New Address

I have decided to centralize my office location. My new office is located at the Coldwell Banker Triad, Realtors office in Winston Salem. The address is 285 S. Stratford Road, Winston Salem NC 27103.

Sales of existing homes in Forsyth County show increase over same 2009 period

Sales of existing homes in Forsyth County continued to show strength last month, rising 17.8 percent over June 2009.

There were 563 homes sold in the county last month, compared with 478 for the same period in 2009, according to the Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors, based on numbers from the Triad Multiple Listing Service. Sales of existing homes in June also increased 6.8 percent from the 527 homes sold in May.

The June increase was the highest involving existing homes sold in the area since June 2008.

"Our area has continued to outpace state and national recoveries and we are very pleased to see the strength in the Winston-Salem region in existing home sales," said George Bell, the association's president. "Realtors in our area continue to be thorough, professional and realistic when working with their clients. Their expertise and credibility are two of the major reasons our market continues to make great strides forward."

Top 10 Tips to Turn your House into a Show Home

These 10 low cost tips will get you started on turning your house into a "show home". This is critical because if you want to get the most money for your home and sell more quickly, you need potential buyers (and their agents) to feel it's a "hot property".
Even if you're not moving, you will find these tips also make your home more relaxing and enjoyable to live in.

1. Consider the curb appeal.

Landscaping is nice, but not in everyone's budget. At minimum, lawns should be freshly mowed, leaves raked, or snow shoveled. Consider a hanging or potted plant for the entrance. Sweep the porch, deck and all walk ways and ensure garbage and recycling are tucked neatly away from the front of the house.

Scrub your front door, porch, outside railings and steps. This is cheaper than repainting and makes a world of difference. Once the outside entrance is clean, decide if the paint really needs a touch up.

2. Get rid of clutter!

Pick one closet or area at a time so the task isn't as daunting. Look at every item with a very critical eye and ask yourself why you're keeping it.


Remember that how you live in your home and how you sell your house are two entirely different things. You're going for a "show home" look like the one Debra Gould created here!

Forget about hanging onto items for a garage sale. Pick your favorite charity and donate it. You paid for these things long ago, why not just give them away to others who REALLY need them?

You'll probably have to edit the same closets a number of times to really whittle them down to the "essentials". If rooms and closets still look cramped, rent a storage locker. A Staging Diva Graduate Home Stager can recommend a location for you.


Removing clutter is an important starting point. A home staging professional will also know how to draw attention to the room's best features and create a focal point, as seen here in a home office staged by Debra Gould for her home staging company Six Elements Inc.

3. Turn excess inventory into cash.

If you have a collection of items for projects you never got around to, return them. This also applies to the two-year supply of light bulbs, canned goods or paper products sitting in your basement.

Without a receipt you won't get cash, but you will have a store credit that you can use once you move. Less clutter and less stuff to pack, move and unpack again!

4. Watch where the eye goes.

There are speedy and low cost solutions to many of the little problems that together make a home seem shabbier than it needs to.

Walk along each corridor and into every room and check where your eye is drawn (better yet, ask a critical friend or family member). If the eye is drawn to the chipped white paint on the door frame, take some "white out" and fill it in. If it's those old nail holes in the wall, see if you can hang a picture to cover them.

Glue any peeling wallpaper. If it's really horrible and you can't afford the time or money to fix it properly, hang pictures and strategically place baskets. You won't cover the problem entirely (which would be wrong anyway), but you will draw your audience's attention away from the problem and onto something more visually pleasing to focus on.

5. Find a fix-it person.

Ensure cupboards open and shut and that no taps are dripping. Look in all rooms for things you never got around to fixing and decide which ones might be distracting to potential buyers. No, it's not OK for door handles to fall off, even if you have learned to ignore it!


6. Clean, clean and clean again.

Most mortals can't live in a spotless environment all the time. This can be one of the more stressful aspects of having your home on the market— but it's worth the effort to sell your home for top dollar. You can hire a professional service to come in and deep clean everything; then take 20-30 minutes each day to maintain it.


Don't neglect hallways. They lead potential buyers through your home and should be bright and clutter free. Remember you're trying to maximize the feeling of space in your home! Project by Six Elements.

Appliances should sparkle even if you're not including them with the house. After all, you might throw them in later as a negotiating tool. Counter tops, taps, sinks and bathtubs should be shiny and free of water spots.

If you have a pedestal sink, don't forget the dust that collects on top of the plumbing where it attaches to the wall. If the whole sink is spotless and the taps aren't dripping, it will look new!

Dust shelves and vacuum or "Swiffer" the floors. Naturally, all beds should be made. At a recent open house for a home listed over $500,000 (and over 60 days on the market), they hadn't even bothered with these two simple steps! It made you wonder what bigger things had been neglected.

