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Once upon a time, there was an interesting event that took place all over North America. And I am sure it still goes on in many places. When a farmer or rancher or homesteader needed a barn, they had a barn raising, with help from all the neighbors, followed by a feast with music and dancing and general celebration. My distant relatives from near the Niobrara River got involved in those activities, along with other distant relatives that settled in the Platte River valley and along its tributaries.
Barn raising was as good an excuse for a party as anything else someone could think of. This was long before raves and monster truck races. And something got accomplished and a landowner had a new structure to store hay and tools or keep animals safe from predators. Later they could park their tractors inside to keep them out of the elements, however briefly. Ever been in a hayloft? Or to a barn dance? Oh honey!
At last I have come across a certain way to raise the price of a rural property that a seller hopes to sell. Raise a barn! Does it add value to the property? Yes. Is it functional and useful? Yes. Does it cost very much? Not really because of all the help from your neighbors pitching in. Is it aesthetically pleasing? That depends on the design and if you paint it red or something. Or sell the barn side space for advertising. Such as “List your home with the Old Pro, Alan Ball of Keller Williams. He works extra hard to please you”
Why are sellers raising their prices right now? I don’t understand. Is it from a headline that an expert pundit stuck on a newsletter that said “prices are going up nationwide”? What happened to the established fact that all real estate is local? When did that go away? I have example after example of sellers raising prices and what the information proves is that someone who purchased a property in the last 5 years is not going to find a willing buyer to pay what they paid for it back when they bought it.
It may seem as if I am completely ignoring the skill and finesse of an expert real estate salesperson that could sell ice to the scientists at the North Pole weather station. Correct. I am not one of those sweet talkers and I don’t do well with customers that are that gullible.
Many sellers have learned that for them to get into the SOLD column, price has to be a major reason to consider the property. Buyers are savvy enough to know value when they see it. It is almost as if the seller does not really want to sell just yet. The phrases we use in real estate are
A> being IN the market (price is set to attract offers and serious buyers) versus
B> being ON the market (property will show up on a list, only to be ignored time and again by market-wise buyers)
So RAISE THE BARN and improve the value of the property and THEN raise the price. Make sense? You’ll make new friends and, oh by the way, you will need to help your neighbors raise their barns when that day comes. It takes a village, they say. Fair is fair.
