This Week's Edition of National Real Estate News 7/29/2013 (Video)

This week's national real estate news update -New construction sales up 29% since 2012, five signs it's time to buy a home, and home prices up nearly 20% in some areas.  Click here for more- about moving, home buying strategies and interest rates.

Click here for this months newsletter and our video news channel.

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

Search for properties on any of our sites, or get the very best visibility available for your home. Visit us online wherever you like: Find out more about Judy here

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com      www.TheCTrealtyBlog.com     www.TheCTRB.com    and   www.CTfeaturedHomes.com 

 Email us or  call Toll Free (855) GET-JUDY

Best Buyer Tips: Open Houses are NOT the Best Way to Search For Homes

Did you know that just yesterday there were 341 open houses in ALL of Fairfield County? That's not even ten percent of the 4,292 available single family homes!

Yesterday's open houses comprised less than eight percent of all homes listed that were open to the public on Sunday..At that rate, it would take over three MONTHS to see all the houses for sale!

For your own edification, in our immediate area, yesterday's open houses included:
 
 36 open houses in Westport- out of 289 homes for sale, or just  12.45%

 11 open houses in Trumbull out of 159 homes for sale,  or just  6.9%

 27 open houses in Norwalk out of 288 homes for sale ,  or just  9.375%

 58 open houses in Fairfield  out of 426 homes for sale,  or just  13.62%

 9 open houses in Easton out of 80 homes for sale, or just  11.25%
 
So what are open houses good for? Three things.

1. Getting a feel for the market if you are just starting your search.
2. Meeting an agent that you feel would be a good fit to help you in your home search.
3. Meeting an agent to represent you in the sale of your home.

Many homes never have an open house, and one of those homes could be the perfect house for you. When you work with an agent, you won't miss out on that perfect property.

Likewise, if you are looking to meet an agent to represent you in the sale of your home, well...

...  I just happen to know someone :)

Contact me when you are ready to buy or sell your home, and check out my video resume, if you like.

Phone (203) 257-5892  or email at Judy@BestAgentsOnline.com

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The Featured Home of the Week is at 125 Norton Road in Easton  for $1,349,900. See the virtual tour HERE

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

Search for properties on any of our sites, or get the very best visibility available for your home. Visit us online wherever you like:

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com      www.TheCTrealtyBlog.com     www.TheCTRB.com    and   www.CTfeaturedHomes.com 

 Email us or  call Toll Free (855) GET-JUDY

Does it Matter Which MLS Your CT Home For Sale is Listed in?

You may think of the MLS as just a database of homes, and you would be essentially correct. However, Realtors utilize the MLS and its power to get your home sold in ways that you may not have thought of.

The MLS ( Multiple Listing Service ) is essentially an agreement between brokers that incorporate the amount of compensation offered to the buyers agent upon completion of a sale. Listing Brokers want to get your home sold, and buyers brokers want to find their client a home, and this is a great tool for both.

In Connecticut, there are two highly dominant MLS service areas, as well as a few local MLS regions which are mostly in the southernmost part of Fairfield County.

The Greater Fairfield County MLS (GFC-CMLS) serves all of Fairfield County and 7,500 local agents (except that Greenwich, New Canaan and Darien's listings are served primarily by another MLS, and not always placed on GFC-CMLS)

The CTmls.ctreal covers the entire state, however, the Fairfield County listings are quite sparse on this site. If you are listing your home, or looking to purchase a home in New Haven County, New London County, Tolland or Litchfield Counties, this MLS is absolutely the place to be.

The other night, a seller client asked me if I would place her home on the statewide MLS. (Her home is in Fairfield County) Now while that seems to be like a good idea, the vast majority of the thousands of agents of the Fairfield County MLS (the GFC-CMLS) DO NOT BELONG to the statewide MLS,  for the simple reason that it does not effectively cover their service area.

Case in point: A search for all Fairfield homes for sale in the statewide MLS  (ctmls.ctreal) turned up just 15 results, where the GFC-CMLS turned up 330.

So, in order to effectively and properly represent this particular client, it is imperative to list it within the GFC-CMLS service area. That's where it would get the most exposure.

I am not saying that listing it in the statewide MLS would do any harm, it would just be in addition to. It would be most important to utilize the statewide MLS in addition to the local MLS when a home is very unique in some way.

Incidentally, if you have noticed duplicate listings on Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia, it is primarily because the home has been listed in two separate MLS areas.

