I went to the grocery store the other day; a task I’ve skipped for a few weeks due to working on our daughter’s wedding plans. As I was thinking through dinner plans and remembering how much I/we love to cook, I remembered the event that brought my family around the table several years ago. Our son was young, he’s 22 now, and he was throwing some sort of tantrum about dinner. I was fixing them a quick frozen meal, AGAIN. In his tantrum, he mentioned that all he wanted was for us all to sit around the dinner table and have dinner like a family. Wow. Being a mom that really cared about my kids, I thought I was doing a pretty good job handling the kids, the sports, the job, the household, etc. After all, I was making sure their basic needs were met, right?

Well, here’s my kid telling me one basic need wasn’t being fulfilled. The ordinary family dinner. There’s something to be said for this turning point. My hubby and I rediscovered our love of cooking while the kids found theirs. And I’m not kidding, my kids are skilled cooks now. Around the table, we talked, sometimes we argued, but we always made a point to do this one activity together several times a week. It wasn’t so much about what we were having as it was about the act of making time for each other.

After all this time has passed, I was reflecting on what this simple family activity actually DID and found myself comparing sitting around the table to finding the right home. You see, to my son, having us all together may have felt like a warm, caring hug. That’s exactly the feeling people are looking for when they’re choosing a home. To them, it should feel like togetherness. The right home will feel like a warm hug. Most of the time, buyers will forego several details of what they wanted in a dream home when they find the house that promises a future of family dinners and movie nights. That happy future is way more important than a fenced backyard.

Sellers, you never know when there’s someone in that buyer’s family wishing for that kind of family time. Appeal to the dream. Help them picture themselves around the table.

The end of the year always causes us to reflect on our lives and I’m knee deep in reflection this year. Looking back I feel like I lost some of my spirit this past year. It’s not as if I didn’t give my work 110% of myself-I always have worked hard. It’s more like my sparkle dulled a little. 

There were several job offers, which should have been flattering, but they succeeded in making me realize I wasn’t in a position they respected. I was ‘gettable’.

Being loyal to the core, this was really hard for me. Honestly, the last thing I want to do is change jobs or companies. However, if my people weren’t getting my sparkle, would they be better off without me?
The first thing I had to address was my sparkle. Where had it gone? Was it simply lost forever?

Every single one of us is susceptible to simply maintaining the status quo. Anything can get you there. A rude comment, blown out of proportion can rock your world for days. Or being treated unfairly by someone you respect. Some don’t have the ability to rise above these things. The smallest thing can be detrimental to the strongest of souls. There is a point that takes you to the intersection of giving up and making a drastic change.

Second, I need to G.Y.S.T. (get my stuff together) I’d encourage anyone at this point to step back and look at things from a different viewpoint. Question everything. Why have you chosen this path (or has this path chosen you)? What purpose have you served? Where was your passion directed?

My friend, Laurie Davis, posted this quote the other day and it sliced to my core. “One of the most courageous decisions you’ll ever make is to let go of what is hurting your heart and soul.”—Brigitte Nicole.
In my opinion, you have to consciously decide to get up in the morning and change your mind. This was my third and final step. Change my mind. Let go of everything.

I feel like I have it easy. I love my people. They inspire as well as challenge me and all the reward I need is to nurture their success. There it is. Therein lies the sparkle.

The end of 2014 was a gift. A self reassessment of sorts. My future is bright and clear. I’ll continue doing what I love and keep giving every ounce of myself to it.

After studying the market activity for September in Clay County and Platte County, I can’t say that I’m surprised, this has been an impressive year for home sales overall. Sales are still up over last year, even this late in the year. A couple of factors I thought were affecting the numbers don’t seem to be as important as I thought. All of our Kansas City sports teams are playing their hearts out on the field and people are going to the games in masses. This leaves us to wonder if anyone is buying homes. Well, apparently they are!

