New Home Opportunities in a Competitive Market

If you’ve been home shopping recently for St. Louis or St. Charles County real estate, you’ve probably noticed something – things are rather competitive. Currently there aren’t as many homes available for sale as there are homebuyers trying to buy homes (known as a sellers market). Homebuyers are having more difficulty procuring a home they want against all the competition. Those who consider buying new give themselves another option. How about you? Have you considered buying new?

 

Builder Inventory Homes

Homebuyers can buy a new home often for a similar price as a pre-existing one. Check out homebuilders’ inventory of already-built or being-built homes that have yet to be sold.  Every month that a completed home doesn’t sell incurs costs for the homebuilder, so builders may be more motivated to sell homes in their inventory.

Often times inventory homes are priced including promotions and incentives that you would receive had you built the home from the ground up.  Builders also choose top-selling floor plans with the most popular features and finishes for their inventory homes so they appeal to today’s buyers.  Many buyers love the idea that they see exactly what they are getting when buying a home from inventory. Buying an inventory home is often a very smart move for today’s buyer for a number of reasons. 

We’ve put together a webpage specifically so you can see what builder inventory homes are currently available for sale in our area. Check out our New & Now page to see the many great new home opportunities available.

 

Historically Low Interest Rates

Interest rates are still historically low. This means you can get more house for your budget. If you need help finding a reputable mortgage lender, contact us to offer some suggestions of home lenders to check out. Also, don’t miss trying our mortgage calculator to find out what your monthly payments might be based on the price of a home, the interest rate and length of the loan. 

Using an Experienced Buyers Agent

Experienced buyers specialists, like the ones on The Boehmer Team, can help you with the home buying process at little to no cost. Our job is to help you find home buying opportunities that match your needs and help you through the process of purchasing a home, which is especially helpful in a competitive market. 

 

Our network provides us access to homes being prepared for the market that aren’t even listed yet. We also know of off-market listings to show our homebuyers. Using a Boehmer Team Buyer Specialist gives you an edge over trying to procure a home on your own.

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If you are a homebuyer currently looking for a new or pre-existing home to buy, contact The Boehmer Team. We can help you procure your dream home and even help sell your current home. Reach out any time for a no obligation home buying or selling consultation and learn our strategies to help buyers and sellers. 

 

Enhance Your Home With Lighting

The home design industry often focuses on the latest colors and design styles, but the lighting in a home has a profound effect on the appearance of all design choices. The right lighting will highlight a home’s architectural and design features, making a home feel more open and inviting. While poor lighting can change the look of colors and spaces in a home and diminishes an otherwise well decorated room. Whether you are planning to list a St. Louis or St. Charles County area home for sale, or just want to present your home in the best light, try these lighting tips to make your home look its best.

Audit the lighting in the rooms of your home.

Consider the amount of natural light in your home and if there is enough. Check to make sure artificial lighting fully illuminates the entire room. Discover if your current lighting casts any hues that change the appearance of your paint and fabric colors. The results of your audit will help determine where to make any adjustments necessary to improve the lighting in your home.

Let in natural light from the windows.

A natural build up of dirt and debris from wind and rain can block the light coming in. Give the windows a good scrub on both sides and rinse off the screens. Pull the curtains open wide and lift any blinds. You can even expand the appearance of the size of windows by extending curtain rods eight inches on either side of the window. This trick allows room for draperies while still letting in plenty of natural light. Don’t forget to look outside the window. If there is foliage blocking the window from outside the home, manicure the landscaping to reveal the windows.

Choose the right light fixtures.

If you love your current light fixtures, give them a good cleaning. But if they are outdated and older than you are, replace them. Choosing the right fixture depends on the room size and use. Large fixtures are great for making any space cozier. Small fixtures are great for hallways and smaller spaces. A great way to create ambience is with a combination of overhead lighting and two other lighting sources like lamps.

When choosing fixture color, go with a color that matches or compliments other design features in the home. For example, match the metal color on a kitchen light fixture to the metal color of the kitchen cabinet pulls. Also, clean or replace any dirty or damaged light switch plates.

Pick the right light bulbs.

Use the highest wattage light bulb you can as directed by the lighting manufacturer.  If you don’t like bright lighting in your home, install dimmer switches. This will allow for bright lighting when needed and energy-saving mood lighting when you want it. Softer lighting is OK for accent lights and wall sconces. Don’t forget to audit the hue of the light bulbs in your home. It’s OK if you prefer bulbs that are soft white or rose-tinted. Just be sure that you use the same color of light bulbs in all of the fixtures within the same room to avoid a chaotic look.

Choose feature-enhancing exterior lighting.

A current trend for home listing photos is a picture taken at dusk to show exterior home lighting. Even if you’re not having a dusk photo shoot of your home, exterior lighting choices can greatly affect the curb appeal. Potential homebuyers may drive by at any hour to check out your home and neighborhood. A well-lit home exterior is inviting to homebuyers and discourages burglars. Good exterior lighting will make your home and neighborhood appear safer. Speaking of safety, path lighting helps prevent tripping hazards as well and creates a welcoming impression.

Contact The Boehmer Team when you’re ready to list.

If the reason you want to improve the lighting of your home is to highlight its best features for a home sale, contact The Boehmer Team. We offer home staging advice and services that are proven to help sell homes for the most value. We also use professional photography to be sure a home listed with The Boehmer Team is always shown in the best possible light.

References:

http://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/top-10-rules-for-staging-homes-from-the-stagers

https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/stage-your-house-in-the-right-light/

http://www.homestagingofhouston.com/home-staging-in-houston-make-your-space-light-bright/