Wisconsin Rapids Real Estate – Wisconsin Rapids Homes For Sale

Enjoy another one of my recent blog posts at GoRapids.com…

As I’m sitting in the office brainstorming ideas for this blog post it becomes apparent that I haven’t talked about our market yet. That leads me into jotting ideas down on the best way to approach a discussion about the homes currently for sale in Wisconsin Rapids.

In the end I’ve decided to break the city up into east and west. If it’s good enough for the school district, it’s good enough for me.

Following is the breakdown for both sides of the river:

East Side:

Total Number of Homes for Sale: 230
Average List Price: $131,890
Most Expensive Home: $1,140,000
Average Number of Days on the Market: 184
Highest Number of Days on the Market: 1058

View all East Side Homes for Sale

West Side:

Total Number of Homes for Sale: 60
Average List Price: $89,343
Most Expensive Home: $475,000
Average Number of Days on the Market: 193
Highest Number of Days on the Market: 653

View all West Side Homes for Sale

Does any of the data jump out at you?

I have a couple observations. First, even though there’s a huge discrepancy between the numbers of homes for sale on the east and west side of town, if you go strictly by population the numbers are indeed similar.

Next, the average list price is substantially higher on the east side of town. Yes there is a million dollar listing, but the data goes deeper than that. The reason for the higher list price is that new homes are being built on the east side at a far faster pace. That does make sense as people continue to move into the Grand Rapids area along with the new subdivisions that are being built in the south eastern part of the city.

Plus many homes on the western side of town were built 30+ years ago when homes and lots were much smaller. New homes being built tend to be 2400+ square feet on lots that average 3 or 4 times the size of lots located in the heart of the city.

The last piece of data that stands out is that homes on the east side of town sell quicker than their counterparts across the river. And this is even with factoring in a home that has been listed for 1058 days.

After all of this, what have we learned? My takeaway is this: If you live on the east side of town and are thinking about selling you are in the better position than someone located on the west side of town.

With everything we’ve heard and been through, real estate in Wisconsin Rapids is really starting to hop. Especially for homes under $130,000.

What I’m noticing is if your home’s list price is over $130,000 your home needs to be move in ready… If not, my suggestion is to modernize before putting it on the market. Would you like suggestions on ways to improve your home? Contact me today by phone at 715.572.8372 or by email at holberga [at] firstweber [dot] com.

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No doubt you’ve seen it. Maybe you’re experiencing it at your current job.

Seth Godin calls it the ‘Death Spiral.’

You know it. A business starts to reel in its advertising. It starts to save money because they’re making less money. Instead of upping the ante, they play it safe. Instead of marketing and advertising they hope ‘word of mouth’ advertising keeps paying the bills.

This couldn’t be worse for you when it comes to selling your home. You don’t want the real estate agency you choose to market less. You need your home in front of the most Wisconsin Rapids home buyers possible.

You want your home viewed by the masses. You want to be what McDonald’s is to fast food. You want to be top dog.

And Wisconsin Rapids has spoken. First Weber is King in Wisconsin Rapids. We’ve sold more homes in Wisconsin Rapids than any other real estate agency in each of the past two years.

As the real estate bubble has burst First Weber has helped more Wisconsin Rapids buyers and sellers navigate one of the toughest stretches of real estate since the 1980’s.

Not only have we been there for you in the past, but this year we’ve also launched Front Runner. The new multi-media marketing campaign designed to reach today’s new generation of home buyers.

We’re ‘kicking it up a notch.’ Now is not the time to play it safe. That’s a disservice to you.

That’s why I hire a professional photographer to take the photos of your home. Yes, I have a really good camera. But am I the best choice to take your home’s pictures? I’m not, so I hire the people who are.

I also purchase a unique web address for your home. This makes it easy for potential buyers to view your home. I purchase a sign from Rapids Signs that I place in your yard so anyone who passes can easily go online and see all your home’s information.

I’m limited in the number of words I can use for your home on the MLS or FirstWeber.com, but not on the website I create for your home. So I go crazy. I make it easy for buyers to get to know your home.

There’s so much more too. I’d love to sit down and talk with you about the benefits that First Weber has over the competition… And it is a competition… Remember it’s about your home versus the home down the street… Or across town…

Let me ask you this: It’s your home, are you willing to stand for second best? Or good enough? How many extra mortgage payments will good enough get you?

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Are you or someone you know facing foreclosure or concerned about the possibility of foreclosure?

If this is you please check out the Wisconsin Foreclosure Assistance Resource Center at http://www.wisconsinforeclosurekit.org/.

In addition to addressing questions you may have about Wisconsin’s foreclosure process, the site lists action steps for you to follow and includes credible resources and helpful contact information to help you steer away from foreclosure or navigate through the process with better results.

Check out this comprehensive foreclosure resource developed by the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association.

Do you still have questions? Would you like to talk one on one to make sure you do everything you can in this difficult situation? Contact me today.

