*** THE PROBLEM ***

We’ve all done it.  You see a “For Sale” sign in the neighbor’s yard and rather than directly asking the neighbor what they want for their home, we reach for the flyer instead (and hope they are not watching us from the front window).  Why not just ask?  Well, I think most people find it a little awkward to talk about anything related to money.  Either that, or they are afraid they will look like the nosey neighbor, Mrs. Kravitz, from the old “Bewitched” TV show (maybe you are too young to remember that).

Anyway- the next thing you know, you see the “sold” sign and the moving van in the driveway.  Is that the right time to knock on the door and ask what it sold for?  Or do you just “stake out” their front yard to casually run into them when they come out to pick up their mail or put the next box in the van.  That may be even more awkward…  as sellers rarely want to tell people if they didn’t get their full asking price.

Then, you wake up one morning and the moving van and the For Sale sign are gone- and so is your chance of getting all the details on the house.  Sound familiar?  If you are like most people, you may know what your neighbor originally asked for the house- but what did they actually get for it?  Did they drop the price a few times after you took that first peek at the flyer?

When I interview sellers about listing their homes, this seems to be the experience most people have.  They know the asking price, but not the final sold price.  They do not know whether the seller gave any concessions to the buyer.  And, unless they were friends with the seller or attended an open house, most of the time they do not know what the neighbor’s house even looked like inside.

That makes it hard to get a good feel for what your own home may be worth at any given time.  Home values rise and fall like stock price values.  Your home’s value is based on what your neighbors’ homes sold for- and only those sales that closed in the most recent 3-6 months count in that valuation.  Moreover,  “value adjustments” are usually made for any significant differences when comparing  sold homes to yours (like square footage, the number and configuration of bedrooms & bathrooms, views, finishes, updates, recent maintenance items replaced, energy efficiency features, etc).  That is why it is important to know more than what the sold property looked like from the front yard.   If you have never seen the inside of comparable homes in your neighborhood, and don’t know what they ultimately sold for, how are you to know how your home compares?

*** THE SOLUTION ***

The obvious answer would be to ask a real estate agent (like me) when you are ready to sell.  But assuming you are not ready for that yet, and you just want to keep an eye on property values, maybe I can still help you out.   I have a quick and easy way for you to be automatically notified when a home in your neighborhood goes up for sale, when it gets sold, what’s its asking price is, and what it ultimately sells for.  The notification also sends you website links to see any interior photos and virtual tours available for the property.  No need to ask the awkward questions of your neighbor, and no need to hope a realtor will send out a postcard to tell you what’s going on in your neighborhood.  Best of all, the service is FREE!

HERE IS HOW TO SIGN UP TO GET THE NOTIFICATION!

Use the contact form below to let me know which area you would like to monitor (by neighborhood name and city, or street boundaries).  Or, leave your street address and I will look up your neighborhood for you.  Let me know if you would like to be more specific about the kinds of homes you want to be notified about (like- “I only want to be notified of detached homes that are 2,000 sqft or larger and that have at least 4 bedrooms, in The Ranch Reserve neighborhood”, etc).   Once set up, you will receive an email each time a home in your area of interest is listed in the MLS, has a price change, goes under contract, comes back on the market or is sold or withdrawn.  You can view the photos & virtual tours and read the descriptions of the properties’ features for as long as the properties remain on the market!   This is a great tool for staying informed on the market in your neighborhood!  It is easy to sign up and the service is FREE-  no strings attached!  This service works for any home along the front range in the Denver Metro area and Northern Colorado!

Just fill out the form below to sign up today, or to contact me with any questions you may have about the real estate market.