26. Knock Down a Wall or Two
An open floor plan is a highly coveted feature among homebuyers. If your home does not currently have an open floor plan, you may want to consider knocking down a wall or two. Good choices include walls between kitchens and dining rooms, family rooms, or living rooms. By removing walls and creating open spaces, you could increase your selling price by as much as $10,000 to $20,000.

27. Add Style to Small Spaces
Small rooms aren’t normally attractive to homebuyers. If you aren’t able to change the floor plan, you can make buyers forget how small a space is by distracting them with style. By making rooms with limited space appear stylish, cozy, or even cute, you can eliminate terms like small and cramped from a buyer’s mind and increase your chance of a higher offer.

28. Spruce Up Extensions of the House
Porches, patios, decks, balconies, tool sheds, and garages are all extensions of the house. These areas should also be as clean and uncluttered as possible. Sprucing up could involve hiding unattractive and smelly trashcans, organizing items like lawnmowers and yard tools to give the impression of spaciousness, and emphasizing areas with lawn furniture, lighting, and tasteful accents.

29. Add Landscaping
To make a dynamite impression, your yard should be as nice as or nicer than your neighbors’. If necessary, add inexpensive bushes or flowers to your landscaping design. If your grass looks unhealthy, lay sod or reseed quickly.

The nicer your yard looks, the more impressed buyers will be.

30. Light a Fire in the Fireplace
Fireplaces are nice selling features and should be showcased every time a potential buyer will be looking at the home. Before the buyer enters, arrange items on the mantel and around the fireplace itself. Then light a nice, cheery fire that will burn for several hours. Although this might seem like a small and insignificant touch, it will provide the type of ambience that makes a buyer fall in love with a house.

• Is it time to lock in your mortgage?
• Confidence in housing market a ‘good sign’: economist
• U.S. house construction rises in May

This Week’s Quotation:

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945)

This Week’s Highlights:

• Housing starts perk up
• It was the worst of times
• Is the end in sight?

WEEKLY ARTICLES OF INTEREST

Is it time to lock in your mortgage?

One mortgage broker seems to think so. Here’s why

Jas Grewal’s reaction to the recent runup in interest rates was to abandon a sweetheart of a variable-rate mortgage in favour of a safer, but more expensive, fixed-rate mortgage. Mr. Grewal, you should know, is a mortgage broker. A mortgage broker who sees the potential for much higher rates in the future. “read more….”

OTTAWA — Despite a stream of negative economic news, most Canadians who’ve recently bought a home have confidence in their decision, according to a survey by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. A national consumer survey released Tuesday said 90% of recent home purchasers believed that a house is a good long-term investment. Almost 70% of respondents also said they felt that this is a good time to buy a home.“read more….”

Construction of new homes in the United States jumped in May by the largest amount in three months, providing an encouraging sign that the nation’s deep housing recession was beginning to bottom out. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 17.2 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 532,000 units. That was better than the 500,000-unit pace that economists had expected and came after construction had fallen in April to a record low of 454,000 units. “read more….”

“THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS”

Housing starts perk up

Housing starts showed welcome signs of improvement in May, rising to 128,400 annualized from April’s 117,600. The increase was broadly based across building types. Both urban singles starts and urban multiples starts rose 11.1% to 60.900 annualized and 46,900, respectively. Rural starts remained unchanged at 20,600 annualized units. The improvement was reasonably broad-based, with all regions posting gains except British Colombia. Ontario enjoyed the largest percentage gain, up 22%, with gains in the Prairies posting a 16.8% increase. Quebec and Atlantic Canada enjoyed more muted gains of 3.3% and 7.3%, respectively. British Columbia suffered a 5% decline in urban starts during May. The pick-up in starts is broadly in line with the forecast of an improvement during the latter half of the year compared to the weakness in the first half. It is expected that Canadian housing starts will average 141,000 in 2009 overall. As growth in the economy picks up in 2010, starts should improve modestly to 173,000, although this represents activity well below levels seen earlier this decade.

