Guide to Selling Property in Humboldt County
Listing your Property For Sale on the Humboldt MLS?
Home Valuation Tool, Seller's Checklist, Understanding the Market Stats - Call 707-677-1600
Are You Ready to Sell Your Humboldt County Home?
In today’s current economic climate, home sellers in Humboldt County are facing far greater challenges than ever before. While it may not be as easy to sell property now than it would have been in early-mid 2022, its not impossible.
Selling your home is all about knowing the local housing market. Pricing your home correctly is crucial to maximizing the highest selling price possible. As an area expert, I can help determine what direction the market is trending, so you can make the right choices when it comes to selling your home to get the highest price possible!
A home sale, particularly in today’s challenging market, is not something you’ll want to embark on without the benefit of professional guidance. Even experienced sellers know this is not the time to go it alone. If you’re ready to sell your Humboldt County home, then you’ll definitely want to get in touch with real estate professional that can help ensure the process will go smoothly and you will get the results you want.
If you have not already, you'll want to take a look at our "Seller Listing Package," which outlines our process of getting your house listed on the MLS, how we create your listing, where we advertise it and more.
Humboldt County's Real Estate Market Conditions
Real Estate Stats for All of Humboldt County Combined.
Data Source: FLEXMLS - DO NOT make financial decisions based solely on charts!
Interpreting Humboldt County Real Estate Market Stats
Read below each chart to understand what it signifies in the real estate market and how each dataset can help you understand whether the trend is indicating a good time or bad time to sell based on annual patterns or extreme movements in the market (good or bad).
The DOM chart is very simple, it shows the average DOM for listings. (days on market). February was 48 days, that is high and one could guess that this has something to do with mortgage interest rates, and partly due to seasonal sale cycles (winter). So this chart gives you an idea of "fast" the market is moving. It also shows you that typically spring would be a better time to list your property.
The Median Price Chart shows the median listed prices vs median sold prices. It shows typically sellers are asking for more money than the market supports. However in the beginning of 2022 when the housing inventory was short, and demand was high, From March up until July 2022, sellers were actually getting quite a bit more for their properties than they had originally listed them at. If you are confused, the median sale price measures the “middle” price of homes that sold, meaning that half of the homes sold for a higher price and half sold for less. Where in averages, you're adding up all the numbers and dividing by the number of listings. Medians help mitigate spikes, like a 5 million dollar house selling (which would drag the average way up on a single sale).
Active, Sold and New Listings on the Humboldt County Real Estate Market. This shows the volume of active, sold, and new listings by month. Paying attention to the green bars, you can see that the market is in a slump right now, with quite a few less properties actually closing. Fewer people are listing properties, also, because they know they won't get what they want for them. The darker bar shows the number of currently "active" listings on the Humboldt MLS.
Humboldt County's Real Estate Market Conditions
Real Estate Stats for All of Humboldt County Combined.
Data Source: FLEXMLS - DO NOT make financial decisions based solely on charts!
If you're Ready to Sell your Home, Let's Connect!
If you are ready for us to represent you and get your property listed on the MLS, please contact our team here: contact form. Please include the address of the property you are selling and ask to discuss our seller listing package so we can thoroughly research it and be informed before we return your call. If you like, you can call the office directly at (707) 677-1600 and talk with an agent today.
When you have made up your mind that you are ready, I have a marketing plan that is designed to get maximum exposure to the buyers that are currently looking, and all agents that have buyers. Through pricing, staging, agent accessibility, and visibility, both on and offline, I can successfully sell your home to help you achieve your goals.
If you still need help making the decision, simply call us at 707-677-1600. Any of our agents will be able to get the process started, however you're welcome to ask for anyone of us if you have a preference. Alternatively you can reach out to us using our contact form. Just state that you are interested in our Seller Listing Pacakge, and someone will get right back to you. Include the address of the property you are selling and any questions you might have.
What is My Home Worth? Ballpark Estimate
Use our automated home valuation tool: The algorithmic tools used to determine property value by Zillow for example with it's "Zestimate's" can be good for a ballpark range price, but not to rely on for your final listing price. Using automated tools to determine final pricing is not wise, communicate with us here so we can do a free CMA on your property.
