Housing Market In Roanoke, Virginia

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Christy Crouch

Yesterday marked the last day of the month and the last month of the 3rd quarter. I wanted to share our housing market statistics here in Roanoke, Virginia. Things have remained consistent and we are hopeful for a decent window of opportunity with buyers who will be looking to buy in hopes to settle before the end of the year for tax purposes and to be moved before the holiday season and winter months set in.

If our team can be of support to you with buying or selling a home here in Roanoke, Virginia please give us a call at 540-725-7727, email us at thecrouchteam@gmail.com or visit our website at http://www.thecrouchteam.com to discover more about our team and to see the homes we currently have for sale.

For 01/01/2014 To 9/30/2014

Property Type	Area	Current Active	New	Pend	Sold	Sold Volume	Average Sales Price	DOM	CDOM	% Of List	Coop Sales	Coop Volume	Expr	Withdrawn
Residential	0110 – City of Roanoke – Downtown	7	11	1	6	1,988,500	331,417	214	231	89.5	3	968,500	5	2
Residential	0120 – City of Roanoke – South	82	168	15	82	25,082,302	305,882	147	189	95.5	71	22,670,352	42	6
Residential	0130 – City of Roanoke – SW	193	472	46	253	45,074,309	178,159	101	140	96.2	221	40,622,667	101	18
Residential	0140 – City of Roanoke – NW	145	323	41	143	10,552,374	73,793	126	170	92.9	119	8,291,074	109	8
Residential	0150 – City of Roanoke – NE	192	450	39	215	23,287,768	108,315	115	183	96.0	194	21,035,468	112	7
Residential	0160 – City of Roanoke – SE	51	96	5	48	2,774,501	57,802	117	179	94.3	44	2,572,726	29	1
Residential	0170 – City of Roanoke – Garden City	31	70	5	37	3,487,679	94,262	107	136	95.7	32	3,126,979	17	1
Residential	0210 – Roanoke County – North	192	469	52	274	51,762,268	188,913	111	164	97.1	227	41,762,238	98	4
Residential	0220 – Roanoke County – East	68	163	16	92	16,699,221	181,513	98	156	97.5	86	15,802,021	40	3
Residential	0221 – Roanoke County – Town of Vinton	53	114	15	55	7,092,179	128,949	117	163	96.2	49	6,465,679	27	0
Residential	0230 – Roanoke County – South	312	722	82	372	90,868,764	244,271	113	159	96.7	324	78,187,162	178	10
Residential	0240 – Roanoke County – West	124	240	22	102	22,499,135	220,580	126	209	97.3	90	20,462,812	65	7
Residential	0300 – City of Salem	219	451	34	186	30,531,954	164,150	108	186	95.9	163	27,309,704	135	6
Residential	0400 – Franklin County	713	995	102	398	106,245,613	266,949	205	308	94.3	335	90,816,200	336	34
Residential	0600 – Bedford County	542	775	87	300	69,153,136	230,510	195	273	94.0	247	58,765,485	228	12
Residential	0601 – Town of Bedford	29	62	10	27	3,459,800	128,141	179	221	93.9	19	2,351,800	23	3
Residential	0700 – Botetourt County	311	568	56	255	57,725,899	226,376	145	200	96.3	218	49,482,859	157	9
Residential	0800 – Craig County	27	39	5	21	3,233,050	153,955	202	235	93.3	13	2,244,950	12	1
Residential	0900 – City of Radford	0	6	1	1	47,000	47,000	105	113	95.9	1	47,000	1	0
Residential	1000 – Montgomery County	33	76	4	24	3,835,300	159,804	89	110	96.2	22	3,627,400	20	0
Residential	1100 – Floyd County	72	90	6	30	4,638,732	154,624	193	235	92.5	19	2,910,732	38	1
Residential	1200 – Patrick County	11	17	0	1	522,000	522,000	153	166	94.9	0		7	2
Residential	1300 – City of Martinsville	13	15	1	2	144,500	72,250	123	123	97.7	1	122,000	5	0
Residential	1400 – Henry County	27	62	5	19	1,659,352	87,334	131	138	92.3	14	1,346,452	29	4
Residential	1500 – City of Danville	3	13	1	4	177,499	44,375	87	87	89.2	4	177,499	5	0
Residential	1600 – Pittsylvania County	46	68	2	27	3,476,614	128,763	196	248	92.5	17	1,840,114	29	3
Residential	1700 – Halifax County	3	3	0	0			123	123		0		1	0
Residential	1900 – City of Lynchburg	6	19	3	12	1,734,500	144,542	187	199	95.9	6	801,900	9	1
Residential	2000 – Campbell County	12	29	2	10	1,932,884	193,288	148	149	93.0	6	888,699	10	0
Residential	2100 – Appomattox County	4	6	1	1	27,299	27,299	107	107	78.0	1	27,299	1	0
Residential	2200 – Amherst County	5	6	0	2	265,700	132,850	137	137	92.8	0		5	0
Residential	2300 – City of Buena Vista	1	1	0	0			64	64		0		0	0
Residential	2500 – Rockbridge County	8	16	2	4	977,000	244,250	184	198	100.0	4	977,000	14	0
Residential	2600 – City of Covington	0	2	1	1	87,000	87,000	151	151	97.8	0		2	0
Residential	2700 – Alleghany County	10	27	1	14	2,190,046	156,432	116	143	89.6	9	1,260,146	16	0
Residential	2800 – Giles County	3	4	0	1	24,900	24,900	49	49	100.0	0		0	0
Residential	3000 – Pulaski County	6	12	1	4	264,065	66,016	116	126	97.3	3	181,565	1	0
Residential	3100 – Wythe County	2	2	0	0			158	158		0		0	0
Residential	3300 – Carroll County	2	3	0	4	398,500	99,625	375	375	85.5	3	355,000	2	0
Residential	9900 – All Other Counties/Cities	5	11	1	4	260,887	65,222	112	120	92.9	4	260,887	10	0
Subtotal		3563	6677	665	3033	594,319,229	195,951	146	209	95.5	2,571	507,899,368	1919	143

