Getting Your Edge: How to Downsize Your Home.
Life Happens to Everyone! These events can force changes in how and where you live. How you react and manage those events is what matters.
Join Judy Gratton and Dennis Day, two agents with over 30 years combined experience in real estate, as they provide you insights into managing the twists and turns life throws at you, so you can land on your feet and in the right place.
Whether you need to downsize from your forever home, upsize to handle a growing family, or moving an aging parent into a safer setting, the “Downsize" Podcast will share the information you need to be ready.
Using their personal experiences and interviews with experts in a variety of fields, like: financial planning, estate sales, or living abroad, our hosts will dish out the information and advice that will help you take on life’s challenges informed and prepared. For more information about the Edge Group Real Estate Team:
www.EdgeGroupTeam.com
Getting Your Edge: How to Downsize Your Home.
Downsize for this Spring's Real Estate Market: Top Seven Tips to Get your Home Ready to Sell
The Spring Real Estate Market is the Best Time to Downsize. We have seven expert tips to get your home ready, and start your downsizing adventure.
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Will you be my friend, Judy?
Judy Gratton:I will. I love being your friend, Dennis. It is a beautiful day because it's snowing outside.
Dennis Day:It doesn't happen often, but usually once or twice a year around the Seattle area we get a little bit of snow. It drives people mad.
Dennis Day:But that's another story. It drives people mad, but that's another story. I'm Dennis Day and you are listening to Getting your Edge how to Downsize your Life and I'm with my co-host, judy Gratton. We're here today to discuss the real estate cycle when is the best time to sell and then we're going to give you some tips to get that sale done so you can be ready when it's time to sell. Are you ready to go, judy?
Judy Gratton:I am ready to go, Dennis.
Dennis Day:All righty. So first we're going to start off with a little graph and we're going to show you the real estate cycle and this will be very clear that there are ups and downs to the real estate market.
Judy Gratton:This cycle is in our area, in the Puget Sound region, probably the state of Washington, but it might be different if you lived in Arizona or Nevada somewhere very hot. This is a snapshot of the Washington state market. If you live somewhere else, it could be different. Say you're in Arizona or Nevada, where it gets very hot. People may buy in the winter. I'm not sure, but a good realtor could explain that. Please, dennis, show us our graph.
Dennis Day:This is directly from the Northwest MLS, mostly in Washington state, and it covers let me say that again, it covers most of Washington State. There are other pockets that don't use the Northwest but it is the one, the MLS service, that is used in the Seattle area. This is a snapshot from the Northwest ML which we use in the Seattle Puget Sound area and most of Washington State and you can see the up and down pattern, going peaks and valleys. So January starting off, this is the number of closed sales and peaks. This is 2002 at 10,000, almost twice as many closed sales in June as there were in January. And as you go we get some August, a little bit of a peak and then we drop back down, january 3000.
Dennis Day:Let's look at closed sales. So those closed sales in January would have been put under contract in December. If you figure a 30-day lag, then January 23. This was an unusual year in that there were really definite peaks and valleys. You see a little dip in July and then another little in August, so dropped down again in January. So we're riding from January. We're riding a long peak up to usually May or June.
Judy Gratton:Little dip in June or July and then another dip in late summer Not a big dip in the late summer, and you may wonder why 2022 has so many more sales. That was when interest rates were still good until June 15. And then they started to rise and sales started to drop, and that's what we see in 2023 and 2024, higher interest rates made a mark on the real estate market all over the country.
Dennis Day:According to this graph, Judy, when are the most sales happening?
Judy Gratton:Really the most are probably in the way. You begin to see it climb in January. That's when appreciation starts, where prices begin to rise and that in just a good market that's normally somewhere between 5% and 7% appreciation. But in incredible markets we saw it up to 25% appreciation and that's when people start thinking about buying and looking at homes. And so January to May is the period where the appreciation hits its mark. May is about as high as your appreciation will normally go and then it kind of levels off the appreciation period. But throughout, you know, may is great because the weather is nicer as people are ready to make that move.
Judy Gratton:Summer months kind of maintain. There are some little drops because of vacation periods, but it stays not real plateau but close. And then in September, when kids go back to school and people are done with vacations and the weather starts to change, you begin to see it go down. We used to have a saying that the door closes October 31st and after that anybody who's buying got to really want to buy a home in the Northwest because the weather is not that great. If you want to sell your home, start thinking about it now and consider putting it on the market. End of March, april, may that's when the appreciation is happening and you can get more money or during the summer months. Appreciation won't generally go any higher, although it could on a one-by-one basis, but there'll be a lot of buyers out there, but there'll be a lot of buyers out there.
Dennis Day:Here's our price Median sales price January goes up, May it peaks. And look at the difference 525.
Judy Gratton:Remember this.
