You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October 2008.
The Residences at Watermark are located on Watermark Golf Course just
south of Cascade Road. If you don’t like golf, get defensive when a stray
golf ball rolls into your “yard” you probably would be better off not buying
a home or condo at Watermark. Of course you would be missing out on the
best golf course in Grand Rapids (no prejudice here, just the facts, folks)
Yes, I play Watermark golf course every chance I get. Watermark is a premier
course with a friendly group of players. We have an excellent grounds staff
and a great pro shop staff.
Watermark single family homes and condos are a very attractive
place to live. Quality built homes with access off Cascade Road and
Spaulding Drive, you are close to the airport, 28th Street shopping,
I96 expressway and close to Cascade, Ada, and Forest Hills schools and
shopping areas.
Watermark Residences
October 2008 Real Estate Market Report
For Sale:
There are 8 active Watermark Homes currently on the market.
The average Watermark Homes current active price is $ 774,313.
The average Watermark Homes current price per sq ft is $ 226.06.
The average days on the market for active Watermark Homes is 73.
Sold:
There have been 5 Watermark Sold Homes this year.
The average Watermark Sold Homes price is $ 515,000.
The average Watermark Sold Homes price per sq ft is $200.16.
The average days on the market for Watermark Sold Homes is 68.
If you would like further information about Watermark Residences,
Cascade or Forest Hills Homes, please contact me directly.
Grand Rapids – Ada Real Estate – Five Star Real Estate
Copyright 2008 All rights reserved
photo of Watermark Residences Entrance by Bonnie Westbrook
Location: Stoneshire Estates
We had an interesting start to our day yesterday. We had a sit down talk with
William Seidman, commentator for CNBC, former FDIC chairman, and Grand
Rapids native son. Well, actually we were sitting in the audience with about
200 other Grand Rapidians while Bill told us how he believes we got into this
financial crisis. He was scheduled to talk about which candidate would be
the best one for our financial times. With all that hashappened in the last
few weeks, his advice was sage and to the point.
Check out their financial advisors.
Neither candidate is a businessman or financial expert, so they will be
getting lots of advice. Try to find out who is advising them and vote
for the candidate whom you considered to be well advised. He also said
we are in uncharted waters with this whole financial mess. It will take
some original thinking to get us out. And we need to come out of the
“PANIC STAGE” we are in now.
We caught a few minutes of Bill’s Talk at the GVSU downtown campus
that you can sample on this short video:
When we sit down with potential clients to list their home, there are so many
issues and hot buttons to discuss. Inevitably we come to the one where we
really have to agree to get the home sold quickly and for the most money.
P-R-I-C-E
Most homeowners want to start high and then come down – if they have
to – to sell. Of course, they are hoping their home is an exception, it will
sell for more than the market value of all the other homes in the area.
We see this over and over again.
If you don’t price your home within the price bracket it will eventually
sell for, you are hurting your chances of selling it for top dollar. If you
price your home correctly, You are not giving away money!!
I repeat,
YOU ARE NOT GIVING AWAY MONEY.
This phantom money that you think you might get if the one person
comes along who will do anything, pay anything to own your “special”
home does not exist.
Let me repeat that –
The uneducated buyer with money falling out of their pockets,
sprinkled in fairy dust, so you can make the money you would
like to out of your home sale —–
DOES NOT EXIST!!!
You are not letting go of money, you are letting go of the dream
scenario where you get the price that is 25-30% over market value.
It isn’t going to happen.
What will happen, is your home will be posted on the MLS, online,
many places where buyers can look at it. Buyers then compare your
price to others, and say, why would I buy this house?? There are
10-15 others I can look at that are competitively priced and look great.
Then…. they are gone.
They don’t come back and revisit your home as an option. Other homes
are new on the market to consider. Yours has been rejected as:
- too expensive
- too much work
- not what they are looking for
The charts above illustrate the buyer trends we tell our sellers about.
These charts of buyer activity are on actual listings that are currently
listed by us.
You can see that the first month is usually the only month that gets
high traffic.
Some of our sellers will listen, most don’t.
Sadly, two, six, eight months later, we are still trying to get them to
agree to the price they should be listed at, if they want their home to sell.
Chasing this downward price spiral is not the best way to get top dollar
from your home. When it first hits the market it has the most exposure
and best chance of getting the best price!
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Five Star Real Estate
Copyright 2008 All rights reserved
Photos from Flickr Creative Commons photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/2904370326
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chodhound/159462239