Check Your Curb Appeal

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Christy Crouch

If you’re thinking about selling a home or are currently trying to sell your home here’s a great article I just received from The Real Estate Book on sprucing up your curb appeal to compel buyers to choose yours as one the put on their list to actually come inside of.

If you have questions about buying or selling a home here in Roanoke, Virginia and our surrounding areas, please feel free to give our team a call at 540-725-7727, email me at thecrouchteam@gmail.com, or visit our website at http://www.thecrouchteam.com to discover more about our team, see the homes we currently have for sale, and to see what our past customers and clients had to say about their experience with our team.

Whether you’re a homeowner or Realtor® selling a home, it makes no difference – everyone wants a house that looks great from the curb. Curb appeal comes together when all the elements of a home’s facade are in good shape and working together. Driveways that are cracked or pitted with potholes, dingy front doors and shabby, scuffed mailboxes can all significantly detract from a home’s overall curb appeal.

Here is a handful of projects – many of them quick fixes – that can greatly enhance a home’s appearance for a quick sell.

Repair or resurface your driveway

For many homes, the driveway is one of the largest visual elements of the home’s overall curb appeal, ranking right up there with siding, the roof and the lawn. Concrete can crack and crumble, and asphalt develops potholes. Both can be repaired quickly and easily.

For any driveway repair, make sure the area to be repaired has been cleaned of debris and loose materials. Cleaning with a hose or pressuring washing can improve the entire surface.

Concrete driveways can develop different types of cracks: very small and shallow resembling a dry river bed; cracks between 1/8 and 1/4 inch wide; and cracks wider and deeper than 1/4 inch. Your choice of repair method will depend on how you want the finished product to look and how much time you have to make the repair.

Spruce up your mailbox

It sits at the end of your driveway and often plays a key role in helping guests find your house. Little things can mean a lot when it comes to creating curb appeal. While a mailbox that looks good might not get much attention, one that’s ugly or shabby is sure to draw the kind of attention you don’t want.

If you’re in a community that restricts the type of mailbox you can have, simply give your rusted, stained mailbox and the post it sits on a fresh coat of paint in its original color. If your community has no standards for mailboxes, you can swap out an ordinary looking box with something that compliments your exterior design. Does your home have a brick facade? Consider a mailbox set in or on a brick pillar. If your house features fieldstone accents, consider carrying that over to the mailbox with a small, stone-trimmed planting bed at its base.

Give your front door some TLC

frontdoor The door is the point where your exterior design meets your interior décor. It’s also an element that significantly impacts how visitors view your home. Give yours a fresh coat of paint or stain, and don’t forget the trim around the door.

Next, consider lighting. Is the area around the door well lit? Good lighting is key for safety at night and to enhance the appeal of the area. Consider sconces beside the door or an attractive overhead fixture if your door has an awning, porch or overhang. Ground lights can accent the effect, either illuminating the pathway that leads to the door or lighting up the door itself.

Finally, take a look at the door hardware. Is the handle or knob looking rusted and shabby? Replacing worn or dated door hardware is an easy, cost-effective way to improve the overall look of your entryway.

How’s The Housing Market In Roanoke Virginia?

