. Tammie works with relocation buyers looking to purchase a home in Franklin and the surrounding Williamson County area. She understands the way buyers search for homes making her an invaluable asset to Franklin home sellers. Tammie's website, www.FranklinHomesRealty.com, has become the premiere search tool for buyers relocating to Franklin TN. She has been writing a real estate blog since 2009 and quoted in various publications including the LA Times, Skype.com, The Tennessean and Williamson Source.
Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
Franklin Homes Realty LLC is often contacted by buyers who are looking to purchase a new construction home in Westhaven. As a matter of fact, our Westhaven page is the most visited page on our website.
The question always comes up whether it is advantageous to use a buyer's agent when buying new construction homes in Westhaven. There are many reasons why you should have your own agent during any home purchase but the primary reason is to have someone who represents your interest and protects you as a buyer. This is likely the most expensive purchase you will ever make. You want to make sure you have adequate protection and a buyer's agent provides that.
For most buyers, they are more concerned about their bottomline than they are about representation. If it doesn't hit them in their pocketbook, they don't really care about having their own agent.
With this in mind, Franklin Homes Realty LLC decided to do a little research. Since January 1, 2014, a total of 71 new construction homes sold in Westhaven. Of that 71 homes, 59 or 83% of buyers had representation through a buyer's agent. That leaves just 12 buyers who were unrepresented and used a Westhaven Realty on-site agent.
Buyers who were represented and used their own buyer's agent:
Closed sales 1/1/14 to present: 59Buyers who were unrepresented and used the Westhaven Realty on-site agent:
The sales price to list price ratio is 5.7% LOWER for those buyers who are using a buyer's agent. If we take that 5.7% and multiply it by the median home price of $544,000, that is a savings of $31,000. How can that be? Are represented buyers really saving $31,000?
There are two possible explanations for this based upon the data provided:
1. The represented buyers have been able to negotiate a better price on their home purchase.
2. The unrepresented buyers are adding significant upgrades to their homes.
Since the average square footage of the homes purchased are very similar, it's easy to see that the unrepresented buyers aren't getting more square footage for their price. However, they are spending $14 more per square foot for their houses. We don't know what accounts for this additional cost. Did they spend that on upgrades or did they negotiate poorly?
1. Using a buyer's agent costs you absolutely nothing. Their commission is paid by Westhaven Realty. They have already included the buyer's agent fee into their base price. With 83% of their sales coming from agents this year, it's easy to see why they do that and based upon the numbers, buyers with representation fared better on price.
2. Using a buyer's agent may save you 5.7%. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to get a $544,000 for $31,000 less but you may not spend $31,000 more on that house.
Based upon this analysis, there is absolute proof there is an advantage to using a buyer's agent when purchasing Westhaven new construction homes.
There are a couple of things you should know about Westhaven Realty. Your buyer's agent MUST BE PRESENT at your first visit to the community. They WILL NOT ALLOW you to come back with a buyer's agent later to negotiate a better price for you. Be sure to contact your buyer's agent prior to visiting Westhaven the first time. It will actually save you money by doing so.
Franklin Homes Realty LLC is the obvious choice as a buyer's agent for a Westhaven new construction home purchase in Franklin TN. We have worked closely with other Westhaven buyers and are very familiar with the floor plans available. For a complete list of the available Westhaven new construction homes,
About Tammie White, Franklin TN REALTOR®Tammie White is a REALTOR® and Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC in Franklin TN. Tammie works with relocation buyers looking to purchase a home in Franklin and the surrounding Williamson County area. She understands the way buyers search for homes making her an invaluable asset to Franklin home sellers. Tammie's website, www.FranklinHomesRealty.com, has become the premiere search tool for buyers relocating to Franklin TN. She has been writing a real estate blog since 2009 and quoted in various publications including the LA Times, Skype.com, The Tennessean and Williamson Source.
Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
Today, I read a Franklin TN market report that was written by a local agent. In that report, the agent stated that days on market (DOM) determine whether we are in a buyer's market or a seller's market. That simply isn't true.
Buyer's market? Seller's market? Absorption rate determines Franklin TN housing market conditions, not DOM. The absorption rate signifies how long it will take to sell the existing homes on the market based upon the most recent sales data. Or how long it will take for the active listings to be absorbed by buyers.
Absorption rate is determined by using a simple mathematical equation. Take the existing housing inventory and divide it by the most recent month of closed sales. As an example, there are currently 768 active listings in Franklin. Take that number and divide it by the most recent month of closed sales (July 2014) which is 238 (768/238). That number equals 3.2. That means at the current rate of sales, it will take 3.2 months to sell the existing housing inventory in Franklin.
The next question: Is 3.2 months a buyer's market or a seller's market? Anything under 5 months of inventory is considered a seller's market. A normal or steady market is 5 to 7 months of inventory and a buyer's market is anything in excess of 7 months of inventory.
