Embrace the Ugly

SO I got into a little funk lately... driving around Clovis and I see all of those pretty Keller Williams signs, pretty deep maroon with gorgeous pictures of the agents... flowing script lettering....and I got envious.

I mean, I can't join KW. I am an owner in a competing brokerage (Weichert Realtors- The 505 Group) even though I appreciate KW's values and customer-centric attitude towards house sales which is on the same plane with Weichert's God-Family-Work beliefs - we are good there. They have great advice, planning, transaction management, support, education, incentives.... I love my company I just hate their signs..

After hearing 10x ... your husband saying, "Boy, your signs are ugly, boy those other signs look good" you start to wonder... Maybe I can change my company's signs and I started doing research.

Weichert has had the same signs for a long time. We have approved signs and we cannot deviate from the plan. They are a proven marketing tool and, I think, can even be seen from space.  Our signs are bright yellow, not mustard, not buttercup, but a bright Lemon/school bus-ish Yellow. They say Weichert - Really Big and they are clear and very businesslike. No pretty here.

And I started to think... What is the point of the sign? Why is it there, anyway?
TO GET NOTICED! Not to blend harmoniously into it's surroundings, not to enhance the looks of a  neighborhood, but to say, "Hey! I'm for sale!  Buy Me!  LOOK! and after thinking about it... they do that. You cant drive down the street and ignore them, you don't drive down the street and say, ahhh.. you say Oh! Look at that! They are selling their house. You might even say wow, what an ugly sign but you noticed it.... and I guess that's the point.

So for the time being I guess I'll embrace the ugly and place my yellow signs around Clovis proudly. They announce to the world that this house is for sale by a professional and I guess I'm good with that. #Weichert #embracetheugly

PPSF does not mean Pretty Ponies Sell Faster.

While it is true the Pretty Ponies DO sell Faster....Today you get to learn about the lovely term PPSF or Price Per Square Ft.  Many people use the PPSF to negotiate their price or find their asking price based on the homes that have sold/are for sale around them but it isn't always the best way.

 PPSF is a tricky thing, It doesn’t take into consideration quality of the amenities, (ie. a gourmet kitchen, a 3 car garage, energy efficient windows ) and simple things like the layout of a floorplan, curb appeal and so many other things that make a buyer fall in love with a home.

BUT buyers do use the PPSF as a reason to rule out a home before even stepping foot inside so this would be a reason to not OVER upgrade if you are thinking of selling soon. The best rule is to put the things you love into a home and maintain it well and a future buyer will “feel the love” and not hesitate to appreciate thought, time and $$$ you put into your home.

 

A simple way to look at home prices per sq foot would be by age:

36 New Homes in Clovis Last year: Average $120/Sq Ft

67 Resale Homes 1-5 Years Old in Clovis: $115.98/sq ft

51 homes between 6-10 years old: $106.33/sq ft

33  homes between 11-20 years old: $97.78/sq ft

249 homes over 20 years old : $70.98/sq ft

 

And some subdivisions in Clovis:

Carmel and Almond Tree : $119.09 ( Year built 2010-2015)

Providence: $129.03 all built in 2014-2015

Raintree: $122 Year built 2008-2014

Sandzen: $120 Year built 1986-1998

Colonial Park: $94 ( yr built from 1967-2013 with an average year built of 1986)

 

 

Here is a run down of the average PPSFT in different areas of Clovis.

Of all of the homes SOLD in the last year

NE Clovis North of Llano and East of Norris (Area F2). : $116 (Yr built range 1990-2014  average: 2006)

East of Prince, S of Llano and W of Norris N of 21^st (E2): $94 Yr built range 1963-2012 with avg: 1986)

E of Prince W of Norris N of 14 and S of 21 (E1): $74 Year built 1959-2005 avg:1972)

Jonquil Park East, Remuda & Northglen (E3): $104 ( Year built rand 1979-2012 avg: 1999)

S of 21^st East of Norris N of 14^th (E4): $109 (Year built 1962-2015 avg: 2004)

Nw Clovis North of 21^st and W of Prince : $66/ sq ft  (avg year built 1964)

SW Clovis (West of Prince South of 21^st): $44.24 30 homes with average year built of 1942. This doesn’t include the 2 homes on Dale Street that were new and sold for $104-109/sq ft.

 

Im sure that last bit of area comparisons lost you but if you are still here reading here is a sample of the map Realtors use to define areas in Clovis.. I’m doing this by memory so I may be a street or two off on the boundaries.

Prices per square foot do not account for custom touches, school zones, neighborhoods, TREES, and many other things, It is best to have your favorite Realtor compare the home you are considering to others in the immediate or comparable neighborhoods to determine if you are getting a great deal on the home you love or not.

End of the Month Update for Clovis NM Homes for Sale

Ok!
Its getting cooler in Clovis, in the weather and in home sales as well.

