Owners of Santa Cruz homes for sale are wondering, “What are buyers looking for?” This is especially true if the home has been on the market for a while. Well, homeowners aren’t the only ones. Several companies, including Better Homes and Gardens and Avid Ratings, the exclusive research provider for the National Association of Home Builders, have researched this question.

So, what are buyers looking for in national and Santa Cruz homes for sale? In a 2010 Avid Ratings homebuyer’s study, over 22,000 homeowners, who bought their homes in the past nine years, provide some clues. In short, the study says practicality beats out extras any day.

The days of formal dining rooms, oversized backyard patios and community clubhouses are gone. Swimming pools aren’t…

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You may just be targeting the wrong market. Young families, Gen-Xers and 30-somethings tend to want to move into a Santa Cruz home with high technology: expensive items like home theatres or home automation. Older buyers, however, have a frugal mindset, are often on a fixed income, and have a different set of requirements for their potential Santa Cruz home.

Why would you want to market to older buyers? Several reasons, but the main reason is the size of this market, especially the size of the baby boomer generation.

The Population Reference Bureau reports that there were 76 million births during the 19 years covering the baby boomer generation.  A large percentage of these baby boomers, who are now between the ages of 46 and 64, are looking or soon…

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If you have never purchased a home before, you may not yet recognize how crucial it is to acquire the services of a professional Santa Cruz real estate agent. 

Buying a home will probably be the most expensive purchase you ever make.  Therefore, you undoubtedly should consider enlisting the help of a REALTOR® who has experience, extensive knowledge of the area and integrity.

Benefits of using a professional Santa Cruz real estate agent

Having your own buyer’s agent to walk you through the entire home buying process saves you a lot of time and stress, as well as money. 

You decide:

     • Size of home desired
     • Style preferred
     • Location
     • Price range

That’s easy!  With this basic information, your agent begins the hard part: searching…

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We, meaning the real estate industry, say, “It’s a buyer’s market!”  Buyers think that means that deals are available out in the big wide world of Santa Cruz homes for sale. Although that’s true, it’s not the whole truth. The whole truth is that money pits, bad deals and half-hearted sellers still exist. Without careful consideration, you may not get the deal you expected.

If you’re in the market for one of the Santa Cruz homes for sale, follow these tips to help you get a great deal:

1. Go back to school. In other words, do your homework. Yes, due to the buyer’s market, you have an advantage, but you still need to do your research.  Talk with a real estate agent who specializes in the area and look at the prices of homes sold within the past year. The…

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Home staging has long been a way to sell Santa Cruz homes for sale. In short, stagers come into your home, look the place over and start packing (if it’s not already empty). They bring furniture, draperies and other things to make the home look warm, beautiful and inviting to buyers.

The trick is to make the Santa Cruz homes for sale inviting in a way that doesn’t overwhelm the buyer’s personal tastes. It’s worked, selling thousands of homes that might not have sold otherwise, and selling them faster than non-staged homes.

For the past year or two, however, virtual (or conceptual) staging has come into the real estate world. Somewhat like traditional home staging, the virtual stager spruces up your home for sale. The differences are where the work is…

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