Happy Holidays From Us

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Happy holidays to you! The holiday season has officially arrived. We hope you enjoy this wonderful time of year and make some fantastic memories. We wanted to take a moment to thank you for your continued support. We love helping people make their real estate dreams come true, so thank you for working with us and supporting our business. This may be a busy time of year, but we are always here to help you and answer any questions you may have. Give us a call or reply to this email; we’d love to help you. In case we don’t hear from you until 2022, have a happy New Year!

Thank You For Your Support

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Friends,

 

The 2021 holiday season has officially begun! We hope you are as excited as we are.

 

We’d like to take a moment to express our gratitude to all of you this Thanksgiving. We have met some truly wonderful people, and we’re proud to have helped so many reach their real estate goals over the years.

 

We wouldn’t be where we are today without all of your support.

 

Enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner—that’s what we plan to do!

 

In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any real estate questions. We would be happy to help you.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

How COVID Has Affected Our Market

Here are the ways that COVID has affected our real estate market. 

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Today, I’ll go over the effects of COVID on our real estate market. We serve the Merrimack Valley area in Massachusetts, and we’ve recently seen a lot of our listings receive multiple overbids. In one case, we had 40 offers, and the home sold for $125,000 over asking. That has made a lot of people think their home is worth more than what it is. It’s still a seller's market, but the strategy to net more money from your sale starts at the beginning. You need to price appropriately to incite multiple offers because the market has slowed down. The average days on market used to be two or three days, and now we’re seeing houses stay on the market for a week or two. We are also finally seeing more inventory. With all these market changes, the optimal strategy is to price your home correctly to sell quickly. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 978-256-3306 or go to homesareus.com. We look forward to hearing from you and helping in any way we can.

Don’t Forget These 5 Items When You Close

Here are the top five things you want with you when closing on a home.

 

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Today we want to talk about five things you want to bring with you to the closing table. There’s a lot more involved in the closing process, but these are the things you want with you in the car as you’re on your way to close:

1. Keys. This is especially important if you are a seller. The last thing you want is to close on a sale only to have your buyer locked out of their new home.

2. Identification. We’ve seen a few times where people show up with an expired driver's license. This can clog up the whole process, and gives your buyer or seller more time to get cold feet. If you don’t have a driver’s license, make sure you bring another form of acceptable identification, such as a passport.

3. Certified check. The closing attorney won’t accept your personal check, so make sure you bring a certified check to closing.

 

The last thing you want to do is hold up the closing.

4. Blank personal check. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but it’s nice to have just in case. If you need to pay someone $100 for whatever fee you forgot about, you won’t hold up the closing.

5. Utilities. This is especially important for buyers. You don’t want to move into a home and have a great housewarming party only to have the lights turned off. Make sure you call your utility company before you close.

If you have any questions about today’s topic, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 978-256-3306 or visit our website at www.homesareus.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

What Characteristics Do Top Producers Share?

Here are the common traits of some of the industry’s top producers.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

In the real estate industry, there are seven characteristics that the top producers all share:

1. A great work ethic. A top producer is willing to get up every single day and make things happen for their clients to get the results they want.

2. A trustworthy reputation. How do you know if a top producer has one? All you need to do is look at their testimonials from past clients and colleagues for a litmus test.

3. A successful and productive track record. They should have an impressive resume of homes sold and real estate success.

4. They’re a great manager. A top producer needs to have an efficient and professional team that’s proactive.
 

They should have an impressive resume of homes sold.

 

5. Having a commanding knowledge of the industry. They also know the values, negotiation skills, and people skills needed to have success in this business.

6. Being a good problem solver.

7. Having creative talent. This enables the top producer to have successful results in solving the inevitable problems that come up during a real estate transaction.

If you have questions about this list or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How Can You Help Get Your Home Sold?

Here are our top 11 strategies to help you get your home sold.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Today I have 11 different tips to help you get your home sold:

1. Make sure that you're ready to go.

2. Hire a good agent.

3. Work through the financials.

4. Slow roll your prep work. Some people are finding that they don't have enough time to get it all done.

5. Focus on curb appeal. Make sure that the outside of your house looks great.

6. Staging. Stage the home to spark the buyer’s imagination.

7. Get a pre-listing inspection. You’ll get ahead of repair requests.

8. Hire a professional for listing photos.

9. Set a well-researched, competitive price.

10. Treat your agent as a partner, not as an employee.

11. Show your house even if it's not ready.

If you have any other questions, thoughts, or concerns, feel free to reach out to us at 978-852-3001. You can reach us online at www.homesrest.com. We look forward to hearing from you. Have a great day.