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Christy Crouch

It’s about 5:15 on Monday evening and I know most, if not all of my sellers are wondering this as they patiently wait for just the right buyer to discover their home over all the other thousands that are for sale right now as we continue to sit on over a nine month’s supply of inventory across our greater area with an average days on market of 207 for a home to sell. So, to answer the question of how the housing market in Roanoke is, its bit better than it was in February of this year when we were sitting on over a 13 month’s supply of inventory.

Traditionally the next few weeks are a bit slow as the school year gets back in swing and the vacation season come to an end. Generally it will pick up after Labor Day with buyers hoping to buy and settle in their new homes before the holiday season and before the winter months set it. Fall has actually been one of my busiest times and a great time to buy and sell. Interest rates are still hanging low and with lots of homes to choose from buyers will undoubtedly be out and about looking.

For sellers, being priced right and in great condition are both key to whether a buyer will choose yours over all the others they have to consider. I encourage sellers to adjust the price every 30/45 days if it’s not selling or you aren’t having significant interest. One of the worst things you can do is sit on the market month after month at a price that isn’t causing the home to sell and allow your home to become that home that’s been on the market forever. It would be better to take it off the market and try again in the future if you can’t adjust the price.

In the end buyers are looking for price, condition, and location as three of the most important factors in their decision-making process.

How do you know if you’re priced right as a seller? Have your agent do an updated market analysis for you to ensure that you remain competitively priced. Just because a certain price made sense when you first listed the home doesn’t mean it’s the right price weeks or months down the road. It’s all about supply and demand like any other product. The more there is to choose from the less the value. And if other homes have come on the market and/or sold since you first put your home on the market then you have to seriously consider if your price is still competitive.

If you are a buyer and need to know if you’re getting a fair price on a home or the best deal possible your agent should do the exact same thing, prepare a market analysis on the home you’re considering buying to see how it’s priced in comparison to others that are for sale and recently sold. This is how the appraiser for the bank will go about determining how much the bank is willing to lend on the property it’s just a more detailed reporting system than what’s generated through the multiple listing service is most cases.

The average sales price year to date here in Roanoke, Virginia is $194,595 and the average list to sales price ratio is 95.4% meaning that on average homes are selling for 95.4% of what they’re listed for. If I can answer any questions for you about our local housing market, please call me at 540-725-7727 or email me at thecrouchteam@gmail.com.

For more information on our team, to see the homes we currently have for sale, and to discover what our past customers and clients had to say about their experience with our team, please visit our website at http://www.thecrouchteam.com. We would love to help you with all your housing needs.

Thank you for reading.

What’s The Difference Between A Listing Agent & A Buyer’s Agent

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Christy Crouch

This is a question I think more and more consumers are facing as the real estate business continues to evolve. There is so much more information available online than we ever imagined having access to a couple of decades ago. Having been in the business personally now for almost 24 years I can say that it’s an entirely different business today than it was when I first started. That’s with anything in life though and as I always tell the agents I coach and train; the only constant is change!

While having instant access to so much information is great in many aspects, it can also get a bit overwhelming and even confusing at times. I just had a first time buyer reach out to me on Zillow.com as a result of seeing our references and reviews from past customers and clients and wanted to interview with us to be their buyers agent. As we were emailing back and forth and I was giving information and answering questions she said exactly that, wow this is all a bit overwhelming which prompted me to write this post.

So here is a quick overview of what a listing agent does:

1. Market and advertise the home

2. Generally they provide a professional sign and a lockbox for other agents to be able to access and show the home

3. Generally they place the home in a multiple listing service that other local agents have access to so that they can see all the homes that are currently for sale.

4. They should give the seller tips and advice on things that can be done help the home show best and explain the entire home selling process to them

5. They should go over comparable properties and values and help the seller choose a list price

6. They should explain all disclosures that will need to be signed and what this means

7. They should coordinate showings with other agents and hopefully follow-up to get feedback from the showings that takes place and then communicate that with their seller

8. If feasible they will help the seller negotiate acceptable price and terms when an offer comes in. There are agency issues to be considered and this is something I can talk further about if you have questions please give me a call at 540-725-7727 or an email at christycrouch@aol.com and I’ll explain the different types of Agency and the impact it can have.

9. They should help facilitate the closing process and keep the seller informed along the way as things occur which could include but not be limited to scheduling inspections, walk through, repair work if applicable, appraisal walk through, closing time, coordinating funds, transfer of utilities, etc.

10.They should have the seller sign a listing agreement specifying the above tasks being done generally for a specified time period.

