Many real estate investors fail to achieve their dreams because they fail to properly launch their investing careers or because they reach a crossroads and don’t know which way to turn. Confused about the next step to take, they spin their wheels, do nothing, and eventually opt to walk away from real estate completely and go back to a life of mediocrity. To prevent this from happening to you, follow this simple seven step roadmap to success.
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5 Cheap and 5 Not so Cheap Ways to Green a Client’s Home for Sale:
The Not So Cheap:
5) Install new energy efficient appliances. A typical home’s electricity bill is $100 per month. The EPA estimates that approximately 18% of a home’s energy usage comes from appliances. Installing new energy efficient appliances use 25% less energy then a 10 year old appliance. In more real terms that means a home can save at least $5 a month from installing new energy efficient appliances. For Realtors, you won’t be able to sell your clients on replacing appliances based solely on monthly energy savings, but it can certainly be part of your sales strategy…..in addition to adding to the aesthetic value of the home.
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Rising construction costs could offer a long-term offset or buffer to the softening real estate market and falling home prices. Housing prices have more than doubled in most regions, but construction costs have risen as well. In many instances material costs have doubled and even tripled, so it may cost twice as much to build that house as compared to what it might have costs ten years ago.
If the median and average selling price of a home continues to decline, then construction of new homes will fall dramatically. Why? Because rising construction costs and falling housing prices will squeeze builder’s gross profit margins forcing them to postpone many future projects.
Subsequently, demand for housing at certain price points which allow builders to earn a reasonable profit will have to catch up with supply before builders resume development. This theoretically would keep the supply of housing in check, thus dampening the possible fall in prices.
This may offer some comfort for those who already own a home and fear how low prices might fall, but it won’t help those who already can not afford to buy a home of their own. Rising construction costs ultimately put a damper on any efforts to provide affordable housing. There are a lot of potential home buyers that might create demand for housing at various lower price points. But the market may never get to those lower price points. Construction costs could just remain too high and other market conditions alone may never create enough affordable housing.
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