Why Some Markets Are Experiencing a Slowdown

Why are some markets slowing down?

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Some markets and locations are beginning to slow down as home prices surge. Why is that? There are four key reasons:

1. Prices have been accelerating at a rapid pace for the last 12 months. With our low inventory and low rates, many sellers and brokers are forming false expectations about how to price their properties, sometimes causing them to overprice them. That’s causing some homes to sit on the market longer.
 

2. Over 200 million vaccinations have been distributed throughout the country. As a result, more families are becoming comfortable with listing their homes and allowing the general public to flow through their property to see it.
 

More families are becoming comfortable with listing their homes.

 

3. Rental moratoriums are coming to a close. That means many families who haven’t been able to pay rent will soon face eviction, and many who have forestalled foreclosure are now facing foreclosure for the first time in over a year because of the changing political climate.
 

4. Real estate is cyclical. Many markets have already peaked and are now beginning to resume a certain degree of normalcy because of the increasing surge of inventory.

If you’re thinking about selling your home and have any questions about how to get the best price and terms in today’s market, feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

Upping Your Game at the Negotiating Table

Here are three tips to help you negotiate in the high-end market.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Today I want to talk about a few points that involve negotiating. I just read the book “Selling Luxury Homes” by Jack Cotton. It's a great text for people who want to work in the high-end market. Many of the themes about negotiating high-end properties are also very relevant to negotiating an everyday home.

The three main points that Jack points out in the chapter on the best negotiating strategies are:

1. Negotiate from a standpoint of preeminence. Preeminence is basically what an agent will develop after decades of being involved with working with high net-income individuals or families who are dealing with an estate. These families often need someone who has expertise that's been developed over time by having negotiated several hundred million dollars worth of transactions. This brings preeminence to the table. This allows the agent to be emotionally uninvolved and unattached to the outcome and to enable the process to unfold in a way that will meet the needs of the client.

Many of the themes about negotiating high-end properties are also very relevant to negotiating an everyday home.

 

2. Don't assume that you know the needs of the other party in any negotiation. The best way for an agent to dissect what the real needs are for a client is to find out all of the details associated not only with pricing and commission but marketing strategies, timetables, and what the end result is going to be. For example, in an estate, is the way the process pans out going to affect one party, or is it going to affect an entire family? It's important to understand and not assume that every client is going to behave in the same way with regard to pricing, negotiation strategy, and a bottom line.

3. Be completely detached from the outcome. When negotiating for a family, it's critical to understand that the family is going through a crisis. In many cases, this is because the negotiation process is not something that they do all the time. Understand that it's a process that can be grueling. People are oftentimes dealing with a tremendous amount of money and the stress associated with what's going to happen on the other side of the transaction.

If you have any questions, thoughts, or concerns regarding the negotiating process, please feel free to reach out to me via phone or email. Let us know what we can do to make your dream come true. Have a great day, and we will see you next time.

Our Latest Real Estate Market Update

Here are the latest news and notes from our local real estate market.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

The real estate market is currently experiencing a boom. Our clients have seen many showings, multiple offers, and increased sale prices—much more than expected. The average sale-to-list-price ratio is about 99% right now. Both inventory levels and days on market are at 20-year lows.

Mortgage rates are at 50-year lows—though they’re slightly increasing, so we’re keeping an eye on them. We currently have a list of buyers who are ready to purchase and just waiting for new homes to hit the market. So if you’re considering selling your house, now is the time. Your property is worth much more than you think it is.

If you have any questions or would like a complimentary comparative market analysis, please feel free to reach out to us via phone or email. We would love to be your real estate resource.

What the Future Holds for the Rest of 2021

Here’s what you can expect from the rest of our 2021 real estate market.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

What’s the market forecast for the rest of 2021? It was anticipated that between 5 and 5.25 million units would be sold nationwide throughout the year, which would equate to about 10.5 million transactions among buyers and sellers. Strong sales were also anticipated, and we’re finding that even though interest rates are low, they have a tendency to move upward, which will prompt people to move quicker.

In the summertime, as more people receive their vaccinations and we’re able to further bypass the COVID-19 hurdle, we expect inventory to flow into the marketplace. People who’ve been staying inside for the past 18 months and held off on their home-selling plans due to COVID-19 will most likely finally list their properties. As the moratoriums are lifted for rent evictions and foreclosures, we also expect to see a surge of buyers. 