While many sellers think the listing agent they hire may be the one showing the home and ultimately selling it, this is generally not the case. In fact, other agents and companies will likely show the home way more often than the listing agent simply due to the numbers factor. In the Roanoke, Virginia area we have just over 1,000 active Realtors so obviously 1,000 Realtors will have access to more buyers than just the listing agent. If the listing agent has a buyer then it behooves them to show it and sell it if at all possible as they’ll get paid more money that way in more cases. And it costs an agent time and money to carry a listing so it’s really an investment on their part and the sooner they are able to turnover their inventory the better off for both them and the seller.

This is just a brief overview of what a listing agent does as each individual agent and company have their own marketing plan with different things they do to gain maximum exposure for a home and to provide service to their clients.

Here is quick overview of what a buyer’s agent does:

1. They should explain the entire home buying process to the buyer so the buyer goes into it with eyes wide open knowing exactly what to expect

2. They should encourage the buyer to get pre approved for a loan up front so the buyer knows exactly what price range to be looking under in order to keep their payments where they’re comfortable. Many times a buyer qualifies for more than they really want to spend so having the lender work the figures backwards to ensure payments stay where they want is ideal.

3. They should have a conversation with the buyer to determine what type of home and what locations are of interest and then research the entire market to ensure the buyer has access to all homes that are available and then keep the buyer posted as anything new comes on the market based on what they’re looking for and show them any homes that are of interest.

4. If feasible they will assist the buyer in making an offer once the buyer finds the right home. Again there are agency issues here to be considered as well.

5. They will help the buyer schedule their formal loan application, home inspections, closing time, walk through, utilities, and coordinating funds for closing.

Many buyers are shopping online nowadays and then driving by the outsides of homes before they ever schedule a time to see the inside. Truly it’s become almost like a two step elimination process where they’ve already seen everything about the home online and driven by in most cases before they ever walk through the front door. This saves the buyer, seller, and Realtor time but more importantly it brings better quality showings for both the buyer and the seller. It’s a bit frustrating for sellers because they’re not seeing the same level of activity and showings as what they did years ago before buyers had access to so much information online. I do think it’s much more productive for both buyers and sellers nowadays. Buyers don’t have to be drug into house after house that doesn’t meet their needs just because the Realtor thinks it’s the home for them as now they get to choose which homes they look at, and sellers don’t have to deal with buyer after buyer traipsing through their home just for the sake of looking at it. It’s much better quality time spent for all parties involved.

In fact, over the last year we’ve sold two homes to buyers from out of the area who never saw the property in person. It’s amazing where technology has brought us. I just closed on a home today with some first time buyers who only actually walked into 5 or 6 homes but shopped through literally hundreds online and driving by as our market still holds over an 11 month’s supply of inventory for buyers to choose from. They were able to view hundreds of homes from the comfort of their own home in privacy and then choose the ones that best suited them for us to go see.

I hope this helps to give an overview of what the difference between a listing agent and a buyers agent is. If I can answer further questions for you or you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Roanoke, Virginia and surrounding areas, I would love the opportunity for our team to interview with you and apply for the job of helping you. Together we have over 40 years combined experience and have participated in closing thousands of transactions during the course of our career. For you this means we’ve come across almost every possible scenario that can arise allowing us to hopefully provide you with a headache free experience when buying or selling a home.

We’ve been blessed to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from RE/MAX, inducted into The RE/MAX Hall Of Fame, recognized in the top 10 for the Central Atlantic Region, recognized in the top 100 by The Roanoker Magazine, and are in the top 2.3% of our market for production. We offer a fully staffed team to ensure no detail is overlooked and that all your needs are taken care of. We’ve been blessed to help 50 families buy and sell already this year and will be sure to take excellent care of you should you given the opportunity. To put one of the highest recognized teams to work for you today simply call The Crouch Team 540-725-7727 or email us at christycrouch@aol.com or you may learn more about us on our website at http://www.thecrouchteam.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Trulia, Zillow, http://www.zillow.com/profile/thecrouchteam YouTube, Realtor.com, RE/MAX.com, and The Real Estate Book.com.

Great News For First Time Buyers.. An Award for Roanoke Being One Of The Most Livable Cities, And A Successful Blue Ridge Marathon

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Christy Crouch

So I just read the below quick posts from The Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors and instantly wanted to share the good news! Wow what a great opportunity for first time buyers to have a new way to save for their down payment. And what an honor to know that we live in one of the most livable cities. People truly come from all over the world to see the mountain views we enjoy every day here in Roanoke, Virginia!

I was truly excited to read how well our Blue Ridge Marathon did this year as well both with attracting runners from all over the world and for having such a positive economic impact for Roanoke at the same time. From having personally ran and completed it 🙂 it 2013 I can say first hand, its one of the toughest courses you can run. It was also breathtakingly beautiful and a huge success for me to have been able to complete my first marathon ever right here in my own home town with some very dear friends. We crossed the finish line together within only seconds of each other and stayed together throughout the course.

