Tour Twitter heard on the Grapevine–mixing metaphors and maybe technology
It is going to be a gorgeous day to check out the latest West County new listings (Sebastopol MLS tour) tomorrow–I will have on my walking shoes and sunscreen, and James the trusty navigator on my TL will be well rested so he can plot out the best driving strategy for me and Izetta and hopefully another pal or two so we can economize on gas. (author’s note:Â I had hoped to Twitter my way through tour but that didn’t happen this week, maybe next time.)
Hopefully there will be some good munchies provided by the hosting agents since for some reason there are a pile of properties this week when there have been very few the last week or two. It is important for listing agents to incent their peers to tour their new listings, especially in a crowded field.
At one property last year (a country property listing of mine in Sebastopol) had so much going on that in order to convince agents to wait around and smell the roses, i.e. learn all the property had to offer, I had a masseur doing chair massages in one room, a lender pouring hot-mulled wine and apple cider in the kitchen, and bagels, lox and cream cheese for all. Two of us directed traffic and parking as well. I lost my voice after hours of tour-guiding. It was worth the effort because we had 3 offers the first week and sold for over asking to a buyer who is now very happy in his new country home. This in last year’s down market. What kind of creative broker tour incentives have you seen?
Anyway, I will report on the latest new West Sonoma County properties after tomorrow’s tour.
Heard on the Grapevine: In Healdsburg, I know of a great new listing coming up in early July–a classic Craftsman bungalow walking distance to the Healdsburg plaza. About 1600 sf with a new roof and paint, new deck and some interior updating, but a lot more room to improve (including the stand-up full length attic), or liveable and rentable now. It will be very competitively priced on a street with some gorgeous vintage homes. More info in the coming weeks.
Enjoy the lovely summer solstice week and tune back in for the tour and gravevine reviews and news. I also just received the latest Sonoma County Real Estate market stats so I plan to have a busy week of writing ahead. Headline: Sales continue to rise on the entry level of our market. Investors and first time buyers, and some first time investors (!) are out in force. Every day I receive an email report on the number of offers on bank-owned (REO) properties. Lots of multiple offers out there on the best ones with the best locations and best bones.
