But the official sign is not nearly as interesting as the mural that Quirk Middle School students have drawn on the lower portion of the wall. Very creative - a modern version of the painted ads that used to be common on the side of city building.

The roof of the former Hartford Board of Education building has been removed as crews work to preserve the historic brick facade. Looking into the structure, the second floor railing and spindles are visible in the small atrium beyond the front door. You can also see the supports for the former drop ceilings, hanging well below the actual ceilings.

Below the pictures are links to articles that have been written about the project over the past few years.

July 26, 2006: Half Million for New Public Safety Complex (The Hartford News)
March 12, 2007: City Council Authorizes the Use of Eminent Domain (HartfordInfo.org)
July 17, 2007: Public Safety Complex Nears Reality (WFSB)
January 21, 2008: Conflict Holds Up New Public Safety Complex (Hartford Business Journal)
May 20, 2009: Public Safety Complex (courant.com CityLine)
June 8, 2009: Downtown Public Safety Complex Good for Residents, Development (Hartford Courant)
June 26, 2009: House Approves Larson’s Funding for Hartford Public Safety Complex (tmcnet.com)

While there is an abundant amount of information about the origin and uses of the various polystyrene derivations, there does not seem to be much guidance about how to safely dispose of it. The best general article I found takes on the recycling challenge directly. The website has a search feature to look for local drop-off sites, and suggests a number of re-use options for those of us that cannot recycle directly.

Recycling in Greater Hartford is overseen by the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, who maintain links to the programs of the individual towns. Here in Hartford the curbside recycling program does not include polystyrene, which I learned this week (see photo). And I had even bundled the pieces with twine just like the newspapers and magazines - what a waste! The pickup people gave the pile a once-over and then continued on their way. Calls to the Waste & Recycling Division of the Hartford Department of Public Works and the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority have not yielded any definitive answers. I’ll update the post if one (or both) gets back to me with helpful information.

So I guess that leaves me to dispose of this stuff on my own - does anyone want some styrofoam? I have some excellent pieces for protecting the corners of rectangular items…

All data was pulled from the CT MLS and reviewed and compiled manually. “Distressed” property to me means that either a bank already owns the property or the sale will require lender approval because it is a Short Sale. This analysis does not include properties going through foreclosure if they are not listed in the MLS because there is no central data source which collects that information. And when I say “reviewed manually” that means me going through every single MLS listing for that type of property and counting it manually. The MLS does not require agents to enter in the owner, nor does it require us to enter in a Short Sale, although those data fields do exist. Some agents fill in the information, but most do not, so the easiest way to gather the data is just to look through and manually count. It is not fun, but is doable while sitting on a couch on Tuesday night, watching TV. I counted a property as Distressed if the owner was listed as Corporate or a bank, if the Short Sale field said Yes, or if anywhere in the listing description or agent remarks it said that the sale needed lender approval, was bank owned, or was a short sale.

Here’s what I found. Remember, data from the MLS is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. My ability to count correctly while watching House Hunters is deemed fairly reliable, but also not guaranteed…

Some Observations…

1. The levels of distress among multi family properties is consistently above 20%, and in some cases above 30%. In absolute terms, these numbers are higher than we have seen in previous years and show that the Connecticut’s cities have felt some of the impact of the “housing crisis.”

2. The levels of distress among multi family properties is generally higher than among single families. Unfortunately, the data does not give any clues as to why multi families have become distressed at a higher rate. There are many factors that play into a property owner’s decision to default, but the most likely explanation is that investors took on too much debt to buy marginally profitable properties in hopes of continued price appreciation.

3. Inventory levels vary between the towns. This suggests that there are more buyers shopping in New Haven, where the multi family inventory is 7.3 months, versus Hartford. The other side of the coin is that there may be more opportunities for buyers right now in Hartford.

Connecticut is experiencing distress in its multi family markets, and seeing it at a higher rate than the single family properties in the same markets. This creates opportunities for buyers with cash, whether they are looking for investment properties or plan to live in one of the units themselves. Next month’s market statistics post will include updated data for distress in the single family markets of our usual towns.