I love being able to help home buyers and sellers find just the right home here in the Roanoke Valley. If you are thinking of buying or selling here in our area, our team would love the opportunity to interview with you and apply for the job of helping you. Our goal is to create customers for life and we realize this can only be accomplished by taking excellent care of you every step of the way. To discover more about our team and to see the homes we currently have for sale please visit our website at http://www.thecrouchteam.com.

Here are the three articles I wanted to share:

New Law Addresses First-time Homebuyers

On July 1, 2014, a new law takes effect that makes it easier for Virginians to save for their first homes. Thanks to theVirignia Association of REALTORS’ 2014 signature legislation, Virginians will now be able to invest up to $50,000 in financial institutions like credit unions and banks or directly in mutual funds, brokerage accounts, or almost any other financial vehicle and declare them first-timehomebuyer savings plans.The gains or earnings on the investment are free of state taxes, and the funds can be used for down payments and closing costs on first home purchases in the Commonwealth. Whether it’s a grandparent opening an account for a newborn or a recent college grad looking to the future, first-time homebuyer savings plans will reinforce the idea that setting a little something aside today will make it easier to buy a home tomorrow. Click here for more information.

Roanoke Named One of America’s Most Livable Cities

The City of Roanoke received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, marking it as one of the country’s most livable cities.The winners were chosen from a pool of more than 200 applicants by an independent panel of judges, and recognizes mayoral leadership in developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America’s cities.In Roanoke’s case, it was the City’s Parks and Art program that earned it the award. The program brings various performance and visual arts to neighborhood parks throughout the City.Four other cities in Roanoke’s size category received the award.

Blue Ridge Marathon Brings Largest Economic Impact to Date

More racersfromout of town brought more money into the Roanoke Region’s economy during the fifth annualFootLevelers Blue Ridge Marathon, half marathon and Anthem Star 10K. “America’s Toughest Road Marathon” hosted 1,594 runners who generated over $521,000 in economic impact according to a new report released by the Roanoke Regional Partnership. Over the past five years, the race has contributed more than $2 million to the local economy.The economic impact is larger this year as a result of increased participation by runners from outside the Roanoke Region. The race drew runners from 38 states plus the District of Columbia — and six countries: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.The race course started in downtown Roanoke and climbed to the top of Mill Mountain and Roanoke Mountain along sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway for a total elevation change of 7,430 feet.

Top 100 Realtors in Roanoke

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Christy Crouch

I am honored to have been selected as being in the top 100 Realtors for the greater Roanoke, Virginia area and wanted to share this with you. If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Roanoke, Virginia … Continue reading →

Realtor.com Hack Attack

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Christy Crouch

Good Afternoon,

I am writing to inform you of the below information that I was made aware of today by my sales rep at Realtor.com.

After days of Realtor.com which powers our team site, and many other public sites, not working properly, being down, and having inaccurate information we’ve found it has been seriously hacked into.

Please see the article below for further information and detail. I imagine it may be on the news as well as this is a major incident impacting many levels.

I am hopeful that it will be resolved soon and will continue to keep you posted. On a positive note the market has really shown improvement again this week, we’ve sold 3 more houses and just got multiple offers on another listing.

I believe the 3rd and 4th quarters of this year will be much better than what we’ve experienced in the housing industry over the 2nd quarter.

Please see article below and if you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Roanoke, Virginia and surrounding areas, I hope you’ll keep our team in mind. We would love the opportunity to interview with you and apply for the job of helping you. Please call us at 540-725-7727 or email me at christycrouch@aol.com if we can be of support to you in any way with your housing needs.

Jun 19, 2014

Why Isn’t Your Home Selling?

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Christy Crouch

I just read this from Realtor.com and wanted to share it. In the Roanoke, Virginia area the housing market has slowed tremendously and is undeniably frustrating for those trying to sell their home. I talk about it often and see here in this article they are saying the same about the importance of price and condition.

If you have questions or are thinking of buying or selling a home in the Roanoke, Virginia area our team would love to interview with you and apply for the job of helping you. We work with a lot folks here in the area and offer over 50 years combined experience with a fully staffed team to support you throughout the home buying and selling process. Please call me at 540-725-7727, email me at christycrouch@aol.com, or visit our website at http://www.thecrouchteam.com to discover more about our team and to see the homes we currently have for sale.

If the listing for your home hasn’t been attracting buyers for a few weeks in a fast-paced real estate market, or for a few months in a slower one, you certainly have good reason to be worried.

A home doesn’t sell due to a variety of factors, some of which you can control and some of which you can’t.

Let’s start with the things you can control, which also happen to be the most important elements of any home’s appeal to buyers: price and condition.

