5 Things That Make It Difficult to Sell a House

Most likely, your house is the most-valuable asset that you own. That being the case, you obviously want to get top-dollar when you decide to put your house on the market. Selling your home can be a stressful and emotional time, so you want to do everything you can do to make the process run as smoothly as possible.

Toward that end, there are some things to watch out for when putting your house on the market. Each of the five points listed below could make it quite difficult to sell your home, depending on market conditions and other factors.


#1 – You Priced It Too High

This should be an obvious point, but it deserves a spot at the top of our list because it is such a costly mistake. While everyone knows that listing prices are negotiable in the world of home buying and selling, listing your house too high might cause prospective buyers to miss out on even seeing your house in the first place. For example, if a prospective buyer is looking to spend between $350,000 and $400,000, and you list your home for $405,000, that buyer might not even consider your property as an option. Be realistic and list your home for fair market value with the help of a real estate agent.

#2 – Poor Curb Appeal

First impressions matter, so make sure your home gets off to a great start with any prospective buyers. When someone drives up to your home for the first time, what are they going to notice? If they are met with messy landscaping and other exterior issues, they will instantly have a negative association with the home. Make sure your house looks good from the street with tidy landscaping and a clean entrance.

#3 – Clutter, Clutter, Clutter

Before buying a home, shoppers are certainly going to want to walk through the house to get a good understanding of its layout, condition, size, etc. However, if your house is so full of stuff that prospective buyers can barely walk through safely, they are going to have a hard time making a decision. Clean up before you put your house on the market, and store your excess stuff elsewhere if necessary.

#4 – Invisible Online

Nearly all prospective buyers are going to start their home-buying process online these days, so make sure your house has a presence on the web when it goes up for sale. Sure, you can put a sign out in the yard, but that sign isn’t going to attract nearly as many people as a professional listing with quality pictures and a clear description.

#5 – A Major Problem

No home is perfect, and if you have been living in a home for a number of years it is sure to have a couple of issues here and there. That is fine, and it won’t stop most people from making an offer if they like the house otherwise. However, if there is a big problem with the house, you might run into trouble. Some examples of big problems that can impede a sale would include a leaky roof or an unstable foundation. You don’t need to fix everything about your house before it goes for sale, but make sure you address any major issues that are going to turn off most buyers.

Warning: Rabies found in dead animal in Oakland County

Officials are warning residents in Oakland County after a dead skunk found just north of Detroit tested positive for rabies.

Rabies is a zoonotic disease (a disease that is transmitted from animals to humans), caused by the rabies virus, of the Lyssavirus genus, within the family Rhabdoviridae. Domestic dogs are the most common reservoir of the virus, with more than 99% of human deaths caused by dog-mediated rabies.

The Oakland County Health Division says the skunk carcass was removed from Southfield, in an area north of 10 Mile Road and south of Lincoln Road between Southfield and Greenfield roads.

It has been reported that multiple dead skunks were recently found in this area but were not tested for rabies. If additional dead wild animals are found within this specific area, call the Health Division at 248-858-1286.

Residents are urged to stay away from wild animals such as skunks, bats, raccoons, foxes, and stray cats and dogs.

"Rabies is present in our communities," Leigh-Anne Stafford, health officer for Oakland County, said in a statement. "People and their pets need to be careful and avoid encounters with unfamiliar animals."

The rabies virus is found in the saliva of infected animals and is spread through bites or scratches. Rabies is not spread through a skunk’s spray.

If a wild animal is found behaving strangely -- including having problems swallowing, exhibiting lots of drool or saliva, appearing tamer than you would expect, biting at everything, and having trouble moving or is paralyzed -- call the Oakland County Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center at 248-858-1070 for assistance.

If you or your household pet is bitten by any wild animal or an animal unknown to you, wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical or veterinary attention immediately. To report an animal bite, call the Health Division at 248-858-1286.