If you'd just like a rough estimate, you can try our home value tool below. This tool uses an algorithm to determine what it thinks is a fair market value for your home. It should get you "ballpark" but nothing will take the place of the CMA prepared personally for you when you decide to list your home for sale with us. However it can satisfy some curiosity in the mean time and give you an idea about your equity, and help you decide if you are ready to sell or not.
Home Owner's Selling Guide & Checklist
Take a few moments to consider the following list of things you'll want to do if selling your home. Call us discuss your options, feasibility or to help you plan your home sale. We are more than happy to answer questions and assist where we can, including the free CMA!
- Connect with us! We have a proven track record. Let's meet up and discuss your plans. Call us or use the contact form, tell us that you are selling and you'd like a free market analysis of your home. There is no obligation to list with us, although we hope you do! The Custom Market Analysis will help you set pricing, and understand what the market will give you for your home at this time (FMV - fair market value). When you have an expert by your side, that’s more than half the battle won already.
- Get your home inspected. This will give you a clearer idea of which repairs are most necessary and will save a lot of time going down the sellers trail. Inevitably the first question a buyer will ask is "have you done an inspection?" If you already have an answer and information immediately it not only saves time, but indicates to the buyer that you are ready to go and a motivated seller.
- Have urgent repairs completed and consider having minor improvements and touch-ups done. It’s best to consult with your Realtor about which improvements will help make your property more marketable.
- Find out how much the repairs and improvements recommended on your home inspection. Determine which things you can afford to handle, set a budget and stick to it.
- Get an estimate of the closing costs and don’t forget to budget for other additional costs as well such as capital gains tax.
- Work out a timeline – when you can move out, whether you need to find a new home first, etc. This way your agent will be able to create a marketing strategy that’s suited to your needs.
- Find out what the fair market value (FMV) of your home is. This will entail getting a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from your agent, doing research on market trends in your area, finding out what the average cost per square foot is in your corner of the woods, and so on.
- Discuss a pricing strategy with your Realtor and set the price.
- Market your home. If you’re working with an agent, then they will take care of this aspect for you.
- Rid your home of clutter and make sure that it’s as clean as possible, inside and out. Remember that buyers will want to open closets, shine their flashlights into dark corners, etc.
- Work out a schedule for showings and open houses with your agent. This will help minimize the stress for you and your family and is especially important if you have a large household.
- When reviewing purchase offers, don’t just look at the offer. Find out whether the buyer has already been preapproved, what their closing timeline is, when the offer will expire, and other contingencies.
- Negotiate. Consider providing incentives that will be attractive to the buyer, but won’t cost you too much.
- Set closing and move-in dates with your buyer.
- Have all the relevant documents ready for escrow.
First Impressions & Maximizing Profits
So you've decided to sell your home in Humboldt County. As specialists in real estate in the area, we have helped facilitate the sale of innumerable properties in Trinidad, Arcata, McKinleyville and Eureka, Blue Lake and everything in-between. During that time we've learned a thing or two about the process.
Things to Consider When Selling Your Home: Once we’ve determined the price, I can give you advice about the little things that you can do to stage your home to get you the highest possible price! You’d be surprised by the simple measures you can take to dress up your home to attract more qualified buyers.
First Impressions Count! Perhaps one of the biggest preparations sellers can make when deciding to list their home is to get their property ready for buyer’s first impressions. You'd be surprised how important items such as the walkway, front porch and entryway can be in the formation of a first impression and ensuring these areas are uncluttered and welcoming can mean a lot.
Also known to “sell homes” are kitchens and bathrooms. Smart Humboldt County sellers can maximize their returns by upgrading in these areas prior to listing their home for sale. As your real estate agent, we can walk through your home together to determine if any updates or changes are needed to emphasize your home’s most marketable qualities.
Whether this is the first time you’ve ever put property on the market or you’ve done this before, we hope you'll find this helpful home sellers’ checklist to be a useful resource.
Questions about our helpful home sellers’ checklist? For more home-selling tips and to learn more about Forbes & Associates’ marketing plan, browse the site and get in touch with us anytime. Check out our post on top 10 real estate questions answered to get more insights and let us know how we can be of service to you!