Finding Cheap Houses
Posted on September 23, 2010
Filed Under California Real Estate, Housing Prices | Leave a Comment
There are a number of reasons someone may be searching for Cheap Houses. They could simply be looking for one of the cheapest places to live and they want to rent for the lowest possible price. Or on the other end of the scale they are looking for a good investment – buy low and sell high. These days there are ‘Disaster Capitalists’ lurking around the country looking to buy up cheap houses so they can demolish them and repurchase the land for commercial or high density units. Just have a look at the New Orleans area and you will find a ton of that has happened. regardless of your interest there have been some studies done since the crash which reveal the cheapest places in America to buy real estate.
Recently CBS news reported on an extensive study by real estate giant Coldwell-Banker which looked at cheap house across the nation. They also looked at the other end of the scale to identify the most expensive houses on the market. Even though California was the epicenter for the sub-prime melt down the state still holds top spot for the most expensive house in the country. In fact six out of 10 of the most expensive communties for buying a house were found in California. Here are the ten places to find the most expensive houses in America (note the comparative pricing data is for a 4 bed – 2 bath house of similar size):
#1 Newport Beach CA - Avg price $1,830,000
- 2 Palo Alto CA - Avg price $1,480,000
- 3 Rye NY – Avg price $1,330,000
- 4 San Francisco CA – Avg price $1,330,000
- 5 La Jolla CA – Avg price $1,210,000
- 6 Greenwich CN – Avg price $1,190,000
- 7 Wellesley MA – Avg price $1,080,000
- 8 Pasadena CA – Avg price $1,040,000
- 9 Honolulu HA – Avg price$1,030,000
- 10 Santa Barbara CA – Avg price $1,020,000
Now, what you’ve been waiting for – the place to Find Cheap Houses actually the Cheapest Houses in the United States are:
1 Detroit MI – Avg price $68,007
2 Grayling MI – Avg price $84,625
3 Sioux City IA – Avg price $85,967
4 Cleveland OH – Avg price$87,240
5 Muncie IN – Avg price $100,314
6 Norfolk NB – Avg price $107,814
7 Kansas City MO – Avg price$112,449
8 Canton OH – Avg price $114,325
9 Port Huron MI – Avg price $116,267
10 Topeka KA – Avg price $116,343
Pricing Points Help to Sell Your House Quickly
Posted on August 25, 2010
Filed Under Real Estate Sales Tips | Leave a Comment
Pricing points and price limits are used by house buyers to simplify their house shopping. Such pricing points are traditionally chosen as nice round numbers, like $250,000 or $125,000. According to Kendrick Kapuna of Aspen Dance Realty, it is absolutely vital that you understand how buyers understand and relate to pricing points if your intention is to sell your house quickly.
A buyer first calculates how much of a loan he or she can afford. That loan amount usually defines an upper limit for the price range of the house. So if a buyer’s maximum price range is $200,000, then most of the house hunting will happen in the $175,000-$200,000 range. Every so often a buyer might dip down into the next price level below their maximum, however they rarely spend much time looking above the maximum because that price range is higher than they can afford.
One thing you don’t want to do is set your asking price in the next higher price level in order to give yourself some negotiating room. Here are some reasons why:
MLS Listings
The MLS is a computer-based multiple listing service that real estate agents use to search for properties. A buyer might specify search requirements of a house with three bedrooms, three baths and a garage, priced at $300,000 or lower. The computer then prints out a list of houses that exactly match that criteria. The computer is not intelligent enough to know if you have priced your house with a built-in cushion for negotiation. If your house were priced at $310,000, or even $300,500, then it would not appear in the above search results and the buyer would miss an opportunity to view your house.
Price Conditioning
It may be a bit of a cliché, but the “$9.95 advertising trick” is very effective. Most buyers are very well conditioned to think that $9.95 is a much lower price than $10.00. If you are wondering, “How can I sell my house quick?”, then remember that a price of $169,500 is much more attractive than a price of $170,000. You can use this buyer tendency to your advantage by always pricing your house $500 less than the next highest pricing point on the market.
Why Relocate to Weston Florida
Posted on August 24, 2010
Filed Under Florida Real Estate | Leave a Comment
About 10 miles west of Fort Lauderdale, you will find the growing city of Weston. The 64,000 people who live here enjoy an average temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year. When residents have free time they might enjoy playing golf at the Bonaventure Golf Course or they might go mountain biking at Markham Park. There is always something to do in this south Floridian city.
