Price: $228,500

 Type: Single Family

 Bedrooms: 3 

Bathrooms: 2 Full

Square Feet: 1,200

CUTE, CUTE, CUTE! Complete remodel. New custom kitchen with maple cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.  Hardwood floors in living & dining room. Travertine Fireplace. New double pane windows bring in tons of natural light.  Master bedroom has a beautiful private bathroom. This great backyard offers a patio setting with tons of room and shade.  The entire house has all new paint and flooring throughout. Easy to show this wonderful place! Call Scott Robbins today to arrange a showing of this place 801.209.1120

http://www.circlepix.com/tours/6?wfrnum=985211

Curb appeal has always been important for homesellers. With the vast majority of today’s homebuyers starting their search on the Internet, the appearance of your property is more critical than ever. You only have a few seconds to catch their attention as they scroll through listings online to get them to stop and take a closer look.

But the role of curb appeal goes beyond just making a good first impression. The way your house looks from the street can impact its value. It can also shorten the time it takes to sell your house.

We asked real estate agents, appraisers, home stagers, landscape designers, and home inspectors which curb appeal projects offer the most value when your house is on the market, both in terms of its marketability and dollars. Here is what they told us:

1. Paint the house.

Hands down, the most commonly offered curb appeal advice from our real estate pros and appraisers is to give the exterior of your home a good paint job. Buyers will instantly notice it and appraisers will note it on the valuation. 

Just make sure you stay within the range of accepted colors for your market. A house that’s painted a wildly different color from its competition will be marked down in value by appraisers.

2. Have the house washed.

Before you make the investment in a paint job, though, take a good look at the house. If it’s got mildew or general grunge, just washing the house could make a world of difference, says Valerie Torelli, a California real estate agent with a background in accounting.

Torelli specifies pressure-washing—a job that should be left to professionals. Pressure washing makes the house look “bright and clean in addition to getting rid of unsightly things like cobwebs, which may not be seen from the yard but will detract from the home’s cleanliness when seen up close,” she says.

The cost to have a professional cleaning should be a few hundred dollars—a fraction of the cost of having the house painted.

3. Trim the shrubs and green up the yard.

California real estate agent Valerie Torelli says she puts a lot of emphasis on landscaping, such as cutting down overgrown bushes and replacing them with leafy plants and annuals mulched with beautiful reddish-brown bark. “It runs me $30 to $50,” says Torelli. “Do you get a return on your money? Absolutely. It sucks people in.”

You also don’t want bare spots. Take the time to throw out some grass seed, and if need be, add some sod.

4. Add a splash of color.

It could be a flower bed of annuals by the mailbox, a paint job for the front door, or a brightly colored bench or an Adirondack chair. “You can get a cute little bench at Home Depot for $99,“ Torelli notes. “Spray paint it bright red or blue and set it in the yard or on the front porch.”

It’s not a bad idea, but don’t plan on getting extra points from an appraiser for a red bench, says John Bredemeyer, president of Realcorp in Omaha. “It’s difficult to quantify, but it does make a home sell more quickly,” Bredemeyer says. “Maybe yours sold a couple weeks faster than the house down the street. That’s the best way to look at these things.”

5. Add a fancy mailbox and house numbers.

An upscale mail box and architectural house numbers or an address plaque can give your house a distinctive look that stands out from everyone else on the block. Torelli makes them a part of her exterior makeovers “I’ve gotten those hand-painted mailboxes,” she says. “A nice one runs you $40 to $50.” Architectural house numbers may run as high as a few hundred dollars.

6. Repair or clean the roof.

Springfield, Va.-based home inspector and former builder Reggie Marston says the roof is one of the first things he looks at in assessing the condition of a home. He’ll look at other houses in the neighborhood to see if there are a lot of replaced roofs and see if the subject house has one as well. If not, he’ll look for curls in the shingles or missing shingles. “I’m looking at the roof for end-of-life expectancy,” he says.

You can pay for roof repairs now, or pay for them later in a lower appraisal; appraisers will mark down the value by the cost of the repair. That could knock thousands of dollars off your appraisal. According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2009-2010 Cost vs. Value Report, the average cost of a new asphalt shingle roof is more than $19,000.

“Roofs are issues,” Lucco says. “You won’t throw money away on that job. You gotta have a decent roof.”

