Keeping It REAL - by Bettsy Tyler

Whether you’re prepping your house to go on the market or looking for ways to maximize its long-term appreciation, these nine home improvement projects are great ways to add function, beauty, and real value to your home. The best part is, once you’ve secured the materials, most of these renovations can be completed over the course of a weekend. And they don’t require a lot of specialized skills or experience. So grab your toolbox, then get ready to boost your home’s appeal AND investment potential!   1. Spruce Up Your Landscaping Landscaping improvements can increase a home’s value by 10-12%. 1 But which outdoor features do buyers care about most? According to a survey of Realtors, a healthy lawn is at the top of their list. If your lawn is lacking, overseeding or laying new sod can be a worthwhile investment—with an expected return of 417% and 143% respectively. 1 Planting flowers is another great way to enhance your home’s curb appeal. And if you choose a pe...

This is a graph of real estate activity from Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties. Though each county has their own particulars, in general the 100 data points since our first days of SIP shows good signs of recovery. New listings are close to  where they we would expect them to be this time of year if it were a "normal" year and sales are catching up as well. June numbers will be out next week which will be good to compare with last year. Because we are seeing the pending sales increasing this month particularly in the Santa Cruz region, I expect the summer will be more like the usual Spring selling season. Where Summer usually has a little slow down with many people taking vacations and being away on various activities, I am curious to see if this year we'll see something different. 

Traditionally, spring is one of the busiest times of the year for real estate. However, the coronavirus outbreak—and subsequent stay-at-home orders—led many buyers and sellers to put thei r moving plans on hold. In April, new listings fell nearly 45%, and sales volume fell 15% compared to last year. 1  Fortunately, as restrictions have eased, we’ve seen an uptick in market activity. And economists at Realtor.com expect a rebound in July, August, and September, as fears about the pandemic subside, and buyers return to the market with pent-up demand from a lost spring season. 2  But given safety concerns and the current economic climate, is it prudent to jump back into the real estate market?  Before you decide, it’s important to consider where the housing market is headed, how it could impact your timeline and ability to buy a home, and your own individual needs and circumstances.   WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE HOUSING MARKET?  The economic aftermath of the...