The thriving tech industry in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley has improved the real estate market, spurring home sales and, consequently, home moves. San Francisco moving company McGuire Movers provides new tips to help buyers and sellers prepare for their moves.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 11, 2013

Thanks to the tech industry boom in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, the real estate market is experiencing a surge, spurring increased home sales in the area. This uptick in home sales will, in turn, drive more moves, a trend that moving companies, such as McGuire Movers, has already noted in recent months.

More home purchases mean more moving and storage activity for both home buyers and sellers. To help guide a seamless move, the experts at McGuire Movers explain the proper timeline for moving and provide the following tips.

The moving specialists at McGuire Movers recommend that as soon as home sellers put their property on the market, they should begin purchasing packing supplies. These packing supplies should include different-sized boxes, tape, labels, and padding. To help home movers determine how many boxes they should purchase, McGuire Movers has provided a free moving tool powered by online real estate database Zillow on their website. This tool gives an estimate of how many boxes people will need based on factors such as number of rooms and size of the house.

Next, every room in the house should be de-cluttered and cleaned. Decide what to keep, pack those items, and properly label the boxes. Mark any boxes with fragile items to reduce the chance of damage. Any unwanted items should be thrown away, donated to a charity, or sold in a garage sale.

If a moving company, such as McGuire Movers, is contracted, items in dressers, desks, and closets need not be removed. Leave the clothes you want to keep hanging in the closets so the movers can easily transfer them from the hangers directly into wardrobe boxes. For furniture such as dressers and desks, movers will wrap them with furniture blankets and move them with the contents inside. In this way, people can save time in packing and unpacking boxes and in the cost of buying unnecessary packing supplies.

With the tech industry in the San Francisco Bay Area fueling a rise in home sales and moves, tips like these can help buyers and sellers easily transition and settle into their new homes. To get more moving tips, contact the experts at McGuire Movers at (415)307-2002. McGuire Movers is an established moving company that can move both locally in the Bay Area and longer distances. Their movers are known for their friendly, fast service and take pride in understanding their customers’ moving needs.

About McGuire Movers

With a reputation as one of the most efficient San Francisco Bay Area moving companies, McGuire Movers offers complete and customized residential and office moving services, including packing, unpacking, moving boxes and supplies, and more.

They have the right experience and the proper equipment to make sure your move goes as smoothly and as easily as possible. They are full service residential movers, furniture movers and office movers dedicated to providing complete customer satisfaction, experience, professional expertise and great service for residential or office relocations, whether you are moving within the San Francisco Bay Area or beyond. For more information about McGuire Movers, visit http://www.mcguiremovers.com/ or call (415)307-2002.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebmoving-company/san-francisco/prweb10719741.htm

Article source: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2013/05/11/mcguire-movers-shares-new-moving-advice-tech-industry-lifts-real-estate-market

Those are just a few, but suffice it to say prices are rising based on higher demand and abnormally low supply. Supply, ironically, is low because so far regular home sellers who don’t have to move would rather not sell into a market that is just beginning to recovery.

Also, many homeowners are still underwater on their mortgages, and therefore they would have to pay into their current homes in addition to paying for a new one.

(Read More: Old Ills Still Hit Big Banks)

But why are the price jumps so high? Some say it’s all relative.

“Market observers shouldn’t be fooled by the large headline numbers,” warned Alex Villacorta, director of research and analytics at Clear Capital, a data provider. “Last year was a turning point for the market where the year started with prices at virtually their lowest point and saw a very strong correction through the year. Much of the gains we see right now in the yearly trends are a reflection of the market lows in 2012, rather than a function of recent short-term momentum.”

Villacorta expects these big gains to subside as the market stabilizes and more supply comes up for sale. He sees the recovery of housing itself, not some broader economic resurgence, as housing’s main driver.

“Moderate improvements in the broader economic landscape likely haven’t offered potential homebuyers strong reason to jump back in at the start of the season. We do expect to see more buyers and sellers ready to take action over the next several months as rising prices continue to free up some underwater mortgages,” he offered.

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100715894

SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – LessThan6Percent (http://www.lessthan6percent.com), the online marketplace where home sellers can compare commissions and marketing plans from local real estate agents, is exiting its beta launch in the San Francisco Bay Area and expanding into Southern California. Founded in late 2012 by serial entrepreneur Simon Ru, LessThan6Percent provides home sellers a convenient platform to streamline the process of finding the best agents to represent their home.

