With inventories so tight, many consumers say they’re even willing to live in a haunted house.

Thirty-three percent of more than 1,000 consumers recently surveyed say they’re willing to live in a haunted house, and another 25 percent said they’d consider it, according to a newly released survey by realtor.com®.

“Haunted houses are a popular attraction this time of year, but we wanted to see how many people would actually live in one,” says Sarah Staley, a housing expert who commented on the study’s findings. “What we found may be a sign of today’s tight housing market, or for many living in a haunted house doesn’t have to be a deal breaker.”

Further, 47 percent of respondents said they’d live in a home where someone has died, and 27 percent additional respondents said they’d at least consider it, according to the survey.

Still, 40 percent of consumers said they’d need a price reduction in order to choose a haunted home over a non-haunted home. Also, a good neighborhood, extra square footage, and more bedrooms would convince them too, according to the survey. On the other hand, 42 percent of respondents insist they aren’t open to the idea of buying a haunted home, even for those extra perks.

For some consumers, living in a haunted house may not be considered a stretch because they claim they’ve already lived in one. For example, 28 percent of respondents said they have lived in a haunted house, and another 14 percent think they may have. They say their house was haunted because of strange noises, odd feelings in certain rooms, and even some reports of objects moving or disappearing.

Source: realtor.com®

 

The exterior of the home counts big for creating first impressions. Indeed, 99 percent of real estate pros say that curb appeal is a critical factor in attracting a buyer, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2016 Remodeling Impact: Outdoor Features survey.

Get more ideas: Amp Up Curb Appeal

Here are a few things you can do to enhance the curb appeal to your listing:

1. Paint colorful flowers.

Adding colorful flowers, like yellows or pinks, to your landscaping can be the pop of color needed to attract buyers. Visit the local nursery or garden center to learn which varieties are the most hardy for where you live.

2. Freshen up the mailbox.

The mailbox counts too in adding curb appeal. Consider a new mailbox, or try to save the old one with a fresh coat of paint. Add new numbers to the box to spruce it up too.

3. Pressure wash.

Driveways can develop oil stains and a deck can show some wear and tear. To remove pesky stains, power wash the deck and driveway to get them clean.

4. Add lighting to walkways.

Beckon buyers to the front door by adding lighting to the path to the door. This will also create a clean border along your walkway. Select solar-powered LED outdoor lights, which don’t require any wiring, to brighten up the exterior pathways.

5. Revisit the front door.

Invest in a new door if the current one is looking too old and dingy. A fresh coat of paint may help improve an existing one, if a new door isn’t in the budget. Consider a new color, like red. Also, replace the hardware, like the doorbell and locks, to give the front door a fresh new look.

6. Repaint the shutters.

Painting the entire house may not be in the budget, but sellers can still make a big impact to the exterior by painting just the shutters. They might even want to consider changing up the color to boost their curb appeal.

View more curb appeal tips and photos at Cheatsheet.com.

Source: “Foolproof Upgrades That Will Instantly Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal,” Cheetsheet.com (Sept. 26, 2017)

Décor choices can have a big impact on how large or small a home appears. Professional home stagers chime in with some tips on how to show off square footage, even when space is tight.

1. Remove heavy drapes. Leave windows bare or hang sheer linen curtains. The space will feel brighter, and “you’ll extend the view to the outdoors, which will automatically make your space feel larger,” home staging expert Lori Matzke told realtor.com®.
2. Go monochrome. Painting ever single room in the same color can help lengthen a smaller space. It “prevents your space from feeling choppy and gives it more of a continuous feel,” Matzke says. Furnishings and accessories should also be monochrome. Reduce contrasting colors whenever possible, says Justin M. Riordan, founder of Portland, Ore., and Seattle-based Spade and Archer Design Agency. “If you have a room with taupe walls, walnut floors, a brown sofa, and milk-chocolate pillows—all various names for medium brown—the edges of each item will be less defined and, in turn, be perceived as taking up less space,” Riordan says.
3. Remove rugs. “The more you break up the flow of your flooring, the smaller your space will feel,” Matzke says. Limit rugs to only one or two main areas, such as under the dining table. Also, small rugs can dwarf a space, so when you do use them, make sure they aren’t too tiny.
4. Add mirrors to rooms. Mirrors can help make a small room appear larger by reflecting more natural light, Bee Heinemann, marketing director and interior decorating expert at Vänt Wall Panels told realtor.com®. Consider placing a mirror next to or directly across from a window to add more depth to the room.
5. Raise the bar (in the bathroom). Place shower curtains and window treatments higher up on the wall. “Hang it as high as you can,” Heinemann says. “Doing so gives the illusion of higher ceilings and greater space.”

Source: “14 Sneaky Staging Tips for Selling a Small Home,” realtor.com® (Sept. 6, 2017)

A slower fall season in home buying may help more lingering home buyers to jump in.

Prices are easing somewhat. For the second month in a row, the median price of an existing home dropped. It reached $253,500 in August, after reaching a record high of $263,300 in June, according to the latest data from the National Association of REALTORS®.

Read more: 4 Home Maintenance Tasks to Tackle Now

“Median sales prices typically decline a bit heading into the fall,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “Summer is a big time for home purchases, so that families settle in before school starts in the fall. In the fall, the types of homes that sell are smaller for people without kids. So they tend to be less expensive.”

Existing homes are proving to be a bargain compared to newer homes. The median price of a new home reached $313,700 in July, which is 23.7 percent higher than an existing home.

Home buyers may find attractive mortgage rates this fall. Mortgage rates are still under the 4 percent psychological threshold, which can be a luring incentive for borrowers. Freddie Mac reported last week that the 30-year fixed rate averaged 3.78 percent, holding steady at a 2017 low.

Studies have shown that fall can be the best time to buy. A study conducted by RealtyTrac in 2015 found that October was the best month for home buyers. Purchasers in October paid 2.6 percent below the estimated market value at the time for their home, according to the analysis. In other words, buyers interested in a $300,000 home tend to see a $7,800 discount on it in the fall. Oct. 8 was found to have the best day for bargains too, with an average of 10.8 percent below estimated market value, according to the study.

Home sales in August started to decline heading into the fall season. Sales of existing homes fell 1.7 percent from July to August, but NAR mostly blamed the decrease on the limited number of listings for sale on the market.

Properties are staying on the market for less time, so buyers will need to be ready to act fast. Fifty-one percent of homes sold in August were on the market for less than a month, according to NAR. Properties typically stayed on the market for just 30 days in August.

Source: “Why It’s a Better Time for Buyers on a Budget to Purchase a Home,” realtor.com® (Sept. 20, 2017)