First up, Clay County. For September 2013 we saw unit closed sales at 327 which have increased in 2014 to 355. Prices are up a little as well. The average sales price for September 2013 was $165,682 increasing to $176,723 for 2014. Inventory-wise we’re remaining fairly balanced with 5.45 months of homes available. Contracts are being negotiated to an average of 97.8% of full asking price.* Not bad at all!

Platte County’s unit sales are even with last year at 120 for September with an overall increase of 3% in sales year to date. Average sales prices keep rising and are up to $205,636, an increase of 6.9% over last year. Platte County’s inventory has tipped slightly towards a buyer’s market with 6.21 months of inventory available.*

Right now, interest rates are still surprisingly low, even though we’ve been hearing they’re expected to rise any day. Buyers are still getting great deals! As we always talk about, every single home and subdivision can be different. Be sure to check the stats specific to you before making a decision to list or buy.

*Data gathered from Heartland MLS

Throughout the year I interact with and learn from the best of the best in real estate. These thought leaders talk about everything from the best way to follow up with web leads to keeping in touch after the sale—and everything in between. What I’ve heard more about these last few years is professional listing photos. So many feel a professional photographer must be hired for each and every listing to showcase it in it’s best light. Also, there’s the thought each and every customer should be treated the same way and your marketing plan should be consistent.

What would you think if I said I constantly argue with myself about this? How do I really feel?

Let me tell you, from a consumer standpoint, gorgeous listing photos that make a house look 110% better than it actually is make me feel as if I’m wasting precious time and being lied to. You see, my husband and I recently purchased a home. We actually felt we needed to tour more houses than we were interested in just because the listing photos made each and every house look like a gem.

It was almost comical to be on the buyer side of things and feel like someone just put lipstick on a pig and tried to sell it to me.

As a REALTOR, my argument comes down to the fact that it’s my job to get potential buyers through the door. It’s our job to market each property and present it in it’s best light. But, does the best light mean you must pay for professional photos on every listing? My answer is no. It’s not because I don’t love my photographers at Amoura Productions and want to give them every ounce of business I can. It’s the fact that I feel professional photos aren’t necessary every single time. So, what’s the best practice?

If you’re in a market and selling in a subdivision where all the competition is using professional photos—you’d better buck up and do it.

Sometimes a home is simply hard to photograph. If you take some photos and all the rooms look super small or you just couldn’t get the lighting right—buck up.

On that note, if the home is huge and you can only use 25 photos in the MLS, a professional will potentially be able to capture the foyer, living room and dining room in one photo. Isn’t it worth it then? Buck up. 🙂

Now, if everyone in the area is taking their own photos, you’re more apt to get away with using your own professional camera. However, use a wide angle lens and the HDR setting. Walk around and stage the home a little bit beforehand. Take the tips you’ve learned from the professionals and apply them when you’re taking your own and your photos will always look better than your competition’s.

Also, if it’s a handyman’s special and needs a good amount of work—those buyers would appreciate more accurate photos. Most investors buy and turn over several properties a year. Do you want to be known as the agent that wastes their time?

All in all, you’re running your own business and your budget might not allow for professional photos all the time. Take a proactive approach and consult with the sellers. If it’s not in your plan, the sellers may want to hire the photographer themselves.

It’s been a whirlwind of a summer. The chart above may be reflective of the stats, but it certainly doesn’t reflect all the activity. Here’s a breakdown of what we’re seeing in Clay and Platte Counties as well as the entire Kansas City Regional area.

Clay/Ray Counties

Clay/Ray County sales were down for the month by 23.9% from 2013. Units were at 318 versus 418 last year. Year to date, unit sales are down 0.6%, with 2,694 units this year versus 2,710 last year. The average sales price for the month was up 14.5% from last year, with an average price of $186,025. Year to date, the average price is up 10.1%. The average price is $172,751 versus $156,885 last year. New listings were down 45 units to 566 or 7.4% from last year’s 611 units. Inventory is up 0.7% from last year and is running at 2,020 units. Inventory is down 67 units from last month.

