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Buying or selling a home affects your life and finances like few other decisions.
When you're ready, be as well-informed as possible. Find a realtor you trust,
know the market, and get your questions answered.
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There are many good reasons to work with a realtor when buying or selling.
One of the best is that they keep abreast of the market and have access
to information that is not available to the public.
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How many properties like mine have sold recently? How many are on the market now?
How long does it take them to sell?
How much are sellers discounting? How many new listings are
coming on to the market? What are the trends in these figures?
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Buyers and sellers are no longer settling for
answers like “The market’s slow” or "Things aren't moving".
With the technology available today, realtors can do much better.
For the commission you’re paying, you deserve the latest market information.
A good realtor will provide it.
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Many factors, national and local, affect the real estate market.
And different parts of the market move differently, even in the same town.
While prices of million dollar homes may be under pressure, $200K condos may be
holding up quite well. Or vice versa.
One thing is for sure. Each property is unique. And chances are that the value
of your property has not changed in exactly the same way as the national,
state, or town averages. When you’re ready to sell, you will want the most
up to date information on properties like yours.
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When a realtor shows you listings of properties “comparable” to yours,
check the dates of the sales. In the case of, say, a large condominium complex,
there may be several recent sales of similar units. However, in many cases,
the transactions may be months old. Since the market can move significantly over
several months, those prices need to be adjusted to accurately reflect the value
of your property.
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