Everyone can take simple steps to protect themselves from rabies:

• Do not handle stray, wild, or dead animals.
• Keep pets indoors or supervised to limit their exposure to wild animals that may be rabid.
• Use a leash when walking dogs or keep them in a fenced-in yard.
• Have pets vaccinated regularly. This will protect them if exposed to animals with the disease and prevent them from becoming ill and infecting humans.
• Do not feed or put water for pets outside.
• Keep garbage securely covered, as these items may attract wild or stray animals.

Mortgage Rates Just Saw Their Largest Increase In 3 Years

Home Mortgage Rates Increased Dramatically

The average rate on the 30-year fixed is now 13 basis points higher than it was Monday and 29 basis points higher than its last low on Sept. 4, according to Mortgage News Daily.

A basis point is the smallest measure used in quoting yields on fixed income products. Basis points also pertain to interest rates. One basis point is equal to one one-hundredth of one percentage point (0.01%). Therefore, 100 basis points would be equivalent to 1%

That is the biggest short-term jump since the week after the election of President Trump.

That is the bad news for borrowers. The good news is that rates are still incredibly low, and in the weeks before this turnaround, rates had fallen to the lowest level in three years.

"These sorts of bad performances are most often seen in the wake of stellar performances," said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily. "August was the best month for mortgage rates, and 2019 has been the best year since 2011. And that's precisely why this terrible week is possible: It's largely a technical correction to the feverish strength in August."

Analysts now wonder if this a short-term correction from those recent lows or a new shift toward rising rates.

"The big risk here is that the overall rate rally—the one that began in November 2018—has run its course," Graham said.

If the market "can match 2011's performance, there's a chance rates will move to new all-time lows by the end of the year," he added. But that would require "some legitimate deterioration in the global growth outlook."

Mortgage rates loosely follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury. While moves in the Federal Reserve's rates can affect bond yields, mortgage rates are not necessarily tied to Fed rate cuts or increases.

While mortgage rates are still historically low, so many borrowers have already refinanced, that the pool of those left who could benefit is extremely rate sensitive.

When rates dipped to their recent low, the number of borrowers with good credit scores and at least 20% equity in their homes who could save on a refinanced surged to the largest on record, 11.7 million, according to Black Knight.

That has now dropped by about 2 million. Black Knight defines refinance candidates as 30-year mortgage holders with a maximum 80% loan-to-value ratio and credit scores of 720 or higher, who could shave at least 0.75% off their current first lien rate by refinancing.

Mortgage applications to refinance a home loan were actually flat last week, despite the low rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

That may have more to do with psychology than anything else. When borrowers see rates dropping fast, they hold off, thinking they may go even lower. As with every other market, you can't time the mortgage market.

WHAT RECESSION: Experts Predict a Strong Housing Market for the Rest of 2019

Here’s what some of the experts have to say:

Ralph McLaughlin, Deputy Chief Economist for CoreLogic

“We see the cooldown flattening or even reversing course in the coming months and expect the housing market to continue coming into balance. In the meantime, buyers are likely claiming some ground from what has been seller’s territory over the past few years. If mortgage rates stay low, wages continue to grow, and inventory picks up, we can expect the U.S. housing market to further stabilize throughout the remainder of the year.”

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR

“We expect the second half of year will be notably better than the first half in terms of home sales, mainly because of lower mortgage rates.”

Freddie Mac

“The drop in mortgage rates continues to stimulate the real estate market and the economy. Home purchase demand is up five percent from a year ago and has noticeably strengthened since the early summer months…The benefit of lower mortgage rates is not only shoring up home sales, but also providing support to homeowner balance sheets via higher monthly cash flow and steadily rising home equity.”

Bottom Line
The housing market will be strong for the rest of 2019. If you’d like to know more about our specific market, let’s get together to discuss what’s happening in our area

When to Drop Your Listing Price

Though low inventory is prompting buyers to raise their offers in order to beat out competitors, you still want your sellers to know: an overpriced listing will linger on the market. Buyers pay attention to time on market and may erroneously assume something is wrong with a property that has gone “stale.” Real estate pros say it’s critical to determine what time frame is considered stale in your market and drop the price of your listing before getting to that pivotal moment.