7. Put up a fence.

A picket fence with a garden gate to frame the yard is an asset. A fence has more impact in a family-oriented neighborhood than an upscale retirement community, Bredemeyer says, but in most instances, appraisers will give extra value for one, as long as it’s in good condition. “Day in a day out, a fence is a plus,“ Bredemeyer says. Expect to pay $2,000 to $3,500 for a professionally installed gated picket fence 3 feet high and 100 feet long.

8. Perform routine maintenance and cleaning.

Nothing sets off subconscious alarms like hanging gutters, missing bricks from the front steps, or lawn tools rusting in the bushes. It makes even the professionals question what else hasn’t been taken care of.

“A house is worth less if the maintenance isn’t done,” Lucco says. “Those little things can add up and be a very big detractor. When people say, ‘I’d buy it if it weren’t for all the deferred maintenance,’ what they’re really saying is, ‘I’d still buy it if you reduce the price.’” 

 Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/8-tips-adding-curb-appeal-and-value-your-home/#ixzz0xYRKA2wn

Price: $309,900

 Type: Single Family

 Bedrooms: 4

 Bathrooms:1 Full, 2 Partial

Garage:2

Square Feet: 2,986

Price: $232,000

 Type: Single Family

 Bedrooms: 4

 Bathrooms: 3 Full 

Garage: 2

 Square Feet: 2,632

Tonight, the Senate unanimously approved the bill — leaving the President to ratify the provision by signing it into law, as early as tomorrow morning.

“I thank my colleagues for joining me to pass this important extension and giving homebuyers in Nevada and around the country the opportunity to purchase their first home,” said Sen Harry Reid (D-NV), in a statement following the bill’s passage.

“In addition to helping thousands of families experience the American dream, this successful and popular program provides a much needed boost to Nevada’s housing market and economy.”

The deadline for the tax credit was midnight tonight but only if the mortgage went through, so with Obama’s signature, it would have been possible that no contracts currently under offer — but unable to close — would fall through the cracks with the extended deadline.

The Senate approved provision will give buyers until Sept. 30 to complete their purchases and qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000.

If the President signs the bill into law tomorrow, it is unclear if the provision will apply retroactively to deals that close on Thursday, July 1.

Price: $190,000

 Type: Condo/Townhome

 Bedrooms: 5

 Bathrooms: 2 Full, 1 Partial

 Garage: 2

 Square Feet: 2,416

RECENT PRICE REDUCTION! Amazing Sandy townhouse for sale at a great price! End unit with a 2-car garage, private backyard with plenty of room to entertain or to just relax and enjoy the surroundings. New stove, new paint, and newer carpet throughout. Basement was recently finished with plenty of room and light.  The master bedroom is huge and has plenty of closet space.  HOA offers a great pool and clubhouse as well as the association offering plenty of on-site RV and boat storage. Call Scott Robbins today to arrange a tour of this wonderful townhouse 801-209-1120

http://www.circlepix.com/tours/5?wfrnum=965170

Price: $278,000

 Type: Single Family

 Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 2 Full, 1 Partial

Garage: 2

Square Feet: 2,640

This home has it all. Totally remodeled kitchen with 2 ovens, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and cabinets. New carpet, new tile and 2-tone paint throughout. New central A/C, sprinklers system, and deck. Garage has tons of storage with an oversized loft for extra space. Yard has plenty of room with a vegetable garden. This beautiful home is sure to impress!

http://www.circlepix.com/tours/5?wfrnum=965534

CHART: Median sales price by metro area

 That’s a sharp improvement from the fourth quarter of last year, when prices rose in about 40% of cities. The national median price was $166,100, or 0.7% below the first quarter of last year.

 Sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up 36% of all sales in the first quarter.

 The largest percentage price increase was in Saginaw, Mich., where the median price doubled to nearly $61,000. Prices in Akron, Ohio were up 95% to about $95,000. Prices in Cleveland were up 54% to $106,400.

 The largest price decline was in Orlando, where they dropped 15% to nearly $132,000. Prices in Ocala, Fla., fell 14.5% to a median of nearly $93,000. Prices in Cumberland, Md., fell 14.4% to $98,300.

Median Price: down 7% year over year ($205,000 vs $220,000)

Median price per Square Foot: down 9% year over year ($104.22 vs $111.40)

All numbers compare 2009 3rd Quarter to 2008 3rd Quarter.