Top 5 Tips for Selling a Home in a Slow Market
For homebuyers with good credit and solid down payment funds, it's likely that 2008 has been one of the best times to buy. Here in the Chicago metro market and in cities across the United States, this year will also be remembered as the time when home values took a nosedive, and selling your home meant fewer showings and less lucrative offers. But while today's real estate market appears to favor homebuyers, it is still possible for those selling their homes to get ahead of their competition and turn a profit.
Here are 5 easy steps you can take to sell your home in a shifting real estate market:
1. MOTIVATION TO MOVE. For those 'just thinking' about moving to a nicer, larger home, tremendous discount opportunities await most buyers. But home sellers today face long market times, repeated price reductions, lowball offers, and a bevy of buyer loan qualification requirements. If you don't have the patience for these potholes in the road, or don't want the headaches, you may want to consider delaying your moving decision until the real estate market stabilizes.
2. PRICE YOUR HOME CORRECTLY FROM THE START. We often plead with our clients – despite what their friends and family might advise them – to not test the waters with a higher market price. This could greatly work against you in a down real estate market. Take a close look at the SOLD PRICES — not the ASKING PRICES — of comparable properties within a three-month time frame. You should also look into the listing prices of homes in historically more expensive neighborhoods slightly further away from your location. Use these guidelines to help you determine your ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM ASKING PRICE.
Depending on your timing, the condition of your home and your specific needs, it might also be prudent to set your asking price lower than these comparable properties. This will ensure a faster sale closer to your asking price. In addition, be cautious of some automated home pricing Web sites. These sites can sometimes OVER or UNDER ESTIMATE home values in an area because they don't factor in upgrades and renovations in a specific home or the neighborhood surrounding it.
3. LOWER YOUR LISTING PRICE QUICKLY AND SYSTEMATICALLY, UNTIL YOU RECEIVE AN OFFER. Every property, in any kind of market – weak or strong – will sell eventually at the right price. It often takes some time to find the correct pricing level. If you have no offers within the first two weeks your house is on the market, REDUCE YOUR ASKING PRICE a minimum of 3 percent until you receive an offer. Continue this pricing strategy until the house goes under contract. In today's market, you may find yourself having to lower your asking price once or several times to sell your home. My advice to you: It's better to have a counter offer that maybe lower than you had planned, then to keep your price too high and receive no offers on your home at all!
4. STAGE YOUR HOUSE PROPERLY. Home staging involves preparing your house for a sale. If done right, staging can create an instant positive impression on homebuyers. From lighting to effective use of props and furniture, staging can mean the difference between a home that sells today, and one that lingers on the market for six months.
5. HAVE YOUR PROPERTY SHOWABLE AT ALL TIMES, AND WITH SHORT NOTICE. Today, with scheduled showings fewer in number and qualified home buyers at a premium, you should view every interested person as a potential buyer. Remember, in a slow real estate market, buyers don't care if you're too tired to show your place. They will just go to the next seller who has made the time and effort.
Use SECURE AGENT LOCK BOXES if your real estate professional advises you to do so and you feel comfortable with using them. This way you can have agents with the access codes visit your home when their clients schedule last minute showings. The system does not work overnight hours. It shuts down in the evening after a certain time and doesn't start working until the next morning at 9 a.m.. This assures sellers that no one can enter their home in the late evening hours. Stay tune for more home selling tips in my next blog post. Till then, happy selling!
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