PLEASE NOTE: My www.CTfeaturedHomes.com  incorporates ALL of the state's MLS systems, so you won't miss any property anywhere ;)

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The Featured Home of the Week is at 125 Norton Road in Easton  for $1.4M. See the virtual tour HERE

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

Search for properties on any of our sites, or get the very best visibility available for your home. Visit us online wherever you like:

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com      www.TheCTrealtyBlog.com     www.TheCTRB.com    and   www.CTfeaturedHomes.com 

 Email us or  call Toll Free (855) GET-JUDY

The 3.8 Percent Medicare Tax Beginning 1/1/2013 is NOT on All Property Sales.

Despite what you may have read, this tax is NOT on all real estate sales. The criteria for the tax does not, or will not  affect every homeowner across the board.

First, this tax is not aimed at homebuyers. The new 3.8 percent "Medicare tax" is on unearned income, and translates to an additional tax for homesellers only , and  further,  only under the following circumstances:

The new tax applies only to:

• Single taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $200,000 ,and

• Married taxpayers with a MAGI in excess of $250,000 if filing a joint return, or $125,000 if filing a separate return.

These taxpayers  pay the tax on their gain from the sale of their primary residence, but only on the amount of gain that exceeds the  $250,000 thresholds  for single taxpayers, and  $500,000 for joint tax returns.  

The tax is equal to 3.8% of the lesser of the taxpayers’ “net investment income” or the amount by which their MAGI exceeds their respected  threshold. Note the following example, offered by Realtor.org-

"John and Mary sold their principal residence and realized a gain of $525,000.
Th ey have $325,000 Adjusted Gross Income (before adding taxable gain).
Th e tax applies as follows:
AGI Before Taxable Gain $325,000
Gain on Sale of Residence $525,000
Taxable Gain (Added to AGI) $25,000 ($525,000 – $500,000)
New AGI $350,000 ($325,000 + $25,000 taxable gain)
Excess of AGI over $250,000 $100,000 ($350,000 – $250,000)
Lesser Amount (Taxable) $25,000 (Taxable gain)
Tax Due $950 ($25,000 x 0.038)

If John and Mary had a gain of less than $500,000 on the sale of their residence,
none of that gain would be subject to the 3.8% tax. Whether they paid the 3.8% tax
would depend on the other components of their $325,000 AGI."

If you have any questions about this tax, and whether it applies to you, please consult your accountant.

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The Featured Home of the Week is at 125 Norton Road in Easton  for $1.4M. See the virtual tour HERE

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

Search for properties on any of our sites, or get the very best visibility available for your home. Visit us online wherever you like:

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com      www.TheCTrealtyBlog.com     www.TheCTRB.com    and   www.CTfeaturedHomes.com 

 Email us or  call Toll Free (855) GET-JUDY

Do You Agree With How Your Realtor is Marketing Your Home?

Okay, you did what you felt was your due diligence and conducted interviews with various agents before placing your home on the market. You opted to go with one agent that seemed to stand out to you for their marketing prowess.

And now, just a few weeks into the agreement, you wished you had asked other questions before deciding on who was going to represent your best interests in selling your home, and are not so sure anymore whether you chose the best agent for the job.

What are those would have, should have questions?

1. Do I get a copy of the listing agreement?
2. Will you run the proposed MLS remarks by me before the listing goes live?
3. Do I have the final say on what information goes into the MLS fact sheet?
4. Do I get to approve the marketing materials for my home before it goes "public"?
5. How many photos will you take of my home, and do I get final approval on them?
6. Will I get to approve the digital marketing for my home?
7. How often will you update me? Can that be made as part of the contract?
8. What online listing enhancements will you implement on my behalf, and on what sites?
9. Will my home have a virtual tour?
10. How will you utilize Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets to sell my home?
11. If I am unhappy with your services, will you cancel the contract?

I am convinced by looking at the overwhelming majority of listings that most homeowners have never even seen their property's information as it appears on the MLS- if they had, they would be furious.

It is your right as a home seller to see and approve the information that is disseminated to the masses to sell your home. At the end of the day, it is YOU that is responsible for any errors in your listing, and YOU become liable for any  misrepresentations about your home. YOU are the one that suffers, and that goes for mis-handled marketing as well.  So take control if you need to, but ask these very important questions BEFORE you sign a listing agreement with any agent.

If you want and need a listing agent who will do what SHOULD be expected of them, put it into writing as part of the contract, AND get your home sold, call me.

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The Featured Home of the Week is at 125 Norton Road in Easton  for $1.4M. See the virtual tour HERE

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

Search for properties on any of our sites, or get the very best visibility available for your home. Visit us online wherever you like:

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com      www.TheCTrealtyBlog.com     www.TheCTRB.com    and   www.CTfeaturedHomes.com 

 Email us or  call Toll Free (855) GET-JUDY