Where Is Howard County Real Estate Headed?

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

Happy Holidays and thanks for tuning in! Our Howard County market stats are hot off the press.

Inventory remains stable, but is trending downward while demand remains high. The number of settlements is up 18% year-to-date since 2014. This is a tremendous sign moving into 2016.

If you're thinking of listing your home in 2016, we have some really awesome promotions that we think you'll be very excited about.

Thanks for a great 2015, and let's get a nice head start on 2016. Happy Holidays!

Thank You, Howard County!

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

The last time you tuned in, we mentioned the Sweet Dreams Pajama Charity Drive. This initiative gives students in the Head Start program comfy, warm pajamas for Christmas.

At the Pat Hiban Group, we’ve been so busy wrapping gifts! We’ve reached our goal, which is excellent news. We collected 52 sets of pajamas!

We’d like to take a moment to thank our clients and everyone else who donated. The kids will be thrilled when we deliver them. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Where Is the Howard County Market Heading?

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

The holiday season is upon us! Today, we want to share the latest Howard County market statistics, so you know what to expect from the market in the coming months!

Demand in Howard County is up 20% and settlements are up 19% year to date in comparison to 2014. A total of 445 more homes have sold in 2015 than last year, which is fantastic news for our market.

The average sales price in our area is $476,096 year to date. This is up 1% over last year; although that's a modest increase, it's a great sign for our marketplace.

If you have any questions about where our market is heading, or if there is anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to give us a call. We're here to be your number one real estate resource and would love to help you accomplish your buying and selling needs.

Give Back to Howard County This Season

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

This holiday season, we wanted to do something to give back to the community. We're starting the Sweet Dreams Holiday Campaign! We will work with Head Start to give new pajamas to children in need.

We're asking our clients, friends, and family to consider donating a pair of new warm pajamas for children between the ages of three and five. The Head Start program serves local families, low-income families, and children with physical or developmental disabilities. This is a great opportunity to make a difference within Howard County.

There are a couple of ways you can donate. You can buy a pair of pajamas in that size range and bring them to our office, located at 8840 Columbia 100 Parkway, Suite 110. We're open Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. You can also order the pajamas online and ship them to our office address.

We need your donations by December 15th. That's our deadline. We need time to wrap and deliver the pajamas for the children before the holiday.

If you want to know what child you are helping specifically, give us a call at 410-964-2400. We can give you the name, age, and gender of the child you are helping. If you are feeling especially generous, you can shop for more than one child. We appreciate all the help and support we receive.

If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. There are so many drives going on to help our community. We want to do our part to help some nice children's dreams come true. From our family to yours, have a happy, healthy holiday season!

Hot Off the Press: Howard County Real Estate Market Update

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

It's Mike Sloan with the Pat Hiban Group, and today I'll be giving you the latest stats from our local real estate market.

• Through 2015, settlements are up by 20%
• The average sales price increased to $477,390
• 62% of all closings were between $200K and $500K
• Only 3% of closings were above $1 million
• There have been 559 transactions between $400K and $500K, and 639 between $300K and $400K

What does this mean for you? It means that if you have a home in the $200K to $500K range, then you should consider selling it right now because we have a lot of buyers looking to purchase within that range.

If you're buying outside of these price ranges, then you're going to have your pick of good homes. What's even better is that interest is still very low, and this allows you to save a lot of money over the lifetime of a loan.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us! It's a great time to get into the real estate market.

Home Buyer Testimonial

"The truth is Jake was Amazing! We are first time home buyers and at every turn Jake went out of his way to make us feel comfortable. We were lucky to meet him though a web inquiry, and the first day we saw a few homes with him my wife and I knew he was our guy. We looked at at least 6-10 homes and he never mentioned an exclusivity contract or even a verbal contract to work solely with him. He showed a genuine interest to help us find the right home. Without any commitment from us, he showed up on time (sometimes a couple nights in a row) all over Columbia and listened to what we had to say and what we wanted. It was not until we put in our first offer that he asked us to sign a contract with him and by that time I was more than happy to give him our business. Although we lost out on a few offers, we could not be happier than where we ended up! One month in to our new home we are sublimely happy and could not have come up with a better fit. We put in an offer on a house that was at the max end of our budget and felt disappointment when we did not get it. Jake continued with determination and we kept on looking. Although the house we ultimately ended up buying was $225K less than our pre-approved amount, Jake never tried to force us in another direction. He was not pushy and knew how much we loved what we found. I would recommend Jake to any friend, business acquaintance or anyone interested in purchasing a home. Once we are done with our renovations, I plan on inviting him over for dinner to see what we got done. I cannot say enough about the job he did, and if there is anything we can ever do to help him please let me know."

Home Buyers -  Zachary and Erin Johnson

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

The Time to Buy Is Now in Howard County!

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

I have a special and important announcement for you buyers out there today: WAKE UP!

If you've been thinking about buying a home for a long time, and are dragging your feet along the way, it's time to wake up. NOW is the time to buy a home, and here's why:

Inventory in Howard County is way up and the average sale price is down 4%! These conditions are perfect for buyers, and are making homes more affordable by the day. 

If you've even entertained the idea of selling, we would love to set up a buyer consultation with you to see if we can help you achieve your goals. We can set you up with one of our trusted lenders and make the process effortless on your end, from start to finish. We can even set you up with an instant alert straight to your phone any time a home that meets your criteria comes on the market. 