Dennis Day:This is 635.
Judy Gratton:And that interest rate started climbing Also affected the pricing a bit.
Dennis Day:This is the entire MLS. This is not Seattle and not King County or Linwood or Bothell. This is the whole MLS, that is most of Washington state. Prices are different in the Seattle area Drops down, peaks in June. Drops in January, peaks in May Little drop and boost. Remember we're a 30-day lag. Little drop and boost. Remember we're a 30-day lag. So October closed, sales are under contract in September and we're back down again. Right, I think that's enough graph. Let's stop that share.
Judy Gratton:We also have a shortage of inventory that has affected those charts. Not that many homes out there for sale at this point that could change. Real estate changes. Every time someone sells a home near yours, it changes the value of your home, and if you would like to have access to a monthly report that shows you what's going on with your particular home, please reach out to us. We'd be happy to send it to you free of charge.
Dennis Day:Yeah, if you want the maximum price, look at your home going on the market in April, may and get that thing sold for the highest price generally Now you can't say individually, it varies, but in general the peak price for a home is going to come in May or June and then it's going to. You know it's still active in the summer and then fall comes and you know we have some good sales in September and early October but then late fall I mean people are thinking Thanksgiving holidays and then in winter it drops Doesn't mean you can't sell your house in those winter months.
Dennis Day:Probably won't get peak price. But the people who are looking to buy in December and January are serious buyers. But you're not going to have looky-loos come through. You're going to have people who really need a home and they can't wait. That's our cycle and this is 50 years. It's been essentially the same again and again. There's always ups and downs to 2007,. Eight crashed, et cetera. All right, so we understand the real estate cycle. Now, judy, how do you get ready for selling? What were the first thing you want to do?
Judy Gratton:First, consider your goal. Is it to get top dollar? Do you need to move quickly? Is your home in need of a lot of repair work that you don't want to do, or are you willing to do that Because all of these questions and I would get your pad and paper out, or however you figure out, you know, put your notes up on the screen and do a. Just start answering those questions for yourself. Why do you want to move now, Especially if you're downsizing? Is it because the house has become too much to take care of? Maybe repairs are getting too expensive? Answer those questions.
Judy Gratton:If you want top dollar, you need to start getting ready. Don't wait until the last minute. Don't call the realtor and think that you're going to go on the market in a week if you want top dollar, Because generally, first of all, if you're downsizing, you have a home full of stuff to go through and determine If you're downsizing, if you're really going to move to a smaller home, it's probably not realistic that you're going to bring all of that stuff. So what are you going to get rid of? It depends on how motivated you are, how capable you are of getting it done. Even if it's only a drawer. Do a drawer Go through a drawer? I went through my kitchen drawers this summer and I couldn't believe some of the things that happened to it.
Dennis Day:Tip number one declutter, depersonalize. A buyer is not going to walk into your home and want to see your family's history on the wall. They want to visualize what this home will be like for them. Depersonalize it.
Judy Gratton:When you walk into a home full of trophies, family pictures and hobbies, it's uncomfortable for the buyer. As much of that as you can pack away, you're moving anyway. So maybe find someone that you feel good about giving your things to, because you're not going to get hundreds of dollars for China.
Dennis Day:You're just not. Your kids don't want to go through all that stuff. Start getting rid of it. Tip number two make your necessary repairs. What are some of the things they should do?
Judy Gratton:You might start by going around the outside of the house. Mildew and moss is a big problem because we're so wet, so is there moss growing on the house? Do you need to power wash? Do you need to paint? Are there pieces of wood that are beginning to show dry rot that need to be repaired?
Judy Gratton:One huge thing is that we have a tendency to landscape around our house and it grows right up against the house and it may have already caused an issue where insects and rodents have gotten into your home by going through or up the tree or bush. We also use a lot of beauty bark in the Northwest in our beds and it builds up along the foundation and before you know it, it's resting on the wood of the house and that causes dry rot. So pulling those things back away, cutting bushes and trees to like six inches to a foot away from the building itself. Dennis, you looked at a house with one of your clients that had ivy growing all over it. Not if you want to sell. It looks really pretty, but it will destroy whatever is underneath.
Dennis Day:Fix leaky faucets. Put a little oil on that squeaky door. Put a new light bulb in the one almost burned out.
Judy Gratton:And make sure they match. When you're selling, think of your product. This is no longer just your comfortable home, this is your product. Don't have three different shades of light bulbs in the chandelier and then one out. People are not going to offer you top dollar when things like that happen. Check under the sink. Probably 90% of us have had a little leak under the kitchen or bathroom sink. Make sure you've cleaned up that mess. You don't want people looking at that.
Dennis Day:Curb appeal. It's hard to think about this in January here, but this is really important.