Do the days on market (DOM) matter? They do but they don't determine whether your area is in a buyer's market or a seller's market. Let me explain.
We produce many market reports every month for Franklin neighborhoods. We do this to give sellers an indication of how long we believe it will take to sell their house if we've priced it right and properly prepared it for market.
Let's take a recent market report prepared for Cedarmont Farms. As you can see, Cedarmont Farms is experiencing an extreme seller's market. However, the average days on the market were 107 Days. How can it be that Cedarmont Farms is in an extreme seller's market and has so many DOM?
1. At the time of this report, there wasn't any existing housing inventory and the most recent month of sales, suggested that buyers were interested in buying in this neighborhood. Since there is less than 5 months of inventory, Cedarmont Farms is in an extreme seller's market (less than 2 months of inventory).
2. The DOM indicates that one house was on the market for more than 300 days. How can that be if Cedarmont Farms is in an extreme seller's market? This 300 days suggests that the house was overpriced when it came on the market 300 days ago. This seller reduced the price to finally get it sold. That's why the average sales price to list price ratio is lower than most neighborhoods experiencing an extreme seller's market in Franklin right now. The house was priced too high from the beginning.
All of these numbers work together to help sellers determine a good listing price if they want to sell their home in 30 days or less.
Absorption rate determines Franklin TN housing market conditions, not DOM. Not all market reports are created equal. Make sure the Franklin housing data actually supports the claims made about the current housing market.
When you are ready to sell your Franklin home,
About Tammie White, Franklin TN REALTOR®Tammie White is a REALTOR® and Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC in Franklin TN. Tammie works with relocation buyers looking to purchase a home in Franklin and the surrounding Williamson County area. She understands the way buyers search for homes making her an invaluable asset to Franklin home sellers. Tammie's website, www.FranklinHomesRealty.com, has become the premiere search tool for buyers relocating to Franklin TN. She has been writing a real estate blog since 2009 and quoted in various publications including the LA Times, Skype.com, The Tennessean and Williamson Source.
Written by Tammie White, Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC
Franklin Homes Realty LLC is always doing internet research on ways to better serve our sellers to get their homes in front of buyers as quickly as possible. As we were doing just that, we found two YouTube videos on this particular subject both prepared by local Franklin real estate agents. We commend them both for taking the initiative to market homes online.
That being said, as these agents were showing proof of their internet marketing, they used the property address in their Google search. Then they proceeded to show how they ranked in the #1 spot for this address on Google. I should hope that's where they ranked. After all, it is their listing. However, one has to ask the question, "How often does a buyer Google the exact address of a property?".
There are two times this may occur:
1. The buyer is driving by and is sitting in front of the house.
2. Someone in the neighborhood gives the buyer the exact address of the home.
Why then are agents trying to promote their internet prowess by showing these videos where they are Googling the address? Is that really how buyers search the internet for a home? If not, what does it mean to aggressively market your Franklin TN home online?
Buyers aren't using the internet in the ways these agents suggested. The best way to get your home in front of as many buyers are possible is to use the same search terms buyers use. They aren't using the home address unless they are sitting in front of the house.
Instead, you'll see buyers Googling terms like Franklin TN starter homes priced under $300,000 or Franklin TN homes for sale zoned for Franklin High School or Franklin TN homes with two master bedroom suites.
For example, we used the term, Franklin TN Starter Homes Priced Under $300,000 last year to market one of our listings. Below is a photo of a screen shot we took back then using this search term, a phrase Franklin TN buyers actually use. As you can see, we ranked the first 7 out of 10 spots for this search term. Can you see why this form of marketing is so important?
If you had the ability to click on these links, they would take you to blog posts we wrote about our listing that was located at 3129 Winberry Drive in Franklin at the time. There are a variety of sources including a single-property website, another blogging venue we use at www.FranklinTNHomesforSaleOnline.net, an ActiveRain blog we use and then a market report that appeared on our website.
That's the type of aggressive internet marketing you want for your listing. You want agents who are using something other than your address to market your Franklin home online. After all, buyers are moving here from all over the country. How do you expect a buyer from California, Texas or Minnesota to find you? We can assure you they won't be Googling the address.
We would be happy to discuss the ways we can get your house in front of the largest number of buyers in the least amount of time. Visit our website on selling your Franklin TN home and posts we've written on Sellers Tips for additional information.
About Tammie White, Franklin TN REALTOR®Tammie White is a REALTOR® and Principal Broker/Owner of Franklin Homes Realty LLC in Franklin TN. Tammie works with relocation buyers looking to purchase a home in Franklin and the surrounding Williamson County area. She understands the way buyers search for homes making her an invaluable asset to Franklin home sellers. Tammie's website, www.FranklinHomesRealty.com, has become the premiere search tool for buyers relocating to Franklin TN. She has been writing a real estate blog since 2009 and quoted in various publications including the LA Times, Skype.com, The Tennessean and Williamson Source.