Price Your Home Right, From the Start

A good REALTOR® will help you determine the correct price for your home based on a thorough comparative market analysis (CMA). The reason it’s so important to price your home appropriately from the beginning is that a home that’s priced too high will languish on the market without any offers.

Even if you lower the price later, you will have lost the momentum of the initial listing period and buyers will assume there’s something wrong with the home. Eventually you may sell it, but more than likely the final sales price will be lower than your correct initial price would have been. Price your home too low and you have lost out on potential profit.

Your price should be based on current local market conditions, not on what you need to pay off your mortgage, what your neighbor sold her place for a year ago, nor your guesstimate of what your home is worth. Your REALTOR®’s CMA will look at recent sales, homes that didn’t sell and were pulled off the market, and current listings to guide your price decision.

Condition of Your Home

Regardless of your local market conditions, buyers have high expectations for your home, beginning with the exterior. While you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money, you do need to raise the level of your home’s curb appeal with some sweat equity. Pull weeds, trim the grass, plant a few flowers and perhaps paint your front door to make sure prospective buyers don’t decide to drive away.

Inside, your home needs to be consistently clean, neat, decluttered and depersonalized so that buyers can visualize themselves living there. Your REALTOR® should be able to suggest ways to prepare your home for a sale, which, by the way, is nothing like the way you live in it. Your kitchen counters should be cleared, your bed always made and your dishes always put away in case a buyer wants to visit.

Marketing Your Home

When you choose a REALTOR® to list your home, make sure you ask about photos and a marketing plan. The majority of buyers look online first at properties so it’s crucial that your home has multiple professional-quality photos that make it look as enticing as possible, and that your home appears on multiple websites so buyers can see it. A listing without a photo or with one badly lit photo isn’t likely to generate many offers.

Make Your Home Available

One of the more challenging aspects of listing your home for sale is that you must make it available to buyers as easily as possible. Buyers prefer to see a home without the owner there, so make sure there’s a lockbox at your property and that you allow nearly unlimited access to prospective buyers.

Sharing an email with you to my sellers

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Christy Crouch

I wanted to share the below email that I sent to my sellers this morning in case you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Roanoke, Virginia and surrounding areas. This gives a little insight to how things are doing as well as revealing our year to date housing market statistics for Roanoke, Virginia.

If you are thinking of buying or selling a home, our team would love the opportunity to interview with you and apply for the job of helping you. Please call us at 540-725-7727, email us at christycrouch@aol.com or visit our website to discover more about our team and to see the homes we currently have for sale.

As we are now into the first of June, I wanted to share our year to date market statistics with you. I’ve included each individual area so you can see exactly what’s going on in your area and then a summary of our market at the end that reveals the average of all.

The market continues to be much slower than I ever imagined it would be at this time this year. I have recently had conversations with lenders, other Realtors both in our area and in other locations around the US, my broker, our title company, and several other small business owners who’s business is directly impacted by the housing market. Unfortunately, it is slow all around, we are dealing with an over supply of inventory right now and it’s taking much longer for homes to sell than what we anticipated for this year.

Please rest assured that we want your property to sell just as quickly as you do. Our goal is to create customers for life and we realize this can’t be done without doing a great job for you and at the same time getting results. We also don’t get paid unless and until it sells and we are all in this business full time and it’s what feeds our kids :).

I know it’s very frustrating for you as a seller in today’s market. Things have changed so much and we have much less actual showings due to the internet, you don’t get to see what we’re doing behind the scenes here and you probably get tired of hearing about the websites and to pay attention to those reports but just like most of you probably do more shopping online than you did ten years ago, home buyers are no different. We’re actually working with a buyer right now who’s relocating with a job transfer and has to be here to start by mid July, they are buying their new home sight unseen from the internet and all the information they are able to gather from there.

We have to accept that the market and how business is done has changed and will continue to change even more as we head further into this decade. The only constant in this world is change and to resist it is to make it worse. Open houses don’t work anymore, it’s not safe and it’s primarily nosy neighbors, professional open house goers, people looking for decorating ideas, or simply people with nothing better to do. I can assure you that if a buyer is serious about finding a home and is qualified to buy a home, they are NOT not going to buy your home because there wasn’t an open house. They are going to ensure they’re aware of ALL homes that are for sale based on what they’re looking for not just those holding an open house.

Print advertising is becoming less and less effective as well. Buyers are on their smartphones not browsing through the Roanoke Times anymore. I would venture to say the newspaper won’t be in print for too many more years.

I am paying a small fortune to be a premier agent on the various websites that we use and while there are technical difficulties with them and they aren’t perfect, I can assure that more and more of our business is coming from the internet everyday and this is what’s working to sell homes and gain the most exposure. After exposure you have to really look at your curb appeal, condition, and price. In the end it boils down to price, condition, and location that determine what a buyer will choose to look at and ultimately make an offer on.

