November 1, 2007

Current listing inventory - 224 active listings in Owatonna as of today. Average days on the market has ecome down slightly to 159 days. There were quite a few listings that expired at midnight last night and we will have to wait a few days to see if some of those sellers re-list their homes or will stay off the market. This is a fabulous thing to see the listing count drop down and we are crossing our fingers and hoping the count continues to keep going down. As we have posted before, our group is hoping to see 200 or less listings by 01-01-08. The number of pending listings has dropped to 34 houses. Average days on the is up to 115 days. This drop in Pending listings was expected as we reached the end of the month because end-of-month is always a busy closing time. There have been 346 properties Closed properties since 01-01-07, with an average days on market time of 114 days.

We do understand the frustration that many of you are experiencing in our current real estate market. We are listing a few tips below that may help you get you home sold a little quicker. The number one item of course is price, however if financial circumstances preclude you from reducing the asking price any lower, try a few of the tips below.

• Reduce the price (price might not be the problem, but it is always the solution)
• Clean!!!!! (we can't stress this enough, today's buyers want it ready to move into)
• Paint (same as cleaning, paint is low cost, high impact choose neutral colors)
• Reduce clutter (pack up the knick-knacks and faily treasures)
• Clean!!!!! (we continue to tour houses weekly that are not clean and picked up)
• Open the blinds and drapes for showings, brighten it up inside
• Replace any energy saver fluorescent bulbs with standard light bulbs (incandescent light is more warm and inviting, go with the highest wattage bulb the fixture will take)
• Clean!!!!! (pick-up the dirty clothes from the floor and wash the dishes in the kitchen sink)
• Get rid of pet & cooking smells, do not use scented candles or air freshners (today's buyers become suspicious and will think you are trying to hide something)

We'll try to include a few additional tips with some of the next posts. You can always call or e-mail us any real estate question you might have.

Interest Rates climbed a bit yesterday to 6.000% on October 31, 2007 after the announcement that the Fed dropped interest rates. The bond market got a little bit iffy yesterday after the announcement and this helped to drive up mortgage rates.

Our new Market Absorption Chart is available. It shows the market activity by price range. This allows you to see which price ranges are selling more quickly than others. For example, instead of pricing your home at $305,000, where there is a 12.8 month supply of homes it would be better to price it at $299,999 where there is only a 4.3 month supply of homes to be sold.

Just a reminder, in addition to this market condition blog, we represent buyers and sellers in real estate transactions in and around the Owatonna area. If you are thinking of buying or selling a home or know of some one that is, please give us a call (507) 390-2121 or drop an e-mail to info@BartleyGroup.com

We hope this Blog helps point out how knowledgable we are on what is happening in the local real estate market.