Summer 2017 New Haven Market Update

Today I wanted to give you an update on how the market is doing, and what that means for you as a seller.

Today I wanted to talk about how the market is doing, especially here in New Haven and around Wallingford.

The median list price in the Wallingford is around $299,900. The demand is actually increasing and the days on the market for properties are trending downward, so we’re actually seeing a lot more multiple offer situations on a lot of these properties, which is great for sellers. The market action index for Wallingford is around 36.2, which is incredible because about six months ago, it was under 30.

We’re seeing a lot more multiple-offer situations, which is great for sellers.

The market action index tells us how the market is doing by measuring what’s for sale versus what’s actually selling. Any market action index below a 30 implies a buyer’s advantage. Any index of a 30 or above implies a seller’s advantage. 

So today’s value of 36.2 means a seller’s advantage, and it’s actually trending upward. What that means is if you’re thinking about selling your home, now is the time to put it on the market. There is high demand in Wallingford, New Haven, and Fairfield counties. In most of Connecticut, there is a high demand for homes. Yes, there is a lot of inventory, but there aren’t a lot of good homes for sale. Good homes tend to sell a lot quicker.

If you’re thinking about selling your home, give us a call and let us come down to take a look at your home. We’ll give you an honest, real estimate of what your home is worth. We’d also love to show you some of the innovative marketing that we’re doing to help get homes sold, like professional photography and videography.

If you have any questions about this topic or you’re looking to buy or sell a home, give me a call. I look forward to working with you!

A Home Makeover Contest for Frustrated Sellers

The Carbutti Home Makeover Contest is now open! If you’re a frustrated home seller, you have a chance to win a free home makeover that will help you finally sell that property.

Today I’m excited to announce that we are running a small contest. 

We are looking for frustrated home sellers. If you’ve had your house on the market for awhile and it hasn’t sold yet for one reason or another, this contest is for you. 

We will do a complete home makeover on your property. Our treat. 

We’ll bring in a professional home staging company who will bring in new furniture and beautifully redecorate and rearrange your home. We will even paint and make small repairs—with your permission. Remember, all of these updates are on us. 

Our goal is to help you sell your home.

We will document the whole process from start to finish. Our goal is to succeed very quickly and sell your home, even if it failed to sell in the first place.

So, how do you enter the contest?  

Simply send an email to jonathan.carbutti@gmail.com and include the subject line, “Carbutti Home Makeover Contest.” In the body of the email, briefly explain your situation and include your address and a valid phone number.

Then, we will reach out to you to ask a few more questions and interview you for the contest. 

I look forward to reading your submissions and working on your home!

The Importance of Marketing & Positioning Your Home Online

Homes are getting left behind in today’s market because they’re not marketed properly online. There’s a way you can ensure your home doesn’t suffer the same fate.

If you’re a home seller, marketing and positioning your property online in today’s marketplace is critical.

Nobody knows better what buyers are looking for than the buyers themselves. They usually know whether a home is right for them within the first few minutes or even the first 30 to 60 seconds after walking in the front door. The problem is getting them excited enough to actually come see your property in person. If you can’t get them to commit to physically seeing your property, they’ll never have a chance fall in love with it.

One of the problems we’ve been experiencing in the marketplace is gorgeous properties being marketed and positioned all wrong. There are buyers in the marketplace whom these properties are perfect for, but these buyers overlook these properties because of the quality of their photos or videos or they lack professional photography and/or videos altogether. 

There’s never been a better time to market your home online.

There has never been a better time to market your home online, and we can help you do it the right way. Our team offers professional photography, professional video services, professional floor plans, and 360-degree matterport videos that people can view from the comfort of their own home.

If you’re looking at selling your home and you’re looking to work with a professional real estate marketing company and not just a real estate agent, give us a call. We’d love to help you sell your house for top dollar.

What a Fantastic Endorsement From Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts

Recently, we were fortunate enough to be endorsed by Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts. Here’s what he had to say about our team.

We were fortunate enough to recently land an endorsement from one of our favorite musicians, Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts. You can check out the full endorsement in the video above, but what really stood out to us was that the message of his music and the message of our business aren’t so different after all.

“When 'I’m Moving On' won the award for ACM song of the year, it struck a chord with folks who understand the challenges that come with life’s big changes. For many, that time comes when they sell their home. If you’re moving on, you want a team that will make selling your home easy and stress-free.” - Gary LeVox

It’s always our goal to make things as stress-free as possible.

He hit the nail on the head there. It’s always our goal to make things as stress-free as possible for all of our buyers and sellers. We outsold every agent in Fairfield and New Haven County in 2016 and if we can’t sell your home at a price and deadline that we both agree to, we will buy it.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Kind Words From Danny Lyons About Carbutti & Co.

