The following is a transcript taken from Roni's Facebook Live, "This Week in Housing" on Friday, 3/25/22.

Hi friends, happy Friday. So, I'm coming to you from my office today, but if you were not on last Friday or got a chance to watch it, I was outdoors at the new Ashley River Park. They had a wonderful grand opening and I went out over last weekend. It's going to be another gorgeous spring weekend so make sure that if you did not get over there last weekend, that you do so this weekend, all right? There's lots to do over there and lots to do around town. It is the end of March. We are right on the cusp of going into farmers markets and all in the upcoming few weekends and I cannot wait. But we are in for a treat of a weekend. In fact, my team is going to be joining a bunch of other Keller Williams agents and we are going to be over at the Riverfront Park, let's see, tomorrow morning in North Charleston, the old Navy Weapons Station or the old Navy base rather, the old Navy base, and we're going to be walking for water.

It's a way to raise money for those internationally that have to literally walk miles in order to get their fresh water. So, we're going to be doing a walk and raising money. So, if you are wanting to join, there is still plenty of opportunity. I'm happy to share the link. It's also, the link is also on my both Facebook and Instagram pages. It was posted yesterday. It went out in this week's newsletter. So, if you didn't get any of that and you want to participate in the walk or if you just want to make a donation for water missions, again, it's international missions that we're raising money for, for clean water for these folks, if you want to participate in any way, reach out to us. But our team's going to have a fun morning over at the Riverfront Park in North Charleston tomorrow.

And so, let's talk about five things that you need to do to prepare your house for the market. It's important, and I'm going on many listing appointments every week and I'm constantly saying the same things. So therefore, I figured I would deliver the message straight to your ears without having to come visit you because the chances are, I'm going to be saying the same thing when do meet. So, here are five things that you need to do to prepare your house for the market this spring. One is finish your projects. Yes it matters, yes that buyers do care whether you have completed that tile work, or you started hanging new light fixtures, and you've still got globes and light bulbs to put up, finish those projects.

It's a seller's market, but they still care. If it's something that was bothering you when you bought it or if you've been in the house long enough that you just, since that it needed that improvement, go ahead and do it. I'm sure that you will find the value back out, the return of investment back out of it. Follow your instinct on that. So, finish your projects is number one. Number two is clean, I mean, deep clean the house. Get into the nitty gritty details. And if you're not a great house cleaner, then hire somebody to do it. Wipe down the ceiling fans, clean the windows, dust, clean the countertops off, clean inside of the oven, cleanliness sells. I don't care what price point you're in, it matters.

So, make sure that you get into the nitty gritty details and all the corners and clean. That's number two. Number three is to paint. Interior and exterior, paint fresh color. Not sure what color to paint? Reach out, I'll be glad to tell you. I've got my favorites list. I can come visit you and I can tell you, my degree is in interior design, that's what I went to Auburn University and came out with. I have opinions on paint colors. So, if that's not your best niche and you're unsure about what color to paint, maybe it's the front door needs freshening, maybe your soffits need some repair work and freshening up with a fresh coat of paint. But whatever it is, go ahead, get it done. Need to know a great painter? I got one of those as well. But paint, interior and exterior, it does matter. And so, that is number three.

Number four is to pack up any belongings that you do not need on a daily basis to get rid of the clutter. I know you've watched HGTV for years and they preach it, and you still need to do it. If there's a question whether that personal picture needs to come down or not, the answer is yes. True that families and buyers that are coming through don't mind lifestyle pictures, you can take the same frames and cut out images from Charleston Magazines, LowCountry Living kind of stuff, anything that's going to appeal to a potential buyer, think of the models that the builders provide, right? They may have lifestyle photos in their frames but they're not so geared towards a specific family. So, if it's in question, go ahead and remove it.

Box it up, because quite frankly, we're going to be, from contract to close, you're only going to have about 30, maybe 45 days. There's a lot to do in that short amount of time. So, the more you do upfront to prepare, box up, get rid of things, donate things, clear out your closets, the better you're going to fill when we do hit the contract to close timeframe and it will be less overwhelming for you. So, number four is to pack up. And number five is to listen when I tell you what the home's value truly is and what we need to list it for. So yes, it's a seller's market and yes, I'm all for pushing a price tag for listing, but buyers are still savvy and it is ideal to list it within the spectrum of what the market can and will support.