Ronald Dwyer / Realtor

"I typically drop the price after the third week on the market, usually in $5,000 to $10,000 increments.  But I may be more aggressive than most. DwyerProperties.com powered by 3DX Real Estate.
Price cuts in the Detroit-area market  have been common lately. But “there is a strange change that is in the air, and sellers are starting to have to become more humble. I would not say it is a buyer’s market, but a new balance between buyers and sellers has been hitting us since May of this year", said Ronald Dwyer of

Soaring home prices may make buyers pause, but houses are still selling fast. Nationwide, the average time a home spent on the market was 34 days , according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Some sellers may be adamant about “testing the market” with a high asking price, so you should have a game plan for what to do if it backfires. I personally don’t believe in testing the market, but if we enter the market [with a list price] pushing the top of the range, we can easily gauge response within seven to 10 days.  “It’s almost a certainty that if we don’t get an offer within that first 10-day period, then we’ve missed the mark.”

Sellers should be open to do a rapid price adjustment that can then result in a quicker sale. You can bring those same buyers back—the ones who liked the property in the first place and who will view the price adjustment as ‘the seller is listening to me.

The long-term consequences of not buying a house

The longer a person puts off buying a home, the more they will pay for one and the more likely they are to have mortgage debt later in life.

Research from the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, shows people who bought their houses between the ages of 25 and 34 (the age millennials are now), had $135,000 more value built up in their homes when they turned 60 than people who bought their first homes after they were 45 years old.

The bottom line: “The delay [in buying a house] is not just going to affect [millennials’] current life satisfaction. It could have a longer term effect on their wealth as they age,” said Jung Hyun Choi, a research associate with the Urban Institute.

Will millennials benefit from historically low mortgage rates?

Mortgage rates are at near-record lows as many millennials are hitting their 30s — the age when many people traditionally become homeowners. Yet the low rates are unlikely to significantly increase millennial homeownership

Are you a first-time home buyer?
Are you a renter tired of renting?
 Interest rates are still at and all time low
Would you like to qualify for $7,500 towards
 a down payment of your home?
 Give me a call or send me a message
 and I will get you going on the
right path. 248-390-6345.

rates, which are about 8 percent lower than past generations, according to analysts.

Here’s what’s stacked up against millennials, and why homeownership matters in building wealth, at a time when this generation is already lagging behind its predecessors. While there is no official definition, millennials are generally considered people born between 1981 and 1996.

Current housing market conditions
The interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped sharply last week to 3.6 percent, on fears of an economic downturn. The current rates are more than a percentage point lower than they were last November.

Let’s say you considered buying a $300,000 home on a 30-year mortgage in the fall, but held off. If you were to buy the same house now, the interest rate drop could decrease your monthly payments by $160 per month and save more than $60,000 over the life of the loan.

“Conditions are very favorable [to buy a home],” said Greg McBride, an economist with Bankrate.com. In addition to low interest rates, “the labor market is the best it’s been.”

But there aren’t many affordable homes on the market. Older Americans are not “moving up” to larger houses like they did in past generations. Investors have bought up many of the smaller homes that would have been affordable for first-time homebuyers. And developers are building more apartments to rent instead of condos to sell.

Even if there were lots of homes to choose from, many millennials would have a difficult time saving enough money to purchase one. What’s holding them back? Student debt and the high cost of housing.

Student debt weighs on millennials’ ability to save and make mortgage payments. With college costs soaring, the average student loan balance for a millennial borrower is $34,500, according the consumer credit reporting agency Experian. It also factors into whether a lender will approve a borrower’s loan.

But even if millions of millennials weren’t contending with the expense of college loans, incomes have not kept up with rising housing costs.

If someone with a median income saved 10 percent of their earnings, it would now take them 5.7 years to save enough money for a 20-percent down payment on a median-valued home — that’s 1.5 years longer than it took in 1988..

The good news: A 20-percent down payment is no longer needed to purchase a home. Lenders and government programs offer a variety of other options for lower down payments. Some of them come with an additional mortgage insurance that will be added to monthly payments, but that extra fee can be eliminated once 20 percent of the home’s value is paid down.