We appreciate all the kind words we receive from our past clients. Here’s one of them, WEBE 108’s Danny Lyons. 

We were recently fortunate enough to talk to Danny Lyons from WEBE 108 right in the Lyon’s Den. Danny has worked with us in the past and has a lot of nice things to say about his experience, such as:

“Jonathan’s a family man. That’s really important to me. He’s also loyal like I am. I’ve been loyal to my listeners for over 30 years and I know that if you were to hire Jonathan to be your agent, he would be loyal to you and commit himself completely to getting the job done.”

We’re proud to have Danny in our corner.

A lot of real estate companies have their phone lines set up to go to a switchboard or a team of ISAs who may or may not be able to connect you with the person you’re looking for, even if you just had a quick question. That’s not what we do, as Danny points out.

“When you call that number, I think it’s Jonathan’s cell phone. The first time I called it, he answered the phone. To me, that means a lot. To be able to get right through to the guy who has his name on the company? That’s customer service.”

Thanks to Danny for the kind words. We appreciate having him in our corner. If you have any questions for us or want to know what we can do specifically to help you with your real estate goals, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you soon.

Why HUD Homes Are Hidden Gems in Our Market

HUD homes are a great option for buyers. Here’s why.

I know, I sound like a broken record talking about HUD homes. You’re probably sick of me talking about them, but listen. The reason I’m continuing to discuss these homes is because I want to get some of you off the fence by seeing the incredible value here.

Just this morning, a three bedroom, one bathroom home came on the market in Wallingford. It’s a 3-bedroom, one-bathroom, and a one-car garage home on a half-acre lot. This home is currently listed for sale at $149,000. It’s available to owner-occupants first, meaning that if you plan on living in the property, you get the first shot at it.

Here’s the other great news about this HUD home in particular. It’s marked as insurable. That means is that HUD will sell this property to someone who is going for an FHA mortgage and insure it for only a 3.5% down payment.

If you’re a first-time buyer, you would have to be crazy not to consider jumping on these homes. Yes, they might need a paint job or new flooring, but the bones are all there. If an HUD home is marked as insurable, that means the electric, plumbing, and furnace all work, so you don’t have to worry about replacing them, unless you find something different at your inspection.

An insured HUD home is ideal.

Another great thing about HUD homes is that you can inspect them. A lot of people think they can’t, but they’re wrong. It’s true that you do have to buy these properties as-is, but an inspection can be a very useful tool in deciding whether you’re making the right decision. If you have an inspection done and find something wrong with the home you didn’t know about before, you have two options. You can either make the decision to go through with the purchase or you can back out of the deal, get your deposit back, and go buy something else.

I’m oversimplifying the process, but the truth is that it is simple for me because I’ve sold and purchased so many of them. I’ve sold and bid on hundreds of HUD homes. If you have any questions about them whatsoever or would like more details about what the process is like, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Latest Trends in Our Local Real Estate Market

How is the market doing in Wallingford and New Haven County? This January has been the busiest start to a new year that we’ve seen in awhile, and it looks like the spring market will be extremely busy, too. 

Here is your market update for Wallingford and New Haven County:

The median list price is at $299,900. That is the median list price, not the median sales price. Inventory has been tightening and days on market are decreasing, which is great news for sellers.

Personally, I’ve noticed that January of 2017 has been the busiest start to a new year that we’ve seen in three years. If that’s any indication of how the spring market is going to be, things are looking good.

It looks like the spring market will be an extremely busy one!

If you are looking to upgrade from your first home, now is one of the best times to do so. You will get the most house for your money because of these low interest rates. Rates are expected to rise as the year goes on, so the sooner you can buy, the better. Remember, as interest rates go up, your buying power goes down. 

One of the other things I want to point out is the market action index. The market action index tells us how the market is doing by measuring what’s for sale versus what’s actually selling. Anything 30 or below means that the buyer has an advantage in the market, while anything over 30 means that sellers have the advantage. Right now, the market action index is at 29.1, so the market is fairly balanced. However, that number is heading upwards, which is good news for sellers.

If you have any other questions about the marketplace or about selling your home, give us a call or send us an email. My team and I would be happy to help you!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! 

 It’s the start of a new year, and I wanted to give you an important real estate tip. The spring market starts now! Even if you’re thinking about putting your house on the market in May or June, you should be speaking with a real estate professional now, to come up with a game-plan. 

If you’re thinking about putting your home on the market, please contact us for a free consultation. We’ll be happy to set up an appointment with you to go over the value of your home, and our marketing plans.