If you haven't bought your home yet, you've already waited too long and the longer you wait, the more risk you open yourself up to. Give us a call today to set up a buyer consultation!

Five Reasons to List Your Home with Us this Summer

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

This summer is a great time to sell a home as school winds down. Not only will the move be easier on your family, but market activity is up by 12%! Buyers need good homes, and they're willing to pay top dollar for them.

I have three good reasons why you should list your home with us:

1. We're offering an End of School listing special where we will only charge you 4.75% commission if you list with us from now until the end of July.
2. We also offer a $500 settlement credit for any repairs or improvements that your home needs before it hits the market.
3. You also get a free consultation from a licensed contractor to review any repairs or improvements that you need.
4. You can cancel your contract with us at any time. No questions asked.
5. If you sell your home while you're listed with us, then you pay us nothing!

We want to help you sell your home, and the best part is that you can cancel your listing at any time. We're very confident that we can sell your home for top dollar. 

Don't pass up these offers! They won't last long.

We would love to help you sell for top dollar!

How to Handle Multiple Offers in Howard County

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

Today, since the Howard County area has seen a lot of real estate activity, we'll discuss how to handle multiple offer situations on the buying and selling side of a transaction. Being prepared is the first step to getting the most from our market!

Multiple offers are a seller's dream, but a buyer's nightmare, and we're seeing a lot of them right now. If there is a lot of interest in a property, as soon as it hits the market, it is receiving multiple offers. Knowing what do as a buyer or a seller in this situation is crucial if you want to get the result you desire.

If you're a buyer, the best way to win a multiple offer situation is not always by offering the highest amount of money. It's usually the most important factor, but you also need to consider submitting an offer that will make the process smooth and quick for the seller. You can do this by limiting the number of contingencies and inspections, as well as agreeing to the seller's ideal closing date. Along with having a pre-approval letter in hand, these strategies should make your offer stand out to the seller!

If you're selling, you need to understand the data and the comparable home sales if you want to get multiple offers on your home. Getting the most out of your home sale all comes down to competitive pricing and the condition of your home. Make your home look fabulous and price it competitively for the best results. If you receive multiple offers quickly, you would be wise to communicate that to the buying community and their agents before setting a deadline for more offers. The more offers you have to review, the better!

If you have any questions about this highly competitive market, or if you would like our assistance in making the most of it, give us a call or shoot us an email. We would love to make your real estate dreams a reality!

Where's the Howard County Market Heading?

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation
Click here for the Howard County Residential Market Report 

What's going on in the Howard County real estate market? Has the spring market brought anything unexpected? Let's take a look at the numbers to find out:

• Demand is up 21%
• Settlements are up 17%
• Inventory is up 12%

Buyer's expectations are WAY up right now; if the home isn't in fantastic condition, they aren't going to pay top dollar - rather, they'll move on to the next home! If you want to accomplish your moving goals, you need to work with an expert who knows their way around the market!

If you have any questions about our current market, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are always available to make the real estate process as simple and smooth as possible!

Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Don't Miss Out On Our March Madness Listing Special

Buying a Howard County home? Get a full home search, 

Selling your Howard County home? Get a free property valuation

If you've been looking to sell your Howard County home, then now is the time! While you may be waiting to list your home in the spring market, we want you to sell your home right now. This March, we're offering some fantastic deals, which will provide you with a great incentive to sell your home. 

Anytime you list your home with us between March 1 - March 31, we're going to sell it for a commission of only 4.75%! 

The second incentive we have for you is that we will provide you with a $500 settlement credit. This can be used towards any repairs you might have while putting your home on the market, or any costs that arise from having home inspections done. 

On top of these great deals, we're still offering our fantastic guarantees. If you sell your home yourself while you're listed with us, you don't need to pay us anything! Also, you're free to opt out of our contract at any point in time. If you don't like our work, you can fire us immediately. This is how confident we are with our work, because we don't think you'll want to get rid of us. 

To schedule a quick, in-home consultation, please contact us via phone or email. 

We would love to help you sell your Howard County home!

How Can We Sell Your Howard County Home for More?

There are many Howard County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a free property valuation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at 410-964-2400 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

The new year is here, spring is right around the corner, and we're ready to sell some homes! The phones are already ringing as buyers are beginning their home search. 

However, there is one little problem: we need more inventory!

If you're thinking about selling your house in 2015, give us a call. We'll come out and take a brief look at your property and give you some tips on how you can maximize your profits. We will also review local and regional inventory trends and economic conditions that will affect the sales price of your home. In addition, we'll do a comprehensive market analysis to see what homes similar to yours sold for. 

After putting together a customized sales strategy, we will then agree upon the commission you think is fair for our services. We offer flexible commissions and guarantee that we will beat out any of the competitors in the marketplace. You can cancel your listing with us at any time; if we're not doing a good job, feel free to fire us. We're confident you'll like the job we do. We have a proven track record, with over 20 years of sales worth over $1 billion in the Maryland area. 

We're tired of all the Realtors who advertise as being "number one" and bragging about all the sales they've done. Frankly, this talk of being "number one" is irritating. Here at the Pat Hiban Group, we're concerned with making YOU number one!

Give us a call or shoot us an email if you're thinking about selling in the coming year. We would love to put together a strategy that will help you realize your selling goals.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!