Strange how those follow one another. Time for hot chocolate and leisurely home searches with your favorite REALTOR. Gone are those mad frantic dashes to find a house in a weekend with a few exceptions - Incoming military transferees to Clovis NM you know who you are :)





Well its the end of the month again so here are some stats,
Active residential listings in Clovis as of 9/30/13: 397  last month -363

Active res. listings in NE Clovis: 189                              last month - 169

sold/closed in all of Clovis last month: 37                       last month - 39

Homes that sold in NE Clovis last month: 18                  last month - 25

Market Absorption Rate for all of Clovis: 10.7                last month - 9.3

That's the number of months it should take, based on current rates of sale, to sell all 363 residential listings IF no other properties came on the market in the meantime.

Market Absorption Rate for NE Clovis: 10.5                    last month - 6.8

 

.So in other words it's a great time to buy! Theres more choices on the market and you'll find just what you need and those sellers really want to sell. So give me a call and lets go look!

Katharine Fly 575-799-9500

Clovis Stats and Absorption rates... Number of homes sold in Clovis, NM recently.

Well its time to head back to school and back to work so I thought I would share 

what’s happening in the Real Estate market in Clovis NM this month. 

Things are pretty steady but its still a buyer’s market.

Some quick stats:

Active residential listings in Clovis as of 8/26/13: 363

Active res. listings in NE Clovis: 169

Homes that sold/closed in all of Clovis in the last month: 39

Homes that sold in NE Clovis in the last month: 25

Market Absorption Rate for all of Clovis: 9.3

That's the number of months it should take, based on current rates of sale, to sell all 363 residential listings IF no other properties came on the market in the meantime.

Market Absorption Rate for NE Clovis: 6.8

The conventional wisdom is that 3-4 months absorption rates indicate a sellers' market, 6 months indicates a fairly balanced market, and 9-12 months (or worse) is the sign of a true buyers' market.

So Clovis has a lot of homes on the market right now and it’s a great time to buy. Just to give you something to compare to back in late April of 2009 we had 275 homes on the market and they had just sold 55 homes the month before so a 5 month absorption rate.

Also if you are like me and wonder when a good time to buy or sell is, here are how many homes sold each month for the past 6 months in Clovis.

Jan –Feb  26 sold

Feb -Mar   42 sold

Mar -Apr   58 sold

Apr -May   57 sold

May-Jun   46 sold

Jun – July  45 sold

And to compare this year to last year…. 41 homes sold in the same July-August time frame that had 39 sold this year so not much change. 

Things to do Part 2!

Ok, So some more things to do IN Clovis and then a little about a trip out of town...

This weekend is the High Plains Junior Rodeo - Im a little late but here are a few things to do today and tomorrow :

SATURDAY: July 20, 2013
10:00 am – 3:00 pm
THE FINALE SHORT GO-ROUND & MEGA BOUNTY BUCK-OUT PERFORMANCE. Curry County Events Center – Main Arena. Open to the public. Admission: $5/non-competing person. Performance Theme for Grand Entry – “Red, White & Blue”

6:30 pm – 10:30 pm
HPJRA FAMILY NIGHT & GALA. Family, friends, food and entertainment cap off the week of finals rodeo competition. The evening will feature a chuck wagon meal, HPJRA annual auction, talent show, a showcase of HPJRA top contenders, and other entertainment. Talent show participants must pre-register and be members of the HPJRA or immediate family. Prizes will be awarded. Deadline for talent show entry is July 7, 2013 @ 5:00 pm (MT). Non-Member Admission: $10.00/person. This is a dress-up event presented by the Clovis Chamber of Commerce and the HPJRA.

SUNDAY: July 21, 2013
7:30 am – 10:30 am
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS. The crowning of the 2013 HPJRA Champions, plus continental breakfast, church services and fellowship. HPJRA rules state that a member must be present in order to receive year-end awards. Non-Member Admission: $10/person

For more information on the HPJRA Finals, please contact the Chamber at 575-763-3435 or Event Chairman Karen McDaniel at 575-693-1023

On August 1 Clovis Municipal Schools is going to hold an open house from 2-6pm to show off the new Gattis Middle School for those of you who, like me, are curious.

If you go to the chamber of commerce on the corner of third and Main st they have a bunch of information about the area and the state - you can grab a free New Mexico Magazine and a state map and plan weekend adventures for years to come.
I almost don't want to put this up here but here is the link to local attractions, you know the places that you take relatives when they come to visit but then never go there again,....well all except for the zoo. I think the zoo is great. https://clovisnm.org/visitors/attractions.htm

So last weekend we headed out to just see if we could find a good different camping spot and ended up in Pagosa Springs 6 hours later. We headed up through Santa Fe and Espanola. I had never been through Espanola so that was an adventure. Its beautiful North of that and up to Chama.