On a recent Wednesday, the local kickball league dominated the action with 7 simultaneous games. But there was more than enough room for other groups to play baseball, fast-pitch softball, slow-pitch softball, basketball and cricket.

Who says there’s nothing to do in Hartford?

 
]]> http://www.amybergquist.com/blog/2009/06/23/hartford-at-play/feed/ http://www.amybergquist.com/blog/2009/06/22/thoughts-on-pricing-homes/ http://www.amybergquist.com/blog/2009/06/22/thoughts-on-pricing-homes/#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:54:07 +0000 Amy http://www.amybergquist.com/blog/?p=2815 Suppose a home came onto the market late one afternoon, received an offer that evening, and went under contract a day later. Is this a good outcome for the seller? At first glance it seems like it probably is - they resolved their uncertainty quickly, and by accepting right away they presumably got an attractive price.

But maybe the fact that the first offer came in immediately suggests that the home is underpriced. And maybe all the other showings that are quickly scheduled for the following days supports that there is a lot of interest in the home. The seller may be missing an opportunity to let the market develop over a few days as the various buyers submit their best offers.

I’m a little mystified right now because this situation isn’t a hypothetical. One of the submarkets that I follow closely has very little inventory and a lot of interest from buyers. Recently I was able to get one of my buyers into a property before it went under contract, but even though I, and other agents, had other showings scheduled for the next few days, the sellers accepted the offer that was put forth the first day the property was on the market, within about 36 hours after the it was available for showings. Based on clients’ schedules, sometimes it is impossible to get all interested parties into a property on the first day.

Until the final selling price is known (after the property closes) it’s difficult to say for sure if the sellers maximized the home’s value. But unless the buyer put in a “Godfather offer,” an offer you cannot refuse, I suspect that the sellers may have done better for themselves by putting a hard deadline on showings a few days out, collecting offers and evaluating them all at the same time after everyone had an opportunity to bid.

In general, I see three common strategies for pricing homes.

1. Overprice and Hope to Find an Uneducated Buyer. This happens a lot, and for a variety of reasons. Most of the time the seller is convinced that their home is worth a certain amount and does not listen to any sort of analysis. There is always an agent that will take their listing no matter how unreasonable the price. Sometimes the strategy works, but more often the home sits on the market for a long time and doesn’t sell. When the seller is finally willing to listen to other opinions, their listing has become stale and they end up selling for less than they would have if the property had been priced properly from the beginning.

2. Price it Fairly. My preferred strategy is to look at the market conditions and the abundant data to try to set a competitive price that is neither too high nor too low. Homes priced well sell relatively quickly, and close to the asking price. The supply and demand dynamics of the submarket will determine how quickly the property sells.

3. Underprice for a Quick Sale. A variation on this final strategy is what I saw recently. Pricing a home on the low side allows it to compare favorably to its competition, generating immediate interest. The seller always has the option to accept any individual offer (if it is attractive enough), but may be best served by creating an auction environment by leaving the property on the market for a few days. For example, if an underpriced home is listed on a Wednesday afternoon, then they could start allowing showings immediately but give buyers a Sunday afternoon deadline (after an open house has also been held) for their highest and best offer. This would allow sufficient time for all interested parties to respond, yet not drag the process out unnecessarily.

The key variable in each of these strategies is knowing how your home is priced. Which strategy are you actually pursuing? And how do you maximize price based on your specific pricing strategy? These are scenarios you should discuss with your agent to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table.

One aspect of pricing that most people don’t think about is how the price you choose affects the number of people that find your home through their internet searches. For example, let’s say you choose to price your home at $299,000 or $299,900. You want the psychological advantage of pricing your house just under $300,000, without much downside to you. There is an issue with this strategy when it comes to most real estate website searches though.

