blog.MikeJaquish, REALTOR

I saw it in yesterday’s Raleigh News and Observer, a reprint of an article from the Washington Times.
Wallpaper is staging a comeback!!!
Read all about it here!

I had heard wallpaper rumblings and rumors. A year or so ago, HGTV Househunters featured a fellow who wanted a condo where he could unleash his burgeoning wallpapering talents.
And, it seems that anytime something falls as far from grace as wallpaper assuredly has, it rebounds into the spotlight again just to keep us on our toes.

I worked hard many years ago to develop wallpaper hanging skills. To cut and match and plumb and level well enough to let people see my work.
About the time I got good at it (Or so I thought), wallpaper fell completely out of favor.
And now, my skill is redeemed! Wallpaper is back!

So, you have a home to sell in Cary? And now your wallpaper is back in favor, right? Not so fast. It can be expensive to be a trendsetter out on the bleeding edge of the cutting edge.
I have yet to hear Buyers mention “Wallpaper” without wrinkling up their noses at the concept.
And a new media fad doesn’t mean that your floral 1990′s have suddenly become chic, in, old school hot, desirable, retro. Not at all. And that foil paper? Buh-bye!
Decor is a personal and volatile subject. Your delight may well be a well-qualified Buyer’s stupor. And we all know there is no excess of well-qualified Buyers.

The advice to strip and paint is going to be with us for a while, I am afraid.

Since the end of October, the North Carolina Museum of Art has been honored to host Rembrandt in America, the largest collection of Rembrandt paintings to ever have been exhibited in America.
The collection is on display for a few more weeks, until January 22, so you should be scheduling your visit soon.
I haven't even visited the new NC Museum of Art since construction was completed, so I am overdue to find a reason to go.

Rembrandt in America may be the perfect reason to get out and go.

Interestingly, I have been collecting Rembrandts in Cary and Raleigh for some time.   Houses, that is.  "Rembrandt" models by New Fortis/K Hovnanian Homes.

I live in a Rembrandt.  Circa 1993.
Oddly enough, my Rembrandt is in a subdivision named "Giverny."  Rembrandt in Giverny?  Maybe it should have been a Monet?  That would have been OK, too.

The Elevation "D" Rembrandt was the masterpiece of the model.  Full brick front, with half circle windows, a hip roof, and a finished bonus room over the garage all elevated the "D" to the top of the heap.  It was the model home in Giverny, and as is common, the model became one of the most popular floor plans to be built.  I belive our neighborhood is about 20% Rembrandts, of one elevation or another.
I live in a home built to Elevation "C."  The "C" has a partial brick front.  We added a front porch that makes our "C" unique in the neighborhood.

Elevation "A" was the "plain Jane," base model elevation.

Elevation "B" adds a rocking chair front porch.

Elevation "C" includes brick trim on the left of the front of the house, and a step down in the roof.

But interiors of these three elevations are the same, unless options were chosen to change them.

The two-story family room in the top rendering offers dramatic central height to the interior, and the rendering shows the palladian windows included in the "D" elevation.  Our "C" Elevation home has rectangular transom windows in place of the palladians.
Most commonly, buyers chose to finish a loft area into a 4th bedroom and/or to add a 5th bedroom/bonus room over the garage.
Square footages vary from just over 2200 to about 2800 square feet.

While owners have customized their homes and properties over the last 15 to 18 years, a tour around the area turns up many Rembrandts.  You can see the Rembrandt DNA in the photos, and also appreciate the pride homeowners take in personalization of their properties.

Do I do Open Houses? 
Yes, I hold Open Houses in most of my listings, and I don’t worry about reasons given for not holding them.

Do Open Houses “work” in Cary?
I think many work well to expose the home to the market, to generate a little buzz, to get people in to visit.

“They are only for agents to get new Buyer Clients.”
No, I hold Open Houses to generate business for that listing. 

“Only a low percentage of Open Houses result in a Buyer.”
I like to say, as a listing agent, holding an Open House is better than napping at home in front of the TV, and moaning that the real estate market is dead.

So, Yes, I am holding an Open House Sunday, 10/23.  See me from 2-4PM at 501 Midenhall Way, Cary NC, 27513

505 Spencer Crest Court is a lovely home, nearly new, in Bexley at Weston, in north Cary.

505 Spencer Crest Court offers:

• 3252 Square Feet
• 5 bedrooms, including one on the main level
• 3 full bathrooms, all with tile
• Granite tops in the kitchen and master bath
• Stainless steel appliances, including gas cooktop
• Hardwoods on the main level and the entire staircase
• Excellent bonus room for media
• Large open 2nd level loft for reading nook, school desks, etc.
• Exterior is brick on four sides, with stone and fiber-cement accents
• Low maintenance lot, with reclaimed water irrigation and attractive landscaping
• Wonderful and convenient N Cary location

Access to points of interest is excellent, including Raleigh, NC State University, RDU Airport, NC State Museum of Art, the NC State Fairgrounds, Umstead Park, North Cary Park and Town of Cary Greenways, and Wake County Lake Crabtree Park.

505 Spencer Crest Court is located outside the RDU Air Traffic mandatory notification zones. There may be occassional air traffic, but not at a level that mandates disclosure.

Call me for a showing or more information:

Mike Jaquish, REALTOR®
919.880.2769

Broker Associate, KELLER WILLIAMS® Realty
Cary NC

Sometimes a listing agent has to bite the bullet and help out with various items that a client’s mover will not carry.

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I went to work on a QR Code to improve the appearance and to keep it scannable. I think the method will work quite well for real estate applications.

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Buyers ask about Basements in Cary, and we have them. Most Cary home buyers end up without basements, however. Finished attics are more affordable and more common.

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Buyers and Dealbreakers

Buyers will often cite a "dealbreaker" when considering a home.  In Cary, NC, some of those items are steep driveways, proximity to large powerlines, proximity to busy thorofares, railroad tracks, or excessive airplane traffic.

Some buyers are willing to work with a home that has only a single negative feature, but when they add up, those buyers often lose interest.
A few years ago, I listed and sold a home with a steep driveway, powerlines and a railroad behind it.  How can that be overcome?
We have a saying in real estate, that "Price fixes all deficiencies."  In other words, when a home's price recognizes the diminished value created by excessive incurable deficiencies, and there is an affordable home with otherwise great features, there will be a buyer.

Smart home sellers and their listing agents in Cary will take negative items they cannot change into account when pricing the home for sale.

The large number of single digit Days on Market in Cary NC home sales indicates that homes will sell when properly prepared, properly presented, and properly priced!
Real Estate could be better, but it sure isn’t dead in Cary NC!
A good listing agent makes a huge difference. Buyers agents are working hard to find value for their buyers. Listing agents need to work just as hard to show the value in sellers properties!

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30 days of Real Estate Closing in Cary, as of August 17, 2011

Numbers are pretty stable in Cary real estate.  As of today, we closed 123 residential sales in the last 30 days.

Days on Market were 93 for those 123 listings.

Cumulative Days on Market, meaning that the property was listed more than once, were 115.

On July 17, those numbers were 87 and 114.

I pulled out three of the highest DOM properties, and the remaining 120 homes showed 86 Days on Market,
and 102 Cumulative Days on Market.
Fun with numbers…

Average selling price was 0.962 of final listing price.