For Sale: South Longmont House with Pool!
Let’s be honest; When you think of your new home in Colorado, rarely does a pool make it on to your short list of needs or preferences. Even more rarely at this time of year! Yet that is my latest listing. Want to hear the story this south Longmont house? Sure you do!
As you may have noticed, I took a break the last month or so. It had been a busy season and all work and no play is not good for the mind, soul or actually for business, in the long term. Rest and rejuvenation are required for this Realtor to work at her absolute best and of course in order to continue enjoying her job. So off I trotted to Spain, where I spent the best part of a month hiking the Camino De Santiago, visiting Spanish cities, absorbing the culture, the food … And the wine! 🙂
You can read more about those adventures here.
I returned last Wednesday night and hit the ground running on Thursday. With my camera in hand I headed to south Longmont to take listing pictures. My seller was ready to downsize and had been super busy while I was gone, getting things fixed up and spruced up. On Friday, 38 James Circle hit the MLS. Quite fitting really, since the Camino De Santiago is called “The Way of Saint James” and the seller in fact, had been the very person to encourage me to take a month and go hike in Spain. It’s a funny little world, isn’t it?
Saturday morning was the start of showings. Sunday was the day the sun really came out and I held my open house. It was a success! For 2 hours people traipsed through the house, indulging in cookies and marveling at the size of the pool. Yes, this modest home has a private backyard with southern exposure and a pool that is really quite nice… And I’m not even a pool person, but I think it is.
I’m not going to lie to you. All of my listings this year have sold with multiple offers competing for the chance to buy them. They have sold for between asking price (when priced optimistically to start with) and up to >20% above asking price, but a winterized pool at the end of October, with overcast and cooler days, is a tough sell. I live and breathe a listing during this intense initial period and my job is a combination of fetching the highest price and mitigating risk of contract failure before closing. Sellers require and deserve a lot of attention and absolute, unquestionable availability on my part, while offers are coming in. Its a full time job.
38 James Circle was different from my other listings though. There is not enough data out there to draw conclusions or take accurate guesses as to how the market will react to a listing with an outdoor pool. Especially one that the buyers cannot see because its covered with black plastic, for winter. How many of those buyers would choose something “easier”? Fear of the unknown is very powerful and relatively few people have owned a pool in their past so have little idea that it’s not such a big undertaking.
By Sunday night I had two offers in hand though… More showings booked for Monday and one agent had already been told that their buyers would not be competitive enough and had decided not to bring an offer after all. Game on!
Why am I telling you all this? Because this is a strong indication of our real estate market in Longmont and all along the Front Range. If a house (ANY HOUSE) is priced right and showing right and marketed right, it will fetch a qualified buyer and a good price. Sure, our market is still seasonal, but not like it was 3 years ago. Right now the number of listings might be less than they were in the summer months, but the buyers are still competing to buy and the days on market are still low. Are things slowing down? NO. Not if finding multiple buyers within 24 hours, for a house with a winterized pool is anything to go by.
Buyers take note: You still need to bring your A Game! It might seriously look like there will be little or no competition and in previous years you may have been right. But now… Right now… Expect that you will be competing, every time you write an offer. Ask yourself the hard questions. Will I cry if someone else buys it out from under me for $2000 more? Did I ask the Seller what her needs were AND address them in the contract to buy? Did I make a good first impression? – Don’t kid yourself! Being nice counts. Playing fair is appreciated. If you suck energy out of a room when you leave, the seller notices!
Sellers take note: It’s still a good time to sell. You have not missed the boat and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are buyers out there… No matter what you are selling, we can find the right one for you! I sell homes all through the winter. Don’t those changing leaves look nice in listing pictures? Wait until the first snow fall. It’s magic! Flaming fireplaces, cozy dens and evening light. Ahhh….. There is no place like home.