“The problem home sellers face is that there are thousands of agents in any given market,” says Ru. “It is difficult for home sellers to compare agents to find the best match. They don’t know what questions to ask, what to look for in a marketing proposal, or how to start the awkward conversation of negotiating services commissions.” This is where LessThan6Percent steps in.

LessThan6Percent differs from traditional agent-matching service such as Trulia (http://www.trulia.com/) and Zillow (http://www.zillow.com) by matching sellers to proposals submitted by agents rather than agents’ profiles. Instead of directing sellers to call agents’ numbers on a directory, LessThan6Percent transforms the matching process by having agents compete for sellers’ business. With a click of a button, home sellers would know exactly what services they are going to receive and how much they would cost. This level of transparency is unparalleled in the real estate industry.  

LessThan6Percent Benefits Home Sellers

When using LessThan6Percent, sellers are able to request proposals anonymously and review profiles that showcase agents’ marketing brochures, past transactions and social network reviews. A typical request will receive five proposals within two business days. Each proposal is personalized and includes answers to all the pertinent questions that a seller would typically ask when interviewing agents.  Sellers will be able to compare commission quotes, length of contract, and services such as number of open houses, staging, marketing and virtual tours that the agents are willing to offer.

Beyond quantitative metrics and stats, agents are also given the opportunity to provide a customized response on how they can help the seller obtain a higher price and how they are the best agent for the seller and the property.  This information adds depth to an agent’s profile and helps the seller decide on the appropriate agents to interview and hire.

“When agents compete for your business, the opportunity to get a competitive commission quote comes naturally,” says Ru. On top of the commission savings, LessThan6Percent also offers home sellers a $500 bonus rebate at close of escrow.    

LessThan6Percent Also Benefits Agents

While home sellers enjoy convenience, selection and savings when using LessThan6Percent, real estate agents will enjoy a new avenue to connect with sellers they would not have met otherwise. By gathering and analyzing massive amounts of data from credit bureaus and third-party data sources, LessThan6Percent identifies potential home sellers and brings them to the site. LessThan6Percent’s team interviews and identifies the needs of each seller so that agents can create tailor-made proposals. Because the proposals and commission quotes are personalized and only viewable by the seller, LessThan6Percent provides a safe platform for full-service agents to compete with discount brokerages such as Redfin (http://www.redfin.com/) in a way that was not previously available.  

Since piloting the beta in February 2013, LessThan6Percent has established partnerships with over 300 real estate agents in the San Francisco Bay Area. Several of its partner agents are ranked in the Wall Street Journal as among the top 100 agents in the U.S.

About LessThan6Percent
Founded in November 2012 by serial entrepreneur Simon Ru and led by a team that has helped grow companies like EBay (http://www.ebay.com/) and Redfin, LessThan6Percent™ is a marketplace where home sellers can compare commission quotes and listing proposals from local real estate agents. To learn more about LessThan6Percent, please visit http://www.lessthan6percent.com

LessThan6Percent, Inc.
1001 Bayhill Drive, #294
San Bruno, CA 94066
(Office) 1-800-692-5010

SOURCE LessThan6Percent

RELATED LINKS
http://www.lessthan6percent.com

Article source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lessthan6percent-revolutionizes-how-home-sellers-and-real-estate-agents-connect-205310341.html

A limited inventory of homes on the market, combined with the extremely low cost of mortgage financing, has resulted in homes selling above asking price in many western markets, boosting the average listing to closing price ratio, explains Lanny Baker, Chief Executive Officer and President of ZipRealty. The median amount of time that homes are listed on the market before they sell has shortened by more than two weeks since last year, and in some areas we are seeing one-in-five newly listed homes sell in less than seven days. Multiple-bid situations are also increasingly common in the markets we reviewed.

In January 2011, the list to close price ratio in the U.S. reached 97.1%, and increased 40 basis points to 97.5% in 2012. The ratio hit 98.3% nationwide as of December 2012, according to ZipRealty data.

TheTop 10 Best Cities for Home Sellersbased on ZipRealtys List Price to Close Price RatioReport are: San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orange County, Denver, Tucson, Portland and Seattle.