And let's list it, maybe push in price a little bit that list it within that spectrum and then let buyers, if there's enough buyers in the market that want your house, let the buyers drive it up in multiple offers. If you list too high, it's the same as in the years past, even though it's maybe a seller's market right now, you can still overprice a property to the point it will not get offers. So, listen to your agent and make sure that you're putting it into a price spectrum that is going to give you the best opportunity for a successful sale. And here's a bonus. If you wanted to go with a sixth one, then here it is. Leave the property during showing. That may mean that you need to pack up and go on vacation for a weekend or for a few days if it's during the week.

But leave the property, and I mean your kids and your animals in tow. Even though you love them, the buyers will not. Take everybody with you, vacate the property during your showings, and if at all possible, take your sweet little cups with you. Okay? So, there's my tidbit of information about getting your house ready for the market to line you up for the best possible price in the shortest amount of time. And as a strong listing agent, that's what I'm seeking to do for you. So, there's my advice. Let's talk about the market updates, which is what I like to bring to you every Friday. We have seen, spring is here and we're seeing great market activity. We are seeing great sales. True, we are still falling behind the craze of sales that happened last year in 2021, but we are still in a very healthy market.

Great sales are being produced. Our listings for MLS this week have increased over previous weeks, which is great. We're back up. We had dipped down below a thousand and here recently, we're back up right at a thousand or a little above in MLS which is strong for where we've been earlier this year. And then, when we talk about the Charleston economy, it's doing great as a whole. One thing I found interesting is that a recent study that was conducted in South Carolina found us that South Carolina, number two in the U.S. for inbound moves in 2021. And so, throughout last year and we are continuing to see this into 2022, but South Carolina ranks as number two in the U.S. for inbound moves. South Carolina is one of only 13 states with more people moving in than out.

And I know exactly where the people are moving from, I talk to them on a weekly basis. They're moving out of other states and they're moving to South Carolina, which continues to thrive our economy. And it's not just people that are retiring here or buying second homes, although we have plenty of that, these are people that are putting back into our economy. We've got lots of great employers. In fact, Breeze Airways, if you're in tune to looking at travels, Breeze Airways, just so they're adding flights into Charleston direct into San Francisco, Las Vegas, Syracuse, New York, and Fort Myers. I have some personal interest in being able to fly direct to at least one of those towns. I've got a great friend in one of those cities that I want to go and visit.

And so, I'm having Breeze Airways. When you get an airline like that that sees us as a hub internationally for these kind of direct flights, that speaks volumes about our economy. So, what we are still seeing though is that potential home sellers are a little anxious. If they sell, where are they going to go? And so, we are constantly, as a team leader in this area, I'm constantly writing letters to homeowners asking, "Are you willing to sell?" So, if you come to me and you're wanting to sell but you can't find the right property, I'm probably going to sit down with you and ask, "Well, what properties are you interested in? And let's see if we can find something that's even potentially off-market."

Also, having great relationships with other agents in town, you know who you are, if you listen, I love collaborating and working with other agents in the area, have strong relationships with many and just asking, "What do you know of that's coming up and available for sale in the near future that may align with what my buyers are looking for?" And you as a listener, if you know of somebody, maybe it's a neighbor, or maybe you're interested in selling if the right opportunity is kind of, think about Zillow back in the day when it was like a Make Me Move campaign, they don't offer that anymore but they did for a while and I kind of liked it because it was like, "Well, if you give me the right price, I'll move." Well, I'm basically saying, "Tell me what your price is and let me see if I can find the right buyer for it to align both with success," right?

So, anyhow, but last little bit of information about what our real estate market's doing here, February 2022 was down right at 15% in transactions over February 2021. That is no surprise. We are down in transactions because we don't have the inventory quite frankly. But here's the kicker, is median sales price has risen 14% year to date with the same timeframe as 2021. So, sales are down and sales prices continue to decline. So, whether you're looking to buy or sell in this market, I'm here to help. My team is here. I'd be glad to connect with you or anybody that you might know. We give a great level of service and we will promise to work hard for you. Drop any comments or questions down below. Make sure to subscribe. We're putting out great content with videos, listings and such each week so I don't want you to miss anything. Have a great weekend guys.