When residents here purchase a piece of Weston Real Estate, they pay an average price of $478, 200 for their house or condominium. However, the above average schools in the area make the price well worth it. There are seven elementary schools to choose from, two middle schools, and one high school. In addition, there are also two private schools that contain both elementary and middle schools. All the elementary schools scored above average in reading, writing, and math tests when compared to schools in the rest of the state. This makes the area perfect for younger families that want a fresh start in an upper middle class community. Just another reason why to look into Weston homes for sale.
This low crime area of Florida is home to celebrities such as Dan Marino and Sugar Ray Leonard. Besides possibly meeting a celebrity, residents can also look forward to attending professional football games with Miami being only 45 minutes away. One may also see a space shuttle launch from Fort Lauderdale. A nice weekend trip to Orlando could be on the menu with seven major theme parks including Busch Gardens and Sea World, and it is only three hours away. Weston being in the middle of all this makes it a very convenient place to live.
There seems to be something for everyone in Weston. It is a good place for families, sports enthusiasts, and for people who want to keep up with the space race. Whichever someone is, Weston is something that is best experienced in person.
Smarter Investing During A Recession
Posted on August 10, 2010
Filed Under California Real Estate, Land For Sale | Leave a Comment
Is today a good day to invest in real estate? Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year and hald, you’re probably quite aware that the U.S. is in a major recession. In fact we’re in one of the worst recessions in recent history. You probably also know plenty of people who have lost their jobs, homes, credit rating, and cars due to financial hardships. Thousands upon thousands of people have lost a significant amount of money in their investment portfolios. Thousands more have lost a sizable portion of their retirement nest egg.
Any time a country goes into a recession an natural response is for people to get scared and stop investing. They fall into the “protect their money” mode and don’t do anything with their investable income.
This strategy is probably one of the worst strategies to adopt during the current financial climate. Basic economics teach us that the way to make money with investments is to buy the investment low and sell the investment high. You don’t have to be a financial genius to understand that concept. It’s surprising however, that knowing this concept, so many people don’t put it into play when the timing is right.
A recession will definitely mean that you will lose money on many of the investments that you currently hold. This isn’t fun for anybody and it’s understandable why it may leave you a bit sour about further investing. The smart investors are the ones to realize that they can offset their losses and buy undervalued investments while the recession is under way.
A perfect example of this strategy is in buying cheap land. Many people who were on the verge of losing everything are quickly trying to unload any asset that they can to generate some quick cash. There is a lot of land out there for sale right now by people who will accept very low offers simply because they are in dire need of cash. Smart investors realize that by picking up cheap land or other cheap investments, they will recoup their losses that they incurred during the recession and then some.
There is a sizable amount of land for sale by owner right now. One of the main reasons for this is that people can’t afford real estate agents and are trying to sell their land themselves. This is good news for real estate investors as you’ll be able to pick the properties up much cheaper since the seller doesn’t have to pay the real estate agent a commission.
This is just one example of how a smart investor can profit during a recession. There are many more ways for clever and insightful investors to come out ahead when the U.S. eventually does recover from the recession. One thing is for sure, the country will recover and those who were smart enough to invest wisely while prices were so low will be significantly better off than those who simply held onto their money as sort of knee jerk reaction.
What’s your strategy during the recession? Do you see the light at the end of the tunnell? Have real estate prices hit rock bottom? Seeing the market bounce back? What’s the real estate market doing in your neck of the woods?
Please chime in with your comments!
Mountain View Property Management Services
Posted on August 4, 2010
Filed Under Bay Area Property Management, California Real Estate | Leave a Comment
In need of Bay Area Property Management services?
RPM San Jose is experienced in handling multiple properties and are the experts for Mountain View property management for the management of residential properties, condos and apartment dwellings. Mountain View property management will handle property care. Owners sometimes find it difficult to handle their properties due to other responsibilities. Alternate careers may prevent an owner from having the time to look after the property personally. Investors having numerous properties find it better to have a management company take care of the properties. Management is qualified to handle all aspects; sales, maintenance, leasing and collections for a customer.
Customers with properties may live in different parts of the world and find it impossible to keep an eye on holdings; management is available to assist in the supervision of these investments. We are available to help customers find homes as well as taking care of the maintenance of properties. Relocating is difficult when time must be place in other directions. With a phone call or a trip to a web site, housing can be looked at. Housing can also be prepared for rental or purchase without difficulty. Many circumstances can prevent persons searching for property from doing it personally. There are times when schedules and weather simply prevent personal presence.
As a part of Mountain View property management services, investors are assisted with placing tenants and dealing with credit screening for investors, taking care of property inspections, collections and evictions where necessary. A management company also gives investors reports on property conditions. Investing in a property does not mean the investor wants to have hands on participation. Many times an owner will invest money and enlist a property management company to take care of the day-to-day administration of holdings. Management has the on sight manpower to look after land and buildings in the absence of the owner, giving on site care to the investment.
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