Remember clean windows let in more light and look newer. Hire a service if you have to— it's worth the investment.

If all this attention to detail seems over the top, remember that a very clean home leaves the impression that the house is well cared for. This helps put buyers at ease— especially a first time buyer who may be worried about the responsibilities of owning a house.


7. Let in some air.

Open some windows for at least 10 minutes. There is nothing worse than walking into a stuffy house or one that smells of smoke and pet odors.


8. Let in some light.

It might be mood lighting to you, but if you're trying to sell your home, keep it bright! Dimly lit rooms tend to look small and dingy— especially during the day.
If you have a particularly dark room, consider investing in a floor lamp that will bounce light off the ceiling.


If your walls are so dark that they're sucking up all the light, consider repainting. You can even buy a small can of a lighter shade of your wall color, mix it with glaze and rub it onto the wall. It will reflect light and give the room a more open feeling. This approach saves much of the preparation and clean up involved in repainting.

9. Don't forget fresh flowers.

You don't need to spend a fortune to have fresh flowers throughout your home. Even a daisy in a bud vase brightens a bathroom counter. Ask your florist which blooms last a week. You can also use potted flowering plants that are in season for a low-cost solution.
Don't use plastic or obviously fake flowers, especially in an expensive home!


10. Carefully consider music.

Soft background music can help create a soothing environment and camouflage neighbor and traffic noise. But make sure the volume is very low. Blaring TVs are definitely a no-no, but you'd be surprised how many people leave them on for showings!


Does your house look like a show home yet?

COLDWELL BANKER HIGHEST IN HOME SELLER SATISFACTION

J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES RANKS COLDWELL BANKER HIGHEST IN HOME SELLER SATISFACTION
PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Sept. 17, 2009 – Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC ranked highest among real estate companies in satisfying home sellers according to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM.
“This recognition is a testament to the brand’s legacy as an industry leader, our commitment to innovation and, above all, our powerful network,” said Jim Gillespie, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “With unsurpassed local knowledge, expertise and work ethic, we at Coldwell Banker have always felt that our network of professionals is the greatest in the industry, and we’re pleased J.D. Power and Associates recognized it.”
The independently administered study measured customer satisfaction of homebuyers and sellers among the largest national real estate firms. The study incorporates more than 3,100 evaluations from 2,801 respondents who bought or sold a home between April 2008 and June 2009. The survey was fielded between April and June 2009.
J.D. Power and Associates examined four factors in the home-selling experience including: agent; marketing; office; and package of additional services. Among home sellers, Coldwell Banker Real Estate ranked highest with a score of 815 and performed particularly well in all four factors.
Coldwell Banker Real Estate also ranked particularly high in the home-buyer segment. The brand ranked second with a score of 801 on a 1,000-point scale, performing particularly well in the office factor.
Complete results for the study can be found here.
About Coldwell Banker®Since 1906, the Coldwell Banker® organization has been a premier full-service real estate provider. In 2008, Franchise Times magazine’s prestigious Top 200 issue ranked the Coldwell Banker system No. 1 in real estate for the ninth straight year and 12th among franchisors in all industries. The Coldwell Banker System has approximately 3,500 residential real estate offices and approximately 100,000 sales associates in 47 countries and territories. The Coldwell Banker System is a leader in the industry in residential and commercial real estate, and in niche markets such as resort, new home and luxury property through its Coldwell Banker Previews International® division. It is a pioneer in consumer services with its Coldwell Banker Concierge® Service Program and award-winning Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Each office is independently owned and operated.