Pretend you’re a buyer. Most real estate websites use drop down menus to allow you to choose your price range when doing a property search. The values in the drop down menus are static (you can’t change them) and typically in increments of $10,000, $25,000, or $50,000. If I’m a buyer searching for homes up to $300,000, it’s perfectly fine if you price your house at $299,000 or $299,900. I’ll see the result. But what if I’m a buyer and I’m looking between $300,000 and $400,000? I won’t find your house because these static searches have blocked you out.

For example, right now in West Hartford, according to the MLS, there are 13 houses actively for sale between $290,000 and $300,000. One of these houses is priced at $300,000. Nine of these houses are priced between $299,000 and $299,900. Two of these houses are priced at $298,000. The 11 houses that are priced between $298,000 and $299,900 are missing all of the buyers that are starting their search at $300,000 on the web, while the one house priced at $300,000 is showing up for the buyers that are searching up to $300,000 and those with a price range starting at $300,000. Which seller do you think has more people finding them online? Which seller would you want to be?

Realtor.com recently updated their website and replaced their pricing drop down menus with text boxes. Unfortunately most people have been conditioned to search using the typical incremental values of $10,000, $25,000, and $50,000. Most buyers will not think to start their search at, say, $297,000 to pick up all of the properties that are priced at $299,000 or $299,900. Agents see this similar situation in the MLS. We have text boxes where we enter the price ranges when setting up property searches for our buyers. The agent needs to be astute enough to manually enter a starting price slightly below the buyer’s range in order to pick up properties ending in $XX9,000 or $XX9,900. Agents, like buyers, sometimes have tunnel vision and don’t necessarily do this. So the buyer is missing out on potential matches. One of which may be your home.

If your goal is to have as many buyers find your house as possible, it may be best to go against the conventional pricing psychology and choose the slightly higher price that starts with a bigger number. More people will find your home during their online searches. Besides, when I’m showing a house that’s priced at $299,900 and the buyer asks me how much it is, I say “$300,000″ because in reality, that’s what it is. You’re not really fooling anyone.

And maybe this house seems vacant. There’s not a lot of furniture. There are no clothes in the closets. No dishes in the cupboards. So you think it’s okay to walk around the yard and peek in various windows. What’s it going to hurt? You really like this house and just can’t get enough. But then you realize that when you look in a window, someone is inside the house looking back out at you. Or they open the front door and ask you what you’re doing. Or the police show up and ask you what you’re doing…

Sometimes houses seem like they’re vacant, but they’re really not. Skulking around on people’s property peeking in windows is typically going to lead to no good. There may be someone living there that will confront you. Or the neighbors might get suspicious and call the police.

I know the urge to stalk a house is sometimes overwhelming. But if you want to walk around the property, have your agent take you, even if it’s multiple times. It will save you potential embarrassment and maybe even awkward run-ins with the cops. Not that this has ever happened to any of my clients…

The condo features an updated, eat-in kitchen with plenty of cabinet space, a living room with fireplace, and a private slate patio. The two spacious bedrooms upstairs each have their own full bath and generous closet space. Laundry is located on the first floor of the unit. Also enjoy all the amenities of the Tunxis Village community, including tennis courts, the swimming pool, hiking trails, and even a car wash station.

84 Tunxis Village is offered at $216,000. If you’d like to see it, please have your agent arrange a showing or call me at 860-655-2125 to schedule a visit. Alternatively, you could stop by our open house on Sunday, June 28th from 1:00-3:00.

Here are some pictures for a preview…

Overall, the house had been maintained very well throughout the years by its one owner. You could tell that they truly cared about their home and loved it. Windows had been replaced, the furnace was serviced every year (and they had the records to prove it), landscaping was kept up, and the interior of the house was essentially meticulous. So my clients and I found the various uses of the masking tape to be bizarre, but not entirely concerning.

If tape is going to be the first responder in home repair, I would personally go with duct tape. It has better adhesive qualities and its fabric backing makes it a more robust solution than masking tape. Plus, it comes in a variety of colors these days, making it easier to match with your home decor. But that’s just me.

Whatever adhesive tape you choose for a home repair, just make sure it’s aesthetically pleasing and neatly done. Otherwise the home inspector is really going to ding you for it on their inspection report…