Last week I blogged about student loan debt and just yesterday I had a first time buyer inquire about buying and when we had her speak with our lender, sadly she can’t qualify until the student loan debt she has is either paid off or lowered significantly.

Hopefully financing will continue to open up for home buyers again. I am afraid that the threat of home interest deduction being taken away, and the whole health care reform nightmare that we’re dealing with are having an impact on the market as well. Whether you agree or disagree with the health care reform it’s been a lot of change and stress for many in many different ways.

As I mentioned in my email last week forecasts are showing that the market is supposed to continue to pick up and I’m holding out and praying for that. I don’t mean to be the barer of bad news this morning but want to educate you on what is truly going on out here in the housing market.

Please let me know what questions you have and what further information I can provide that would be helpful to you. We will continue to keep you posted as we proceed with things. Here is the market statistics I mentioned above.

Property Type Year to Date Activity Report

For 01/01/2014 To 6/3/2014

Property Type	Area	Current Active	New	Pend	Sold	Sold Volume	Average Sales Price	DOM	CDOM	% Of List	Coop Sales	Coop Volume	Expr	Withdrawn
Residential	0110 – City of Roanoke – Downtown	13	7	4	1	640,000	640,000	196	208	85.3	1	640,000	3	0
Residential	0120 – City of Roanoke – South	75	89	23	43	14,139,202	328,819	154	194	95.4	38	13,305,202	15	4
Residential	0130 – City of Roanoke – SW	186	264	59	123	20,718,710	168,445	94	135	95.6	110	19,302,593	53	3
Residential	0140 – City of Roanoke – NW	146	169	27	80	6,251,812	78,148	129	176	93.5	66	4,872,462	52	8
Residential	0150 – City of Roanoke – NE	203	264	40	115	12,002,992	104,374	110	179	95.5	102	10,704,642	55	6
Residential	0160 – City of Roanoke – SE	51	55	7	25	1,401,051	56,042	112	182	93.1	23	1,255,051	13	3
Residential	0170 – City of Roanoke – Garden City	28	38	7	19	1,366,000	71,895	105	133	93.3	15	1,125,300	10	1
Residential	0210 – Roanoke County – North	187	262	68	137	25,439,376	185,689	111	168	97.2	113	20,729,926	55	6
Residential	0220 – Roanoke County – East	57	93	26	49	8,286,069	169,103	95	153	97.0	46	7,793,569	21	3
Residential	0221 – Roanoke County – Town of Vinton	51	62	9	27	3,342,079	123,781	114	169	96.2	24	2,973,079	17	0
Residential	0230 – Roanoke County – South	324	406	104	158	35,655,389	225,667	108	154	96.9	140	31,385,275	95	7
Residential	0240 – Roanoke County – West	122	131	26	48	10,359,019	215,813	121	201	97.0	43	9,601,519	29	1
Residential	0300 – City of Salem	196	247	37	91	15,285,669	167,974	103	175	95.9	79	13,618,419	77	5
Residential	0400 – Franklin County	760	594	84	187	43,669,336	233,526	198	305	94.0	165	38,322,236	191	20
Residential	0600 – Bedford County	541	461	77	154	34,690,311	225,262	189	274	93.5	128	30,212,935	123	12
Residential	0601 – Town of Bedford	43	38	5	14	1,676,500	119,750	170	218	92.8	11	1,256,500	13	1
Residential	0700 – Botetourt County	322	334	64	113	24,901,707	220,369	139	191	95.5	100	22,457,207	97	3
Residential	0800 – Craig County	30	18	5	10	1,770,950	177,095	214	251	89.9	8	1,689,950	2	3
Residential	0900 – City of Radford	5	5	0	0			46	46		0		0	0
Residential	1000 – Montgomery County	26	40	34	9	912,900	101,433	112	126	96.6	8	847,900	10	0
Residential	1100 – Floyd County	68	55	8	16	2,516,250	157,266	181	219	92.2	9	1,155,250	24	3
Residential	1200 – Patrick County	5	6	0	0			174	189		0		4	1
Residential	1300 – City of Martinsville	6	3	0	2	144,500	72,250	158	158	97.7	1	122,000	3	0
Residential	1400 – Henry County	32	39	3	10	926,400	92,640	120	123	90.7	7	756,500	20	1
Residential	1500 – City of Danville	4	8	1	2	100,100	50,050	89	89	90.5	2	100,100	2	0
Residential	1600 – Pittsylvania County	54	48	8	12	1,339,790	111,649	179	238	90.5	8	898,790	15	1
Residential	1700 – Halifax County	3	3	0	0			52	52		0		0	0
Residential	1800 – Charlotte County	0	1	1	0			68	68		0		0	0
Residential	1900 – City of Lynchburg	13	12	4	5	738,900	147,780	193	207	95.6	4	616,400	3	1
Residential	2000 – Campbell County	15	20	2	5	805,500	161,100	141	142	90.8	4	591,500	6	0
Residential	2100 – Appomattox County	2	2	0	0			143	143		0		1	0
Residential	2200 – Amherst County	4	3	1	1	78,000	78,000	139	139	86.8	0		2	0
Residential	2500 – Rockbridge County	14	10	1	3	712,000	237,333	182	195	100.6	3	712,000	7	0
Residential	2600 – City of Covington	1	2	1	0			136	136		0		2	0
Residential	2700 – Alleghany County	10	19	3	8	1,040,900	130,112	113	147	89.0	3	111,000	13	0
Residential	2800 – Giles County	1	1	0	0			11	11		0		0	0
Residential	3000 – Pulaski County	6	7	1	2	132,400	66,200	97	97	98.6	1	49,900	0	1
Residential	3100 – Wythe County	2	2	0	0			79	79		0		0	0
Residential	3200 – City of Galax	0	0	0	1	48,000	48,000	138	138	98.0	1	48,000	0	0
Residential	3300 – Carroll County	4	2	0	2	165,000	82,500	376	376	94.7	2	165,000	2	0
Residential	9900 – All Other Counties/Cities	7	7	1	3	218,387	72,796	100	109	95.4	3	218,387	2	1
Subtotal		3617	3827	741	1475	271,475,198	184,051	143	208	95.2	1,268	237,638,591	1037	95