It was the worst of times

To be sure, the data reported for the first quarter of 2009 was dismal. Canada’s recorded its largest output loss since 1991, the U.S. economy registered its third consecutive quarterly decline with activity in the European and U.K. economies also shrinking substantially. To top it off, Japan’s economy shrank at a 15.2% annualized rate. In spite of the rash of bad news, investors gravitated toward the better news being reported. U.S. housing statistics showed stability in the pace of sales, the pace of job cuts moderated and consumer confidence picked up. In Canada, confidence rose as did the pace of home sales making the first quarter’s slump feel like old news. U.K. house prices have increased in two of the past three months, auto incentives appear to have put a bottom on sales and confidence has improved. Eurozone data proved a mixed bag with the unemployment rate hitting a 10-year high, but business confidence improving and order books growing. Investors took these reports as a signal that it is the beginning of the end for the Great Recession of 2009.

Is the end in sight?

The consensus is that the global recession began to lose momentum in the second quarter but still expect another round of negative growth rates to be reported. The global manufacturing ISM index recorded its fourth consecutive monthly increase in May and the services index averaged 45.3 in April/May, well above the first quarter’s 40.4. The levels remain unimpressive but signal a turnaround in sentiment, suggesting that the pace of contraction will be slower in the second quarter and that, if this trend persists, the global economy will likely be expanding in the second half of this year.

21. Make Your Home Odor Free
When a buyer enters your home, every major sense will come into play. If you have pets, smoke, or cook odorous foods frequently, you will want to take steps to remove any and all odors before a buyer enters. This may mean cleaning or freshening carpets and drapery or deodorizing the kitchen with an exhaust fan and an open box of baking soda. If necessary, you can also use candles or wax burners to infuse good, homey smells into an area.

22. Make it Light and Bright
Lighting is one of the most important aspects of interior decorating. Unfortunately, it is often one of the most overlooked aspects of home selling. If you want buyers to notice the finer details in your home, you will need to make sure each room is light and bright. If you can’t get enough natural light from the windows, consider adding recessed lights, scones, antique table lamps, and other attractive sources of artificial light.

23. Clean the Carpet
If you have carpet with a stain or two, you need to rent a carpet cleaner or have the carpet cleaned by a professional. By cleaning the carpet, you can significantly improve the look of a room and let the buyer concentrate on something besides the fact that they will have to clean or replace the carpet themselves before moving in.

24. Arrange Furniture for Optimal Effect
Although you may like having your recliner situated right in front of the television, it may not provide the best look for the room. You should always arrange furniture for optimal effect. You want the rooms to look spacious and open. You also w

ant to be able to create a smooth traffic flow within a room and from room to room.

25. Install Closet Organizers
Today’s buyers want walk-in closets and storage space. Pre-built closet organizers are an especially hot selling feature and a small investment that will make you money ten times over. The most popular places for organizers include bedroom closets, kitchen pantries, laundry rooms, and mudrooms.

Here’s a page from an excellent web site I’ve just discovered, http://ShowMeTheGreen.ca.

Find Grants and Rebates for Home Improvements

16. Replace Leaking Fixtures and Pipes
Buyers will be instantly turned off by faucets that leak and pipes that drip. By updating fixtures and pipes, and repairing any damage that may have been caused, you give the buyer one less thing to complain about and one more reason to buy the house.

17. Consider Remodeling
A newly remodeled kitchen or bath could add thousands to the value of your home. In many cases, homeowners who perform a smart remodel can make their money back times three. If you can afford to do it and have the time, you may want to consider remodeling to boost the amount of money you get from your home’s sale.

18. Clean Thoroughly
If you are trying to sell your home for top dollar, everything needs to shine. Before showing the house, take time to clean everything from the bathrooms and living spaces to windows and appliances. If you don’t have the time to do it yourself, hire someone to come in for an overhaul and then once a week to freshen things up.

19. Remove the Clutter
The number one rule of home selling is to remove any and all clutter. Stacked books, kid’s toys, and everything else that does not compliment the style of a room needs to be packed away, removed, or hidden from view. If necessary, rent a storage unit. The less clutter you have out, the easier it will be for the buyer to look at the actual item they are buying: the house.

20. Remove Personal Items
Buyers want to see a home they are viewing as their home. They may have a hard time doing this if you have too many personal items, such as pictures, trophies, collectibles, and signs around the house indicating that it is your home. It may be difficult to de-personalize your home, especially if you are still living there, but it is a necessary step to optimize selling potential.