Home Appliance Reviews

Last time you went shopping for an appliance, did you look at any reviews to help in your decision?

Reviews are everywhere now – restaurants, hotels, computers, even Realtors.  It is no surprise, then, that home appliances have their share.  The question becomes how accurate they are.  Without fail, I can find many that love one model in particular, and many that hate the same one.  This is common with most brands that I have researched, even the more expensive models.  Whether it is on the manufacturer’s website, the appliance store’s, or a third party.

Consumer Reports should be trustworthy, right?  They make a living out of unbiased research and reporting their findings.  The problem I find with CR is brand names can be on the top, middle or bottom tiers, depending on the model.  True, there can be a larger percentage of one brand over another, but the second issue is how they arrive at the ratings.  Do I care if the display is easy to read, or the style is not exciting?  I can readily see that when comparing online or in the store.  I care mostly about reliability that I cannot see.  Can you trust the salesperson, or are they just pushing one or two that pay them more?  I don’t think there are any fiduciary duties to protect you at Best Buy or HHGregg.  If you develop a personal relationship with a store in particular, especially locally owned, you may feel a level of trust.  Or your friends and colleagues who have recently purchased can share their results.

I do basic research and look for trends, if I find the same brand and/or model that gets strong ratings from different sources, and then confirmed by a friend or retailer, I feel confident on the purchase.  After awhile, you start trusting certain brands.  That leads to another problem – brands evolve, get better or worse, are bought out, or simply overtaken by competition.

Personal experience over the last 3 years:

– Samsung refrigerator, I rate 3.5 of 5 (overactive ice maker and water in vegetable bins), did no research due to great Black Friday purchase

– Kitchen Aid dishwasher, I rate 4.5 of 5 (slight leak one time, door rubs), this brand and Bosch were among the best rated.

– Samsung clothes washer, I rate 5 of 5 so far (just bought last week), this brand, LG and Speed Queen were among the best rated.

Good Luck and Happy Shopping!

Housing Affordability

With steadily increasing housing prices, affordability has been gaining more attention this year and is a concern of a great number of potential homebuyers and renters.  While home prices took a big hit from 2008-2011, rents did not drop much, just temporarily slowed.  Both have been rising the last 3-4 years faster than inflation.  Sale prices in most markets around the country between last year and this year just eclipsed the peaks from 10 years ago, including St Louis.  Remember that, when it seems like prices keep going up and up, most of the increase was simply making up for the loss of recent years.

Generally speaking, the larger the metro, the higher the housing costs.  There are certain hotspots like San Francisco and Honolulu that command extreme prices.  Relocating buyers take this into account on moves, and quite a few locations are determined in part by cost of living.  Here in STL, we are commonly ranked among the most affordable metros when searching the largest 50-100 metro areas nationally, by an Affordability Index that compares median income to median home/rent prices.  Take our relatively low prices, add in the very low mortgage rates (holding at 3.5% on a 30 year fixed and 2.8% on a 15 year fixed) and stronger jobs market (local unemployment under 5% for the last 15 months), and this makes for a good time and place to be purchasing a home.  In fact, this area boasts a 72% home ownership rate vs. the national 64% rate.  We have even been plagued with low home inventory to choose from the last 2-3 years due to higher demand.  According to the latest Realtor.org figures, STL is more “affordable” than Kansas City, Chicago, Nashville, Indy and Minneapolis, and of course both coasts.  Cincy, Cleveland and Detroit edge us out.

St Louis has been garnering extra love recently with a vibrant startup culture, and growing industries of science, technology, healthcare and financial brokerages.  We toss in highly rated cultural amenities and varied housing stock that make this town a destination for thousands of families each year who relocate, tens of thousands who opt to stay here, and millions who visit.  True we may not be adding population as much as some other metros, but how is that a bad thing when we are growing in a steady and more controlled fashion that keeps our prices more affordable and traffic better?  Overwhelmingly, St Louisans like living and raising their families here!

*** I had my 350th home closing yesterday! ***

Tailoring Home Price Estimates

Greetings!  Fall is almost upon us, and the housing market is holding strong in St Louis.  Although not as crazy as this past spring, newly listed homes today attract immediate attention, and many are still selling in the first few days.  Interest rates are staying VERY low.  I can have you moved before the holidays!

Let’s face it – most of us have homes that are not “show ready” if we were to sell them tomorrow.  We may be in the middle of one project with two more on the to-do list.  Or we have just become comfortable the way it is; or perhaps we are short on cash and unable to make the improvements we long for.

Realtors for years in the past have, and will for years to come, valued homes by viewing and estimating the home with one figure or range in mind – the way it stands.  Some Realtors take the next step and inform sellers that if they complete certain improvements, what the sale price would be.  I have been coming across more and more sellers who contact me sooner in the selling process and need to decide what to do with the condition and appearance of their home.  More times than not, I am providing 2 or even 3 estimated sale prices tied to how much they are willing to do, and how the payback figures in.  Ultimately, each seller decides what is right for them, but most center on spending several hundred to several thousand dollars for a 2 to 3 times higher return on that investment, if not higher.  It is critical to have a Realtor with the experience to view your home and give the right advice of what pays back and what doesn’t, and apply it to your home’s current condition.  There are many resources for standard tips on this, but some of these lists have you rebuilding your entire home.  My own company has a 92 point list, good grief!  I was tired after viewing the first 10.  People deserve to know how THEIR home measures up, and what to prioritize: Is my carpeting OK?  What about this kitchen?  Should we keep these drapes or remove them?  I have told clients “If you are going to change this, then you should also change that” as often as “If you do these two things, no need to do that one” and the occasional “I wouldn’t touch a thing!”.  Then relate the end game to rough costs and how it affects the sale price.

Even with the market as strong as it is, buyers are willing to pay significantly more for a home that is move-in ready, especially if it is very inviting.  Oftentimes, two similar homes with 35 year old kitchens will look very different, one selling for thousands more than the other due to minor updates, cleanliness and décor.  Savvy sellers learn this and put it into play, and seek out guidance if needed.

Game On.