Cindy's Blog

Started in 1970, Earth Day has always been a day to really pay a bit more attention to the earth, and do a little (hopefully more than just a little) more for the earth that gives us so much.

How does that really relate to real estate, you might ask? Well, the answer is- in a number of ways. One of the biggest ways is in the way we use our energy- from both an efficiency and a conservation standpoint.

When you're buying a new home, it's always a good idea to pay attention to things like the utility bills of the current owners, and check out what sort of systems they have. Not just with an eye to your pocketbook, and when they may need to be repaired or replaced, but also with a goal in mind of reducing your carbon footprint. (Although I fear that phrase is somewhat overused now).

The estimated life of a heat pump is around 15 years, give or take a few. But perhaps more importantly than just the replacement cost, look at the other costs associated with keeping that unit. Probably, if it's over 10 years old or so, it's going to be much less energy efficient, and have a much larger negative impact on the environment than a newer, Energy Star rated unit. Oh, yeah, and it's going to save you money on your heating and cooling bills. No question about it.

The same holds true with most of those other appliances. Whether or not you're buying or selling, unless you're a caterer, or perhaps a hunter (?) you probably don't need that extra fridge or freezer that's sucking juice off the power grid. It's most likely the one your new one replaced, so even if you have a brand spanking new Energy Star fridge in the kitchen, some of that good mojo is going to be canceled out by the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang model in the garage... Think about it.

I'll try to be back later, but definitely tomorrow, and in the meantime, have a lovely Earth Day (or what's left of it) and try making a resolution for yourself, your office, or your family- here are some suggestions

Use less power- attach your electronics to a power strip and turn it off when not in use.

Use less fuel- plan your trips so you're not backtracking and driving all over town every day.

Make less trash- Recycling is awesome, and very necessary, but wouldn't it be great if we paid attention to the amount of packaging things had and avoided those with too much. Trust me, both the garbage and recycling workers would appreciate it, as will the earth.

There are many, many others- what can you think of??

Whether you're getting ready to sell, or you've just moved in, tis the season to get things done and give your home a once over- cleaning, gardening, repairs, etc. One thing that you may want to add to your list this year (because I know you weere thinking of things to add to your list!) is a bit of a green tuneup. I get asked all the time "should I do this?" "should I do that?" "Where is my money most well spent?" "Is it worth doing??" Well, this handy chart, courtesy of greenandsave.com, you should get a bit of a better idea on what things you can afford, what the return on investment is, and what your savings will be right off the bat. If you want to know what sorts of things might be a good sales tool if you are looking to sell your home, give me a call or send me an email, and we can talk!

http://www.greenandsave.com/master_roi_table.html

GREEN 'Tune-Up'	Payback Time in Years:	Added Cost:	Annual SAVINGS	10 Year SAVINGS	Return on Investment (ROI):
Programmable Thermostat - Learn More	0.6	$115	$180	$1,800	156.5%
Standby Power Reduction - Learn More	0.8	$20	$24	$240	120%
Compact Fluorescent Lighting - Learn More	0.8	$60	$80	$800	133.3%
Hot Water Heater 'Blanket' - Learn More	0.8	$25	$30	$300	120%
Shower Heads - Learn More	0.9	$180	$300	$3,000	111.1%
Heating System Tune-up - Learn More	1.1	$200	$180	$1,800	90%
Seal Duct Leaks - Learn More	1.5	$450	$300	$3,000	66.7%
Dishwasher - Learn More	1.5	$20	$13	$130	65%
Water Filters - Learn More	1.9	$200	$104	$1,040	52%
Water Efficient Toilets - Learn More	2.0	$50	$25	$250	50%
TOTAL SAVINGS and Average Payback / ROI	Payback Time in Years:	Added Cost:	Annual SAVINGS	10 Year SAVINGS	Return on Investment (ROI):
See the Return on Investment rankings to help you decide…	1.2	$1,320	$1,136	$11,360	96.5%

I was on the phone yesterday with someone in California, and it really hit home to me how much luckier we are here in the Richmond area than in much of the rest of the country. While things are definitely slow, and certainly much slower than any seller would want it, we are at least (knock wood) not competing at every turn with foreclosures, as they are in California, Florida, and many other places you've probably read about or seen on the news.

To take a year by year look at the market as we really get into the "swing of spring"- here are a few facts and figures to mull over:

(All of these numbers and data are courtesy of the Central VA Regional MLS, and are based on comparisons between last March/ April and this March/ April)

We still have over 38,000 active listings in our mls- of course this is every price range, and every area.

The average days on market has only actually gone up by 12 days year over year, to reach the current 75 days. (This is definitely skewed by area, price, etc., but is just a general idea of our marketplace as a whole)

As usual and expected, the "first time buyer" range of 125k- 225k is the one with the most movement as far as pending listings. Particularly with the incredibly low interest rates, the first time buyer $8000 tax credit, and the fact that those things have swung the benefit back from renting to buying, there are definitely more first time buyers out there. That's great news if you are a seller with a home in that price range, but if you have your home listed and it's in the price range beyond the $250's or so, you are definitely going to miss out on some of those first time buyers. More buyers are making smarter decision to not overextend, and even if they wanted to, the lenders are not inclined to let them.

As for price, the median price has gone down as well (funny how the price of the things that we need to buy seldom goes down, even though the value of our house or the wages someone is willing to pay us doesn't change!) from approximately 263k to 251k. In addition to that, the overall Asking to Sold price ratio has indeed dropped from 98% to 96%.

 In a nutshell- if you're putting your house on the market, you need to bring your A game, and you need to price it right. Even still, you can often expect that you won't get quite what you want. But it is getting better..

Well, the Richmond Times Dispatch has announced this Sunday that they are "changing the format" of the real estate section, and moving many of the sections to other parts of the paper. Just another sign of the times in the apparent demise of print media. It definitely is a mixed blessing (not the death of print media, but the change in format of the section). It sounds like they are going to make it like the "Celebrations" section, and have much more paid content, and much less "real" content. Unfortunately, I hate that section, and I don't even open it unless I know someone who is getting married that weekend.

The facts are, the world of real esate, as everything else, is changing, and we all have to keep up. You'll see more open house announcements via realtor.com, and other web sources, as well as other media that we may not even have yet, but most of this is going to help the consumer, so that's definitely good news for you!