Judy Gratton:Why First impressions? I have had multiple clients that we go over to look at a house. The picture looked great, because the photographer can do anything with a picture and you pull up and they literally say, nah, we don't even get out of the car. Unfortunately, you just lost a potential buyer because it didn't look good out. Front Power washing. Are the driveways clean? Are the sidewalks clean? Are the bushes trimmed? Are the beds manicured? Do they have weeds? Put down beauty bark. Primroses are out at grocery stores. Put some color into the beds to make them look brighter.
Judy Gratton:Get a brand new welcome mat. Hit your front door. Is the doorknob worn out? Does the door need to be painted or washed? Look at your garage door. Does it need to be painted? Those could be minor things that could make thousands of dollars for you. Clean up the front of the house. Make sure the roof is clean. It's time consuming, but you don't want a shabby looking roof because again, you won't get top dollar. If the roof is old, you might as well start looking at replacing it, because unless you are willing to make an adjustment in your price, you only get one time to make a first impression.
Dennis Day:And if you've got dandelions growing all over and the bushes aren't trimmed and the tree is out of control, sidewalks are mossy.
Judy Gratton:Or in the front yard with a blue over it, or paint buckets stacked up in front of the house. Look at your house. Again, a product. It is now what you're selling, and if you, even if you're not going to do all of it, the more you do, the better your chances are getting a better price.
Dennis Day:As a buyer. You drive up and you see the disarray and get uncomfortable and you say, well, if it looks this bad outside, what's it going to look like inside? Allow yourself enough time to do these repairs. You don't have to do major repairs, but small things add up. Give yourself time to do it. Tip number four deep clean everything.
Judy Gratton:Everything. Yes, the windows where they slide in. When you're opening and closing your window that gets especially here. Maybe not in other parts of the country, but that can get moldy and dirty and gritty and grimy and take a toothbrush and some spray cleaner or a magic eraser and clean that out. In your bathroom the caulking around the shower, tub, toilet and sink can get moldy and crunchy and not look good. Make sure that's clean and, if it needs to be repaired, repaired the shower door. A lot of places it's all foggy from soap scum that needs to be cleaned off.
Judy Gratton:Look at the faucets, as I mentioned the doorknob. Is it old? Should it be replaced on your front door? Look at your cabinets. Are the hinges old and grungy? Replacing cabinet hinges and holes with new ones don't have to be fabulously expensive, but you clean the cabinets. You do that and it gives it a much brighter look. Same with faucets. Make sure that they're not dripping. Make sure that they're not really old and decrepit. Unless you're going to adjust your price for it like it's becoming a fixer. Those should be more up to date. They don't have to be terribly expensive. The more you do, the better you can expect to get for your home. The more you do, the better you can expect to get for your home. Make sure all your switch covers are on and cleaned.
Dennis Day:New covers are less than a dollar. Just put a new one on and have them all match. If you don't want to do that deep cleaning, hire somebody. It might be the best $400, $500.
Judy Gratton:If they do a deep clean. It's hard when there are people living in the home and the furniture in the home, but if they do a deep clean. We had a listing that we're having come on this week. We had it deep cleaned and it costs $360. And they cleaned the stove and the oven, refrigerator, shower doors, tracks in the windows and sliding doors. They mopped all the floors.
Dennis Day:I had a listing where the seller promised to clean the house before he left and he left things in the washer and the dryer Didn't clean the stove. I called the cleaner and they did it before they moved in. On my dime, a clean, sparkling home makes buyers think it's well-maintained.
Judy Gratton:Another thing you need to be very, very, very careful of and that's odors. A lot of things animals, different types of spices. If you smoke, these things are death to the value of your home. If you can't smell it because you've lived there, have someone come in and be brutally honest with you. Does my home smell? Okay, a pet odor in the carpets or flooring? There are some things that can be done, but a lot of times you're going to have to replace that or pull it out. And then the cooking odors paint.
Judy Gratton:If you want the house to have a little zing, paint a wall. The smell of paint makes people think, oh, they paint, they like it. Even if you only painted one wall, it's the first impression. If you've smoked or you have cooking odors, then you need to do a really good washing of the walls with TSP, follow instructions and you may need to prime. Depends on how serious the odor is. But if there is an odor, it will knock the price down significantly or some people won't even make an offer. People don't like to hear that, but it is a huge factor in the sale.
Dennis Day:You have to let go of your ego because you're selling a product. Number five neutralize and brighten up.