Guess what? The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit that you’ve heard about will be expiring in just over 4 months.

It seems like an eternity away, but buying a home is a slow process.

First you have to find a home. A few days of negotiating. Hopefully you get it, otherwise back to the drawing board. Then it’s on to loan stuff, testing stuff, appraisals and finally the closing.

All of this is taking upwards of 45 days. Thirty-day closings are very hard to come by post mortgage meltdown…

Are you thinking about jumping into the housing market? Get in touch. I can easily set you up on a home watch so you’re notified every time a home that meets your criteria hits the market or has a price reduction. Never miss out on the perfect home…

This is from my weekly real estate article at GoRapids.com:

Is there anything more important to you than the price your home sells for? I can’t think of anything. Maybe if you’re selling to a son or daughter. But is there another reason?

If you could leave your home as is; as in no cleaning, painting, rearranging etc. and you’d be still be guaranteed to get $200,000, would you be ecstatic? So let’s do it. Sadly though, we both know every home isn’t worth $200,000.

But you’d still like to squeeze a few thousand dollars extra out of your home. Is it possible? Probably not. Continue reading why.

This article is not how you can increase your listing price. Instead this article will show you 5 common pricing mistakes Wisconsin Rapids sellers often make.

How this one number can make or break a sale. And how adding even a few thousand dollars to your listing price can end up costing you even more in the end.

Mistake #1: Not following what the research says your home is worth

On face value this seems like an easy mistake to avoid. You want to sell your home so you say you’ll trust what your agent says. Your agent performs a Competitive Market Analysis to gauge what your home’s worth.

They find homes in your area that have sold and for what. They diagnose why some homes didn’t sell. Was it priced to high? Was the condition of the home subpar? And they’ll make sure you don’t repeat the same mistakes.

Easy right? But, consider two questions you’ll ask yourself:

1. How much do you still owe on your mortgage and home-equity loans?
2. What’s the price of the home you want to move into?

Now all of a sudden pricing becomes more difficult. Do you price your home solely on what the comparable sales tell you or do you price it at what you’d like to get out of it?

Mistake #2: Overpricing your home because you can wait

You’re in no rush to sell. It can sell today, next month or next year…

You tell yourself it only takes one buyer. But what if they never come?

If your home isn’t comparable to other homes in your price range why would a buyer even consider looking at yours? If all homes are new and yours is 35 years old?  If all homes have a master bath and yours doesn’t? If all homes have sold for $25,000 less?

Mistake #3: Choosing to price high at the beginning and lower later

There’s a sucker born every minute. Right? You’ll have your home listed for $15,000 higher than what you feel it’s worth for the first month. Then you’ll lower it.

Problem is the first two weeks your home is on the market are the best two weeks you’ll have to sell. The reason is all agents in the real estate office will walk through your home. Next, your home will show up as a new listing in the MLS that all area agents will see. That’s a lot of eyeballs…

But if your home is overpriced what will Realtors think when they view your home? Why will they call their buyers about this new overpriced home that has just hit the market?

Can you hear the conversation? Agent—“I have the perfect home for you. It has nothing you’re looking for except that it’s priced at what you want to pay!” Buyer—“Why would I want to look at that?” Agent—“Didn’t you hear me? It’s listed at what you want to pay. How perfect is that?!?! I’ll get the papers ready.”

Do you think this is farfetched? Continue reading…

Mistake #4: Hiring the agent who offers the highest price for your home

Can you think of an easier way for an agent to get a listing? I simply find out what other agents have said your home is worth and add a few thousand dollars more.

Perfect. I’ll have all listings in Wisconsin Rapids. Here’s my new tagline—Adam Holberg—I will list your home for $250,000! Guaranteed!

My number’s at the bottom of this post. I’m waiting for your phone call.

What, no dice? What do you mean all homes aren’t worth $250,000? I counter that your home isn’t worth $10,000 over a comparable sale a month ago either.

I understand that you want to purchase a bigger home, pay for your child’s college tuition, slash a little bit of debt or even take a vacation. But if your home doesn’t sell, what exactly can you do with phantom money?

Mistake #5: Getting emotionally involved in the pricing process

You’ve made your house a home. You have memories. On top of that you’ve now been cleaning, painting as well as some updating.

It’s difficult to put a price on all this time, isn’t it? But, you’ll try… Realtor says your home is worth $104,000. But you paid $98,750 eight years ago. Are you happy? How easy is it to now put a price on your memories and time invested?

Conclusion

Whew! I’m glad you made it this far. I hope you realize that pricing pays a huge roll in your home selling. There are no secrets in the real estate business. Buyers understand real estate better now than ever before.

Before you sign on the dotted line remember: You don’t want your home listed, you want it sold.

Would you like to know the value of your home? Fill out this short form, and you’ll know approximately what your home is worth. Need to be more exact? Contact me to set up an appointment so you can give me the grand tour.