Hello, it’s Billee Silva with the Southwest Florida Realty show, after a three-year consistent increase, we have seen the first dip in median sales prices over the past month. For sellers looking to sell at the top of the market, the reality is it’s already too late. At least here in southwest Florida. The market has peaked, we are starting to see prices decrease, listings remaining on the market more than a week, bidding wars decline, and open houses no longer generate waiting lines. Higher mortgage interest rates, record-high inflation, an ailing stock market, a potential recession, and a summer travel season free of pandemic restrictions has definitely changed the real estate landscape. As of this morning, we had over 1200 price decreases and 1300 new listings, 6 months ago that was unheard of. Not only has the volume of sales decreased, but inventory has increased about 8%. The increase in inventory and decrease in sales will continue to put downward pressure on home prices. But what is important for everyone to understand is that this is a market correction not a crash. Buyers are still coming to Florida. They are moving their businesses here, their families here, and they are moving here full time. The fall may seem a bit dramatic because we are coming from such high heights, but we are still considered a sellers’ market, it’s just the market is starting to correct. With these current trends, sellers need to be realistic if they are serious and motivated to sell. The profit margins are still healthy, but buyers are not willing to pay drastically over home value as the market was showing only a few months ago. Housing prices have increased as much as 70% in the last two years, so with an average current price reduction of 5-10%, there is still a lot of win there for sellers if they have proper expectations, but as a seller, you’re going to need to try a little harder than you maybe would have had to a few months ago. So today I thought I would talk about how pets can impact your home’s value. Now, anybody who knows me, knows I am a huge animal lover, and my fur babies are number one in my life, but unfortunately, pets can have a negative impact on your home’s value. I was reading through one of my industry magazines recently and I came across a story about a condo owner who owned multiple cats. The condo sold, the story said, for $30,000 less than it should have because of the damage caused by the homeowner’s cats. Of course, you’re probably thinking naturally you’ll need to repair pet damage before putting the home on the market, but you’d be surprised how many homes I go into on a daily basis that show signs of pet damage, whether it’s the dark streak on a wall where they’ve rubbed themselves or the odor. So, that got me to thinking, what a great topic for a podcast.
We all love our fur babies but when you put your house up for sale, it’s no longer about you or them. This is the time to create an environment that gives agents the opportunity to help their buyers envision your home as their own. Surprisingly, even pet lovers find homes that smell of dog or cat offensive. I recently had a listing, there was no carpet in the home but when you walked through the front door you were bombarded by the smell of dog and cat urine. It actually ended up coming from their sofa and the sellers were completely immune to the smell, but every showing we had, the feedback was there was an offensive pet odor, their buyers couldn’t stand staying in the home, we had to leave. It finally took us removing the sofa from the home in order to get the house sold. Some of the top complaints I receive from my buyers when touring a home with pets involve pet hair and litter box odors. Then there are the folks who feel uncomfortable around animals, some are even fearful. Finally, consider the allergy-prone individuals. The last thing you want is for a potential buyer to start wheezing and sneezing while looking at your home. I am currently working with a lady who is highly allergic to cats, every time we walk into a home with a cat, whether you see it or not I watch her eyes start swelling and turning red as she sneezes and gasps for air and we have to leave.
So as a seller, since your goal should be to keep the potential buyer in your home as long as possible, you’ll need to “de-pet” the house so to speak. Yes, it’s a challenge, but here are some ideas:
First, don’t try to mask the pet odor with air fresheners, scented candles, plug-ins, and incense. Artificial scents are a huge turn-off to homebuyers and immediately put potential buyers on alert of what kind of smell are the sellers trying to cover up by overcompensating with additional fragrances. If you must use something, consider an essential oil diffuser, and please avoid flowery scents, sometimes buyers find the flowery scents even more offensive than the actual odor. Lemon actually tops the list of most popular fragrances.
Secondly, change the air filters in each room of the home. Of course, I recommend that whether you have pets or not but homes with animals tend to need it more frequently due to the pet dander. If you have carpet in the home have them professionally cleaned and sanitized. Not only does that help eliminate pet odor and stains it contributes to the overall Clean Feel of a Home.
Like my example earlier about the listing with the couch. As homeowners, we’re sometimes oblivious to the flaws in our own homes because we see them, and smell them every day we don’t give them a second thought. So, make sure to wash or dry clean drapes, throw rugs, comforters, shower curtains, and any fabric items that tend to hold odors. This is also a good rule of thumb even if you don’t have pets, because 99.9% of the time when you walk into a home that smells, whether it smells of pets, smoke, mold, dust, food, what have you it’s because the odor is trapped in the drapes, the comforter, or other fabric items. Also, if your pet has destroyed the blinds or woodwork, take the time to repair it. I can’t tell you how many homes I am in where the doors and woodwork are scratched or chewed, or the window blinds are damaged and although it seems trivial it’s a big turnoff for potential buyers because all they see is additional work and expense so they immediately start calculating in their head how much it’s going to cost to repair or replace and typically their calculations are much higher than the actual expense but in their mind, that is what they’re going to take off of their asking price. So as a seller, why not nip that in the bud before you even list your home?
If you’re a proud parent of a cat, make sure you clean the litter box regularly and if possible, put it outside before showings. If your fur baby is a dog, make sure there are no pet droppings in the yard because most potential buyers are going to want to walk the yard and the last thing you want is for them to step in a big ole pile of dog do do.
Although we may think of our pets as children, there are a lot of folks out there who are not animal lovers. So as a home seller not only should you repair pet damage before putting your home on the market, but you’ll also need to remove evidence of pets as well, such as hair on the furniture, pet paraphernalia like food dishes, toys, cat trees and if possible, the actual pet. So that brings the big question. What will you do with Fido or Fluffy during showings? If available, ask friends and family members if Fido or Fluffy can spend some time with them. Most of us know someone within a reasonable driving distance who won’t mind lending a hand. Usually, showings only last about 15-20 minutes so consider taking them on errands with you or for a walk while the house is being shown. If you have a day packed full of showings, that may be a great time to drop your baby off at the vet for a checkup or take it to the groomer or doggie daycare. If you must leave the dog in the home, crate it, and cover the crate with a blanket. Leave a note on the door of the room in which the pet is crated so the buyers and their agents aren’t taken by surprise. Same holds true for birds, reptiles, and rodents. They are a little more difficult to take on errands with you and more than likely will need to be left behind but even animal lovers tend to be easily spooked or scared of those family members that are birds, reptiles, and rodents.
While it’s inconvenient, just remember, the selling stage won’t last forever, and the additional work and inconvenience will pay off in the long run.
As always, thank you for tuning in today. If you are a pet owner, give your fur baby an extra hug for me today and make it a great one!
Thank you for listening to the Southwest Florida Realty Show with Billee Silva. To learn more about Billee Silva go to www.sw-floridarealtor.com. That’s www.sw-floridarealtor.com. Or call 239-247-2490.