St. Cloud MN Real Estate Video Blog with Chris Hauck

My Expert Advice for Sellers in St. Cloud

There are many great St. Cloud area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (320) 240-3363 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

St. Cloud Real Estate - Tips for Sellers

I would like to let you know that our market here in St. Cloud is starting off very strongly, and we expect it to pick up as spring and summer approach. I'm going to start off by addressing some questions that I've been receiving from clients.

Listing Price vs Selling Price

Pricing a home is a very touchy thing, and you have to know how the market is functioning in order to determine a good listing price, which is what the seller initially asks for the home. The selling price is what the home actually sells for.

When we look at the market and trying to price homes, we look very closely at three different things:

How many homes have sold and closed? This will help determine what you can list your home at. You want an attractive sale price, and one that will also match closely with the value that an appraiser gives it. If your value does not match the appraiser's, you're going to be in trouble, so price your home carefully.
What is selling right away today? This will help determine your price, so you want to look at comparable properties and what they are selling for, as well as how fast they are selling.
What are you competing with? You need to know what sort of competition you will be facing in order to price and market your property correctly.

Currently, homes in St. Cloud are selling in 2-8 weeks. Some are staying on the market longer because they may be priced 5-10% too high, and they probably have some repairs that should be made.

So, once we bring your home on the market, we are going to be paying attention to what is happening in the market and how it is going to impact the sale of your home. We pay attention to new listings, sale prices, and inventory so that we can monitor your sale and get you top dollar for your home.

When you get a purchase agreement on your home, we will present it to you and make sure the home closes smoothly and that the agreement will benefit you as the seller. I have closed over 3,000 transactions, so I know how to make this process as painless as possible.

If you're looking to sell your home in the St. Cloud area, please contact us and we would be more than willing to help price, list and market your home so that you can get top dollar.

Valuable Information about Closing Your Property in a Sale

I just wanted to take the time to answer some questions about what occurs during the closing of a property. Lots of clients have been asking me about this lately, and I wanted to take the time to address these issues.

How long does it take to close a property?
A very quick closing in the St. Cloud market would be in about 4 weeks. A more average length of time to close a home in our area is anywhere from 45-60 days. At this time of year with a more sluggish market, it isn't uncommon to have a closing date anywhere from 90 to maybe 120 days out. However, homes are selling pretty well right now in St. Cloud, so I would be inclined to say that it would take about 45 days to close a home.

Another question that keeps popping up is: Who sets the closing date?
The closing date is actually negotiable between the buyer and the seller, but ultimately you have to check in with the buyer's lender to see when the closing date will actually occur. Usually it will be within 45 days, but you should probably know this beforehand.

When does everybody move?
Typically, the seller will be moving out of the home and leaving it vacant on the day of the closing. Of course, this can be negotiated, but most often this is what occurs. Buyers rarely move in before the closing date, but it sometimes happens. If you're moving out of an apartment and into a home, we will typically schedule the closing day for sometime during the middle of the month where you can then have a full two weeks to move into your house and out of your apartment. The negotiation in the sale of the home usually works to make the move in and out of the home as stress-free as possible for both parties involved.

I hope these questions and answers have been helpful to you, and if you need any further assistance with St. Cloud real estate, please do not hesitate to call me at (320) 240-3363 or email me at Hauck@saintcloudrealestate.com

Size Up the Competition to Sell Effectively

Lately I have been fielding a very common question. Everyone wants to know how to determine the amount of competition they will face when putting their home on the market. The answer is never simple, but I can clear it up for you in a few different ways.

You must first determine the top dollar for your home without overpricing your property. You want to avoid overpricing because this can help the competition sell their homes when buyers see that they are priced correctly and in accordance with their real values.
Support the value of your home with comparable sales. This requires preparation, but it can prevent an unpleasant surprise when an appraiser comes to look at your home.
How does your home compare to others in the market? You need to know what features your home offers compared to others in your local market because buyers will see around 8-10 different properties before making a decision.

Some exciting news about homes in the St. Cloud market is that we're currently experiencing an 8-year low in inventory, as there are only 989 properties for sale. This presents a wonderful opportunity if you are looking to sell, because the market will become saturated during the spring and summer. Competition will increase, and your property will be competing against many, many others.

Overall, we've had a very strong start to 2014. Sales are up, buyers are excited, and interest rates have actually plunged a little bit.

If you'd like to meet and discuss your property with me, call me at (320) 240-3363 or email at hauck@saintcloudrealestate.com