How Student Loans Are Impacting The Housing Market

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Christy Crouch

I just read another interesting article about home buyers and wanted to share this one also. This saddens me a bit as it’s becoming harder and harder for our younger generations to get off the ground. With high student loan debt, less than desirable job opportunity, and tighter underwriting guidelines, the dream of owning a home is seemingly distant to some.

I hope together our country can figure out a path that will not leave our future generations drowning in student loan debt, credit card debt, and a tax deficit that may never reach a reasonable level.

Our local housing market here in Roanoke, Virginia has an 11.29 month’s supply of inventory up from 8.09 in 2013. Yet the forecasts continue to say the housing market is picking up. I’m holding out faith and hope on that one and realizing more now than ever that if you want to sell your home it truly boils down to three major factors, price, condition, and location. Since we are able to control the first two we certainly should if trying to sell in today’s market.

If you have questions about buying or selling a home in the Roanoke,Virginia and surrounding areas our team would love to help. Please call me at 540-725-7727 or email me at christycrouch@aol.com or visit our website at http://www.thecrouchteam.com to discover more about our team and to see the homes we currently have for sale. Here is the article I mentioned above:

By Amy Cuculo

I have worked at Embrace for six years. I stay on top of market trends and relevant data. I understand the home-buying process well. With the spring buying season upon us, I have seen many recent news articles about the difficulties faced by first-time homebuyers. It got me thinking: I am exactly the type of customer people in the industry need to tap in to and empower to purchase – late twenties, fiscally responsible, steady job, good credit. I even have a leg up on my peers because I have an understanding of the mortgage process. But what’s holding me back? Like so many others, the answer is student loans.

The growing student loan burden carried by millions of Americans undermines the housing recovery’s momentum. It discourages potential buyers, like me, from purchasing their first homes. While the aspiration to own a home has remained unchanged – it is the American dream after all – consumers want to be responsible. First-time buyers are the foundation of the housing market but they are not stepping up to fill the void. In a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors, of the 20% of buyers who said it was difficult to save for a down payment, 54% said student loans made it tough to save money.

First-timers have accounted for nearly a third of home purchases over the past year, which is well below historical norms. Student loan debt trumps other debt and it is going to have a profound effect on a younger generation’s ability to borrower. The lending climate has become less forgiving with the introduction of QM. New federal rules have given lenders some legal protection as long as they do not approve loans for buyers whose total monthly debt exceeds 43% of their gross monthly income. Creating yet another hurdle, FHA, a popular choice for first-time buyers, currently allows lenders to ignore student debt that is deferred for a year or more when assessing a borrower’s eligibility. There has been indication that the agency may alter this rule,

Last year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York conducted an analysis of the impact of student loans and the results were dramatic. From 2009-2012, the homeownership rates fell twice as much for 30-year-olds who had a history of student loans than those without the added debt. So the question is not do we want to own a home, but how will we own a home? How do we as a society build a finance system that supports homeownership?

Christy Crouch, Realtor,

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