THINK SOLD!

Monday Morning Market….

Happy Monday everyone-

I hope you all enjoyed the crazy weather this weekend. I had the joy of drinking coffee on my front porch, watching the pouring-down rain on Saturday morning, then the joy of drinking coffee on the deck in the sunshine on Sunday morning! Simple pleasures!

Every Monday I can’t wait to pull the stats out of the MLS and see what’s happened in our little town. It is so interesting to try to piece the puzzle together and figure out who sold what… Of course, today I know “who sold what” on a few properties because I am in the office, happily processing paperwork for some files our Realtors got under contract over the weekend.

We are thoroughly enjoying our new location…. Traffic has been amazing, people are here all day long (in and out) checking out our listings in the front window, and the exposure has been priceless. To have the incredible good fortune of “expanding” our business in a market where many have downsized, or worse, gone out of business, has been a true testament to the agents we have under our roof. They’ve kept their noses to the grind-stone and followed up on every referral and we have fought our way right through the last couple of years with very little change in the way we do business. Do stop by for a visit when you are downtown Geneva! Our Grand Opening & ribbon cutting is scheduled for August 5… put it on your calendar to come help us celebrate our amazing accomplishments!

Here are the stats from everything related to the MLS in Geneva, for the past 7 days…for single-family homes:

· Active listings

o 241, with list prices from $144,900 to $1,999,000 (call me about the $144,900. It’s not my listing, but it would be a GREAT rental!)

· Under contract in last 7 days=

o 8 listings! From $239,9000 to $744,900 in list prices

· Price changes=

o 14  in number, with the greatest reduction going from $995,000 to $950,000

· Closed=

o 7 in number, from $215,500 to $445,000 (43% of the closings last week were distressed sales… 2 foreclosures and 1 short sale)

In our ever expanding quest for market domination, we are asking our clients/friends/followers to check out our Facebook pages:

“Stone Tower Properties”

&

“365 things to do in Geneva, IL”

With over 400 million users, we thought it appropriate to extol the virtues of living in Geneva, to the locals and to perhaps a few interested folks who do not live here…. Yet!

If you like our pages, please hit the “LIKE” button and become one of our fans! And don’t forget to invite a few friends to do the same…..We promise you won’t be disappointed!

THINK SOLD!

Teresa Keenan

www.stonetowerproperties.com

Monday Morning Market….

Happy Monday everyone-

Well, I am back at my desk in my beautiful new office, fresh from a closing! Which brings me to yet another story…. I am assuming you actually enjoy these stories and that is why you read this blog! If that is not the case, then just skip down to the numbers and ignore my most recent real-estate trauma story!!

This morning I closed on a great listing I had in Pepper Valley. The sellers were friends of mine, who I came to know through their neighbors who are VERY DEAR friends of the crazy Keenan family. These sellers were here from England for the last 4+ years. Funny people, great kids, and just really phenomenal friends. We hated to see them leave… HATED! When they found out they were going back over the pond, they asked me if I would be interested in marketing their home. Of course, it involved a relocation company, my company, and the homeowners. The relocation company also stipulated that Relo would send a Realtor of their choice to do a market analysis of the home as well….. This is where the story gets really good!

I told the sellers, my friends, that I thought they should list at $350,000 and sell in the high $330′s to low $340′s. The other Realtor advised them to list at $290,000 and work their way through a “short sale”. My poor friends! They were horrified. They have obviously followed the media and all the “fun” that is involved in a “short sale” and they were beside themselves. Plus, they couldn’t figure out how I was so far off in price from the other Realtor. I guaranteed them that I wasn’t the one who was far off in listing price!!! Then the relocation company sent 2 appraisers, both local, to appraise the home. The first appraisal came in at $333K and the second one came in at $340K! So…. The house went on the market at $350K, we got 3 offers on it over the course of about 30 days, and it closed for $333K today! My clients were thrilled that they were not stuck with Realtor #2, who encouraged them to go the route of a short sale!!! During the course of the transaction, the buyer has officially let it be known that I am a “shark”, and today, for that, I guess I am thankful! I’d rather be a shark than a jellyfish……

Here are the stats from everything related to the MLS in Geneva, for the past 7 days…for single-family homes:

• Active listings
  
  • 241, with list prices from $144,900 to $1,999,000 (call me about the $144,900…. It would be a GREAT rental!)
    
• Under contract in last 7 days=
  
  • 9 listings! From $259,850 to $435,000 in list prices
    
• Price changes=
  
  • 12 in number, with the greatest reduction going from $874,900 to $759,900
    
• Closed=
  
  • 8 in number, from $245,000 to $570,000
    

There are some amazing deals out there right now! I wish I could get more people to purchase an income property right now… the rental market is strong, and with the property values down so low, you can get an amazing deal, rent it out, get the tax benefits and the benefit of the property increasing in value over the upcoming years. Think of what a gift it would be to give your kids a rental property that has paid for itself and will continue to generate revenue for years to come!! It’s such a great way to build wealth, especially with the interest rates being offered. Call me for a confidential consultation! I’ll give you the scoop!

That’s it for now. Please stop by when you are downtown Geneva! We are so proud of our new location and our business….. Keep us in mind for friends/neighbors/co-workers that might be in need of a great Realtor…. We have plenty of great Realtors and we want to do business with you!

THINK SOLD!

Teresa Keenan

www.stonetowerproperties.com