If you’d like to talk more about what the future holds for the rest of the 2021 market or have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to call or email me. I’d love to speak with you.

What’s Going on in the Market?

Today we’ll discuss the status of the current real estate market.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

As we move into the spring market, we’re finding that low inventory still prevails. That means there just aren’t enough homes for the number of buyers attempting to become homeowners. Low interest rates are still very attractive, but there’s upward pressure on them, meaning that buyers will want to move quickly if they want to take advantage of them.

Our robust economy notwithstanding, many people have suffered the consequences of the pandemic and many businesses have been adversely affected. Still, well-priced homes are selling at a brisk clip. It’s not unusual for appropriately priced homes in good condition to be generating multiple offers.

Buyers are waiving contingencies to stay competitive.

 

That’s why having a skilled agent by your side is so important—you’ll want professional help to navigate the waters of a multiple-offer situation. That way, if you’re selling a home, you’ll be able to optimize your sales price and terms. In some cases, buyers are waiving inspection, appraisal, and financing contingencies in order to make their offers highly acceptable in an extremely competitive environment.

If you have any questions about the market or real estate in general, please feel free to reach out to us. We’d be more than happy to provide you with answers.

The Benefits of Working With LAER Realty

Here are just a few of the benefits of working with us at LAER Realty.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Hello, I’m Pamela Sherpa from LAER Realty Partners, and I’m a closing manager. My job is to make sure your closings are successful. However, the thing that is most crucial to us is ensuring our clients are satisfied with our services. It’s always a great pleasure when past clients want to buy or sell again, or they want to refer us to someone they know.

So today I’m sharing the benefits of working with our team. We are a four-member team: Paul Brouillette, Maureen Kelly, Joanne Meridian, and me. We are all licensed real estate agents and work 160 hours a week prospecting, looking for buyers for our sellers, and searching for home matches for our buyers. When you have an appointment or showing, we’ll work around your schedule. Since there are four of us, someone is always available to assist you.

Paul is also in Business Network International, which means he diligently networks with business professionals every week and has been doing so for over 15 years. This means that whenever our clients need help from a plumber, electrician, painter, handyman, etc., we can call someone in our network, and they’ll be there to assist with whatever you need.

The thing that is most crucial to us is ensuring our clients are satisfied with our services.

 

Additionally, we are part of a community of over 500 agents who share listings before they come onto the market, which is potentially a $1,000 to $10,000 savings for buyers in a seller’s market. In a seller’s market, information is valuable; if you know a house is coming onto the market, you can do a drive-by, and if you’re interested, you can schedule a showing and be ready to submit your offer immediately. On the flip side, we have at least 60 buyer leads coming in each week that we process, and any of them could lead to a showing or be a prospective buyer for our seller clients.

I could keep naming advantages to working with us, but what we truly want is to ensure our clients are happy with our service and attention to detail. We care about our clients, and we hope that comes through in our interactions with you.

If you have any questions about our team or how we can help with your real estate needs, call or email us. We would love to speak with you.

What a Listing Manager Does

A closer look at what listing manager Maureen Kelly does for our team.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Hello, my name is Maureen Kelly, and today I want to introduce myself and explain what I do at LAER Realty. I’m the listing manager on Paul Brouillette’s team, and it’s my job to work with Paul before a listing is taken all the way until it’s under contract, at which time it’s handed to our transaction coordinator, Pamela, who you can get to know here. Before a listing is taken, I look into the home’s area, history, comps, and more. Paul will compose a comprehensive market analysis, and I’ll help him gather supplemental materials that might be necessary for the house or client.

Before a listing is taken, I look into the home’s area, history, comps, and more.

 

Once we take a listing, I meet or speak with the owners and set up a timetable that’s both comfortable for them and gives us enough time to prepare—this means ordering a sign, having a professional photography session, and having a professional stager assist with arranging the property for sale. The day the listing is launched, we’ll have a full package of marketing materials, photographs, etc., that are shared with the public. Once the listing is up, I’m in touch with the sellers at least once per week (often more), and send them a meticulous report explaining how things have been going, what we can improve upon, and more.

Everyone here works together and helps one another with their duties, so though the above is my main job, it takes a team to sell homes on the professional level we do.

If you have any questions about my role or real estate in general, call or email us. We would love to help you.