Dan, Trulia has some of the information requested available under Stats and Trends on the top menu.

Can I make a few suggestions. I believe the place you should start would be with a local lender. Loan guidelines have changed and continue changing with some lenders. What decision can you make about selling your home, if ultimately you do not qualify to purchase a next home?

Once you determine you qualify to purchase a next home, make sure to verify with the lender your minimum profit needed from your current home. Any local real estate professional will be able to provide an estimated Net Profit worksheet for you to compare against the banks figures.

Although most local agents can provide all the information above, only those similar homes (usually within the same school district) within the past 90 days would provide the most accurate information.

Also, when you're asking questions, make sure to ask about sellers concessions. In my area, over 90 percent of sales involve seller concessions which further decrease the net price of homes. Your market appears to be more stable.

I also suggest interviewing at least 3 agents (yes, they will need more than an hour each) and have them carefully go over their personal and company marketing plans. Pay careful attention to each agents Internet marketing.

Wed May 28 2008, 17:18

Kalamazoo is not my area, so I cannot answer your questions--but I can help in the event that your question gets buried under all the new ones before you get your answer. If you want a trend analysis, you should be able to get what you want from a local REALTOR member of the MLS. Just be candid about your motives--even if you are going FSBO--and make a commitment to yourself and the agent to use the agent's services if you cannot get teh result you want.

Wed May 28 2008, 14:55

Dan,

I have all these numbers for the past 10 years charted and graphed. If you'd like a copy of this report, please email me at rhouvener@kw.com and I will email this report to you.

Wed May 28 2008, 14:55