May Gardening Tips

Grow your own dried flowers. Raise statice, globe amaranth, straw flowers and other everlastings to provide flowers for this year's arrangements.
* Plant gladioli bulbs in late May.
*Set out marigold, petunia, ageratum and fibrous begonia transplants. All are good border plants.
*To grow annuals in containers on the patio, use a light weight soil mixture. Keep the plants well-watered, because the soil dries out fast. Apply a water soluble fertilizer according to package directions every two weeks.
*Watering roses with soaker hoses or drip irrigation will reduce the spread of black spot disease.
*Plant ground covers under shade trees that do not allow enough sunlight to grow grass. Vinca minor or English ivy are ground cover plants that grow well in shade.
*Mulch around newly planted trees and shrubs. This practice reduces weeds, controls fluctuations in soil temperature, retains moisture, prevents damage from lawn mowers and looks attractive.
*When you visit botanical gardens and arboretums, take your camera and note pad with you. Plan now for changes you will make in your landscape.
*For maximum landscape interest in a small, vertical space, try annual vines. They can disguise ugly walls and fences. When trellised, they can create shade and privacy while hiding undesirable views. Try morning glory, nasturtium vine and scarlet runner bean.
*Plan a landscaping project on paper first. Do not over plant. Be sure you know the mature size of each plant and allow for growth.
*Lawns maintained at the correct height are less likely to have disease and weed infestation. Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue should be mowed at two or three inches in height. Mow frequently, removing no more than one third of the blade at each cutting.
*Grass clippings can be used as a mulch in flower beds and vegetable gardens if allowed to dry well before use. Never use clippings from a lawn that has been treated with a herbicide.
*Cabbage loopers and imported cabbage worms are green worms. They leave large holes in the leaves of plants in the cabbage family. For control, caterpillars can be picked off by hand or sprayed with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a natural, non-toxic preparation available by various trade names.
*Newly transplanted vegetable plants should be protected from cutworms with collars. Cut strips of cardboard two inches wide by eight inches long, staple them into circles and place them around the plants. Press the collar about one inch into the soil. These collars will fence out the cutworms and protect the stems of the vegetable plants.
*Stay out of the garden when the vegetable plant leaves are wet. Walking through a wet garden spreads disease from one plant to another.
* Four or five layers of newspaper will serve as an effective mulch in the garden. Cover it with grass clippings or straw to prevent it from blowing away.
*Put tools away at the end of the day. Clean them and hang them up so they are ready to use and easy to find when you need them.
*To better evaluate your gardening successes, keep weather records along with garden records. The most important items to report are daily minimum and maximum temperatures, precipitation, cloud cover and frost occurrences.

More good news in Winston Salem!!

While much of the housing market is struggling, mid-priced, middle-class housing in some cities is on the rise. Affordability has kept these communities strong, say analysts from Forbes magazine, which examined data from Zillow.com to identify these healthy markets. Most of these markets never experienced a boom. That in conjunction with rising wages and employment has meant that increasing numbers of residents can afford to buy a home. Here are the markets where prices for mid-priced housing have risen most in the past year.* Ithaca, N.Y., median home price, $179,500; increased 5.9 percent in 2008* Winston-Salem, N.C., $136,845, 3.4 percent* Utica, N.Y., $112,737, 3.3 percent* Spartanburg, S.C., $103,437, 3 percent* Little Rock, Ark., $122,439, 2.5 percent* Pueblo, Colo., $118,877, 2.4 percent* Augusta, Ga., $109,815, 2 percent* Oklahoma City, Okla., $113,417, 2 percent* Des Moines, Iowa, $147,427, 1.7 percent* Dallas, Texas, $132,312, 1.2 percentSource: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (12/04/2008)

Winston Salem housing market is GOOD!!

Research conducted by Zillow, a company that provides online real estate values and other information, found that U.S. home values will plunge a total of $2 trillion this year.
Home values dropped 8.4 percent year-over-year in the first three quarters of 2008 compared to the same period last year, Zillow reported today, for a total nationwide home-value loss of $1.9 trillion.
One in seven (14.3 percent) of all homeowners were underwater by the end of the third quarter, owing more on their mortgage than their homes are worth.
Out of 163 metro areas tracked in Zillow's market report, 30 had gains during the first three quarters of the year compared to the same three quarters in 2007.
The values are based on the company's estimated values of individual homes, which are calculated with a proprietary formula. The company's value index calculates the median value of all single-family homes, condos and cooperatives in a given area using this formula, regardless of whether the properties are for sale.
All of the top-five worst-performing markets for home-value changes during the first three quarters (compared to the same period last year) are in California, while three of the five best-performing markets are in North Carolina.
The Stockton, Calif., metro area was the worst-performing housing market in the country during the study period, with values diving 32.3 percent in the first three quarters of 2008 compared to the same period last year. Next on the list was Merced, Calif. (down 31.2 percent); followed by Modesto, Calif. (down 30.4 percent); Salinas, Calif. (down 30 percent); and Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif. (down 27.8 percent).
And the best-performing housing markets during the same period were Jacksonville, N.C. (up 4.9 percent); Winston-Salem, N.C. (up 4.1 percent); Anderson, S.C. (up 3.5 percent); State College, Pa. (up 3.4 percent); and Burlington, N.C., up 3.1 percent.
The latest quarterly University of California, Los Angeles, Anderson Forecast noted that declines in U.S. home prices since a record peak in 2006 amount to an estimated $4.5 trillion loss in wealth. And that is coupled with a stock-price slide valued at about $7.4 trillion since December 2007 (see Inman News).
And the Federal Reserve reported this month that the combination of falling prices and stock-market declines amounted to a U.S. household loss in wealth of about $2.8 trillion during the third quarter alone (see Inman News).
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