Feb 24, 2014 Common Deal Killing Mistakes As an agent, you have an obligation to stop your clients from making simple mistakes that may sabotage a sale. The most common staging mistakes are as follows: COLLECTION OVERLOAD. The home needs to look orderly and neutral. Even a desirable collection can come across as a pile of space consuming clutter. Let your seller know that while the collection is admirable, a potential buyer will most likely prefer a more neutral home. ECHO CHAMBER STAGING. It seems bad staging ideas amplified more than good ones. That bold wallpaper or bright colored paint may seem like a good idea at the time, but a prospective buyer may feel otherwise. They may keep echoing in a buyers mind and over shadow the pleasant aspects of the home. Tactfully suggest to your seller that while the wallpaper is lovely, a buyer may prefer a more subtle pattern or color. FAILURE TO EDIT. Help your clients edit, edit, edit and the edit some more. Tell your client to look at it pre-packing. If your client seems reluctant to follow your suggestions, ask them to call in a few friends to offer their suggestions. That plain-spoken friend can get the point across in a much less subtle way.

Feb. 15, 2014 Top 3 Ways To Turn a Seller Off 1.Unjustified or extremely low offers. Be realistic. No seller wants to take as offer that is obviously far below market value. They will turn down the offer and, perhaps, not even bother with a counteroffer. Show buyers recent sales prices of similar homes in the neighborhood. 2.Buyer side mortgage fails. Lending standards have changed in the last few years. This means a buyer may not be as readily approved as in past. A sellers worse nightmare is to accept an offer only to find out weeks or even months later that the buyer cannot get approval for the loan 3. Bashing the house. Buyers may start bad-mouthing the house and/or neighbor heed in hopes of getting a lower price. This can turn off the seller immediately. Tell your buyers this will not work. I only servers to irritate the seller.

Feb. 7, 2014

New Powder Just in time for the annual championship snow shovel races, we get 12 inches of new snow. The Ice Fishing Tournament, however, has been cancelled, so put away those rods and wax your shovel. You may even see yourself on TV. This event is usually covered by our local news stations. Along with the shovel races, Angel Fire will be hosting their fun filled Winter Carnival, with live music and other fun filled activities. When you need a respite from all this fun, stop by New Mexico Mountain Properties. How about a condo? New Mexico Mountain Properties has several condos in the heart of Angel Fire and very close to the slopes. Rather have a house. New Mexico Mountain Properties is sure to have your perfect dream home at a very affordable price. If you don't find that perfect dream home, the maybe you would prefer to build your own. New Mexico Mountain Properties has 10 and 20 acre parcels of land as well as lots. Now is the time to buy, as it is still a buyer's market here in Angel Fire.

Recently surveyed builders expressed surging confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes among buyers age 55 and up.

According to the results of the latest National Association of Home Builders 55+ Housing Market Index – which measures builders' confidence on a scale where any number above 50 indicates more builders view conditions as good than poor – confidence in the market for single-family homes increased 20 points year-over-year to a level of 48, the highest fourth-quarter reading since the NAHB began tracking the data in 2008.

Robert Karen, chairman of the NAHB's 50+ Housing Council, said they are seeing continued improvement in the 55+ housing market because consumers have gained confidence in the economy and are able to sell their current homes and move into a new home or condo that fits the lifestyle they desire. Karen expects this optimism from builders and developers to carry through 2014. All individual components of the single-family HMI showed significant improvement, with confidence in present sales levels climbing 26 points from one year ago.

The Taos real estate market has always been popular with the boomer crowd. Seniors from all over the world have been retiring here in recent years, attracted by our quiet way of life, the beautiful vistas, and fantastic year-round climate. Although existing vacation homes, second homes, condos and casitas have been popular, land inquiries are picking up, indicating a desire of some to build the retirement home of their dreams. Land prices have dropped from their highs of 2008, but this report could portend renewed interest in land, with the result of higher land prices in the future.

The Census Bureau's Housing Vacancy Survey tracks the homeownership and vacancy rates for owner-occupied and rental housing across the country. . .

Since they began tracking this data in 1965, the results have shown a steady rise in the number of Americans who own their own home. From an early low of 62.9 percent, the homeownership rate climbed to a high of 65.8 percent in the 1980s before settling into a roughly 10-year period where it hovered around 64 percent. Then, in the mid-1990s, homeownership levels began to rise again, setting a new high in 2004 at 69.2 percent.

Since falling during the financial crisis and recent recession, the homeownership rate has, once again, settled.

The latest data shows the rate has plateaued at 65 percent and has remained virtually the same since the 2nd quarter of 2013. If the homeownership rate stays at 65 percent, it would be higher than the historical norm but still below the highs of the housing bubble.

And bubbles are bad for those buyers looking for a great deal on a primary residence, land or vacation home. Bubbles mean inflated prices and lots of craziness in the market. Our Taos market feels very steady right now; prices have bottomed for the moment, but haven't spiked as they do in a bubble market.

This means, if interest rates stay calm, that this spring could be the best time to buy your home, land or condo in the Taos area. Remember, Taos is one of the best small towns in the country for retirement.