The landscape changes so quickly here in New Mexico so head out at 7am and by lunchtime you can be picnicking by a stream or climbing mountains or 4 wheeling down a forest road, seeing a wolf on the side of the road or at least 50 elk like we did.

We came home by driving along the Cumbres and Toltec rail line North of Chama and over to Antonio in Colorado then headed straight South next to our hunting spot then past the crazy houses made out of bottles and tires and then across the Rio Grande Gorge Then my favorite shortcut through Sipapu, (Great burgers) Tres Ritos, Mora, Las Vegas, Santa Rosa, Ft Sumner and then Home.

What's there to do in Clovis, NM anyway?

Well it's Summer in Clovis and we have a lot of new people in town! It's PCS season and it looks like that will last through November from the inquiries I have been getting....
Once the newcomers get here,  undoubtedly the first question I get is, "what's there to do around here anyway?" so I thought I would share a few of my favorites.
We have some great parks, Ned Houk is just North of town on the road to Tucumcari and has a couple stocked ponds with some good fishing, some trees (yes, really) and some great trails for dirt bikes, horses or walking, not to mention some great photo opportunities to show your friends what the wild west really looks like.
Clovis's own fabulous photographer Cristy Cross shot this whimsical Elopement shoot in Ned Hauk, so you get an idea of what the pasture around it look like. http://www.weddingchicks.com/2013/07/08/whimsical-elopement-inspiration/ Be sure to watch the video by Jenna Richardson Pryor on Vimeo. Its amazing.

If you have a free weekend go check out Tres Ritos, NM - No cell service - but that's part of it's charm.

It has some good trout fishing and a little ski lodge the next town over in Sipapu that has a disc golf course. I like camping in Duran Canyon which has a forest road lined by camping spots along a swiftly moving creek. There are some challenging ATV trails too along with some family trails as well. If you really arent into the nature stuff just follow the road on to Taos and enjoy the culture of Northern New Mexico. Just North of Taos is the newly dedicated Rio Grande del Norte National Monument and the Rio Grande Gorge. (back to nature, sorry)

In Clovis there are classes to take at the Clovis Community College, antique shopping on Main Street and at Roden Smith, a fabulous drug store with some unique offerings. http://rodensmith.com/

Ill get on again soon and give you some more ideas...stay cool!

Eastern New Mexico is slowly turning a deeper shade of GREEN

Green is slowly marching Eastward over our state. Green building practices have been boasted about for years in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces. But in the East, where dairy cattle outnumber prairie dog lovers and talk of “Green” practices still brings to mind hippies, Californians, and tree huggers, consumers and builders are finally seeing the value in researching and implementing green building practices.

It isn’t just about smearing mud on the walls and saving trees any longer – those may be great ideas but today’s Green standards are based on energy conservation. The practical people of Eastern New Mexico realize this means money – more in their pockets and less spent on heating and a/c. It’s smarter building which starts in the design phase and carries through the materials, standards and waste a project produces.
I was doing some research for a client and found that we have no “Green” builders based in Eastern New Mexico. No members of Build Green New Mexico and no builders knowledgeable about the steps to take to certify their homes for energy sustainability.

A quick way to put more money in builder’s pockets would be for them to take advantage of the tax credits available to them. New Mexico offers sizeable tax credits to builders and consumers that should not be ignored. If a home achieves a Build Green New Mexico or LEEDS certification at the lowest level (There are three levels Gold/ Silver and Platinum- Emerald) The builder can get a $5.00 per sq ft tax credit from New Mexico. For example a 2000 sq ft house would get a $10,000.00 tax credit. That is in addition the federal government’s offer of another $2000 tax credit for using sustainable energy practices. If the house achieved a platinum rating, that credit could go as high as $9.00 a sq ft. and that adds up to some nice pocket change.

I don’t know enough about GREEN certifications, practices, or credits, I admit, so my first step will be to take more courses so that I know what I am talking about. A quick resource to turn to would be New Mexico’s Energy Conservation and Management Division website. They have a nice little chart with links of where to go for more information. http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/ecmd/cleanenergytaxincentives/sustainablebuildingtaxcredit.htm
I do have a listing on Northglen http://fly3.505home.com/ that is probably the most energy efficient, large home on the market in Clovis. The builder is now pursuing a HERS rating to verify the air-tightness of the house. Adkin’s Construction uses a special insulation, Heat Lok 217-4, that is a polyurethane foam which has one of the highest R Ratings available. It foams up and fills every crack and gap between the studs in the walls and adds extra rigidity to the structure as well. They blow in extra insulation over the heated areas of the house so that it looks like a snowstorm hit the attic. I peeked up there and it must have been two feet thick.

When I mentioned that I was going to go after my GREEN certification I got some funny looks from some of the older agents in our office. I think they are afraid that I’ll start trapping prairie dogs humanely and telling dairymen that they should let their cows out on green pastures so they can enjoy the rest of their lives. But GREEN building practices simply make life a little better for my buyers and I’m all about that.