Is Your Home Worth as Much as You Think?

A survey of home buyers and sellers taken earlier this year by HomeGain.com, a real estate services website, indicated that 76 percent of homeowners believe their house is worth more than the list price recommended by their real estate agent.

Not surprising, since homeowners have an emotional investment in their property.  They have memories and nostalgia wrapped up in four walls and a roof.  In reality, your house is worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it.  No more and no less.  That figure doesn't always jive with the homeowners opinion of the value.

Home buyers today usually have a better handle on the value of a property than the home seller does.  Buyers are out there looking.  They know what's on the market, how long it's been listed, what sells and how quickly and they can usually pinpoint why a property doesn't sell.

If you are thinking about selling, rely on logic rather than emotion when pricing your home.  It also might be wise to enlist the help of a Realtor to have a third-party provide expertise and guidance.

They're Baaaack!

If you live anywhere near the west side of Madison, you know they are back!  There are telltale signs; increased scooter traffic, empty grocery store shelves and the most telling sign of all, heaps of trash along curbs and parkways spilling from downtown streets to the avenues and boulevards that abutt the downtown area.  Of course, I'm talking about the college students.

As a Madison native, I enjoy the serenity of summertime in Madison.  Most of the students have headed home or to an internship or overseas adventure.  The campus is quiet and so are the surrounding neighborhoods. 

But I am engergized as Fall approaches and the students return.  There is an increased intensity in the city and the sleepiness of summer begins to wake with the renewed enthusiasm of these young people full of hope and promise.

Oh, there are certainly drawbacks to their presense - try to find a shower curtain at the Hilldale Target and you are out of luck - but in my mind, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.  The college students are as much a part of Madison as the residents that welcome them each Fall.