Judy Gratton:To get top dollar, neutralize the color schemes in your home. There was a condo that I held open once for someone else and the woman loved turquoise. The carpet, toilets were turquoise, the bathtub was turquoise, the sink was turquoise, the appliances were turquoise, the phone on the wall was turquoise, as beautiful as the floor plan was, and it had a view of the lake. It took forever to get that thing sold because, yes, there are people who like turquoise, but there are people who don't like turquoise and are not willing to do the work and that one would have been really expensive to fix because you would be pulling out toilets, bathtubs and sinks. Those things again are going to restrict what people are willing to offer because they know they have to paint over it. Paint over colors that are not neutral with a beige, light beige or pale gray. Go to a paint store and talk to them about what the current neutral colors are. I do not recommend white. It's too stark and it gives off a very cold feel.
Dennis Day:Same thing is true I don't know if it's still trending, but it was very trendy for a while. Black walls Some people absolutely love them. I don't. Bright or very dark colors can make rooms look smaller. Let's talk about getting an inspection.
Judy Gratton:Tip number six there are pros and cons to a pre-inspection where the seller hires the inspector and the seller has the inspection done so that they have an inspection report that they can offer to potential buyers. A few years ago we had so many buyers that they were afraid to make an offer because they didn't know anything about the house. They didn't want to make an offer without knowing what the condition was In the contract. In the state of Washington, if a buyer wants an inspection as part of the contract, it's called an inspection contingency and the way it's spelled out is they have to have it done within a certain number of days. It must be by a professional or themselves. Sometimes buyers use this to tie up a house and they may walk away without ever doing the inspection. And the way that inspection addendum is written, they can. Once the seller's home is under contract, the real estate agent is required to go into the multiple listing service and change it from active to pending, or if there is an inspection, it must say pending inspection. But we know that buyers really want this inspection. Do you want to consider having an inspection done in advance?
Judy Gratton:Now, here's the downside of that, because if you have an inspector, come into your home. They are looking for the things that are wrong in the home. Go in the attic under the house, check plumbing, electrical safety and structural items. That's what an inspector is looking for, and once he's found that he doesn't ask you. If you want to know, he gives you the report. You have knowledge, and once you have knowledge, you must disclose it in a disclosure form that is required by law.
Judy Gratton:Depending on if you're not going to fix it, you can plan on the price not being as great. Are you comfortable enough that your home is in pretty good shape that having knowledge is okay? There are always all kinds of different scenarios around this. For a while before sellers were buying, the pre-inspection for the buyers buyers would schedule inspections before they wrote offers. I explain to our sellers here's what you can and this is what you risk, or you don't have to, depending on the market. We may not get multiple offers and the buyer may want one, and that's a risk too. Which one are you more comfortable with?
Dennis Day:A pre-inspection can give a buyer peace of mind and they're more likely to waive the inspection.
Judy Gratton:Your home's on the market for a month and you get one offer and they want an inspection, even though you paid for it. Your agent's going to be kind of like this is the only offer you've got. How do you feel about that?
Dennis Day:There is a couple of situations where you don't want a pre-inspection.
Judy Gratton:There are only two in Washington where you are not required. One is bank-owned and two is if it is an estate sale, and the reason behind that is neither one of those entities ever owned the house, had anything to do with it. They don't know. If you are the executor of a will and you have that inspection done and you find out there's something wrong, you now have knowledge, and so you have to fill out that disclosure form and you have to disclose what you found wrong, and so a realtor should discuss that with you so you can make an informed decision.
Dennis Day:Don't get a pre-inspection if you're on an estate sale. Tip seven work with an experienced real estate professional. The DIY the for sale by owner has almost disappeared. You can do it, but there's really some downsides.
Judy Gratton:There's a lot of risk financial, legal if you didn't get something right in your paperwork. I recently saw a deal because they called me to take care of it after they had written it. When you started reading through it it was just amazing how many things were missing. Studies have found that most of the time for sale by owner sell the home for less than they could have gotten.
Dennis Day:There's long term evidence that a for sale by owner sale will be significantly less than that of a real estate professional. Plus, you have the peace of mind of that person doing all the contract for you. Now we have being part of EXP. We have a great situation. How can that help?
Judy Gratton:If you're local to us in the Puget Sound region, we would hope that you would like to maybe call us and interview us to work with us if you're selling or buying. If you're not in Washington state with eXp, we are an international company and if you need an experienced realtor and you're not sure where to begin, then give us a call. We would be happy to connect you with someone who is experienced. You get to interview them. If you don't like them, you don't have to use them. We're happy to help you find someone wherever you are, even in another country, but there's no charge for that.
Dennis Day:There's no charge for any real estate questions. You can ask us anything. If you need information about downsizing, we will be happy to help, all at no charge.
Judy Gratton:When we're putting our name on that contract. That's when we expect to earn our living. That's when we expect to earn our living.
Dennis Day:That's it, folks. I appreciate all who took the time to watch or listen. This is Getting your Edge how to Downsize your Home. Thanks, judy.
Judy Gratton:Thank you, Dennis.
Dennis Day:See you next time. So much, bye.
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