Platte County

Platte County sales were down for the month by 13.7% from 2013. Units were at 151 versus 175 last year. Year to date, unit sales are up 0.9%, with 1,181 units this year versus 1,171 last year. The average sales price for the month was up 15.5% over last year, with an average price of $241,119. Year to date, the average price is up 8.7% from last year. The average price is $221,599 versus $201,989 last year. New listings in Platte County were up 8 units to 264, up 3.1% from last year’s 256 units. Inventory increased 6.6% from last year and is running at 938 units. Inventory is down 7 units from last month.

 Heartland

Adjusted sales* for the entire Heartland area were at 2,801, down 9.4% or 291 units. The average price was up 4.4%, and averaging $205,109. Year to date, sales were down 1.0% or 210 units for a total of 20,557 for 2014. The average price for the year is running at $190,667, up 5.8% from 2013’s average of $180,252.

The Info You Don’t See

This is all important, but what you’re not seeing is the reason so many agents feel overwhelmed right now. The past 4 or 5 weeks have been full of frustration for buyers and sellers. There’s been many contracts that have fallen through because of financing, inspections or appraisals. Problems like this create a sort of log jam in the system since most buyers will move onto another property after not getting their first choice. Most sellers will make repairs and drop prices and try to attract the eyes of a new buyer. All of this boils down to real estate agents doing more and more work. While one could argue (and some will)  it’s what we get paid to do, the other side will argue that we actually don’t get paid until the property closes. So, for some clients, an agent will work three times as hard and much longer hours for the same amount of pay. While the end goal is always customer satisfaction, I hope this sheds some light on how frustrating the business can be at times. A great real estate agent will take the brunt of the frustrations and issues and try to keep the transaction flowing smoothly for all parties.

We’re here, we’re working, we may just be quieter than usual and the stats may look like we aren’t.

Trust me, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

It’s summertime in the Midwest and we all call it the same thing. Misery instead of Missouri. It’s unbearably hot most days with humidity levels that curl even the straightest hair. It brings most of us inside seeking cooler temps courtesy of the hard working air conditioner.

Now is the time of year we all share the same desire….swimming pool envy. We walk outside and as our clothes start sticking to us we hear something off in the distance. Laughter and splashing. We walk around a corner and what do we see?

I’ve had this pool envy disease for the better portion of my almost 40 years on this planet. I’ve always thought, “if I could only have a pool, summer would be awesome.”

Last year, my (our) dream finally came true. We found an affordable home with a pool and worked like crazy getting the pool ready for summer. New liner, chemicals, hubby worked on the pump and on, and on. We cleaned the pool often and truly enjoyed it every single hot day we could.

However, there’s something I never even considered when it came to owning a swimming pool and most pool owners don’t even mention it. Did you know owning a pool not only triples your water bill when you fill it, but it also more than doubles your monthly electricity bill. What? Yep. Who even notices that pump on the side of the pool that runs (usually on a timer) constantly during the entire summer? Running that pump is expensive. Buying the chemicals and keeping the pool clear is another expensive task. And guess what…check with your insurance company about random weather (or other) incidents that could cause damage to your pool. Because, you’ve probably guessed it by now, we’ve already had to replace the one we fixed and enjoyed last year. Our old one buckled under pressure one rainy day and, that’s it, we’re out a swimming pool. We’ve since torn out the deck, had the new pool installed and have enjoyed long hot days poolside—but there’s an awfully big price tag attached to that enjoyment.

My purpose here isn’t to scare you away from your pool envy (because nothing will). It’s simply to help you be fully aware of the real cost of owning a swimming pool and help lessen that craving. If you have friends that regularly invite you over….you should enjoy that to its fullest. Let them have the headache, heartache and wallet ache while you stop by and swim away.

Hug them lots and bring cold beverages.