Woe is me! That seems to be the lament among sellers today. I don't want to give my house away, I won't give my house away but I really want to move. What's a seller to do?!?!
We work with lots of sellers and we tell them up front thtat this is a particularly challenging market but not a bad market. With all the competing inventory there is that naturally makes for a buyers market. But keep in mind that more buyers mean more possibilities for sellers to get their house sold. As most sellers out there have found out, it takes a whole lot more in this market then just having some agent stick a sign in your yard....those days of lazy marketing by lazy agents are gone.
First of all, let me let you in on a little secret....you only have to do two things to sell your house. That's it and they are both easy and pretty painless. Ready for the "inside scoop" from a team of Realtors in the know? First you have to price it competitvely. You have to make the decision of being on the market or being in the market. If you really want to sell your house then you want to be in the market. There are gazillions of homes on the market right now and they keep sitting and sitting. But homes priced in the market are geting offers and going to closing. If you are thinking "hmmm, I wonder what I could get for my house; we really like the ones in ABC subdivision....we might as well see if we could sell ours" then you are not in the market. Now is not the time to "test" the market. You are only going to get tired of picking it up and frustrated that people come into the house, disrupt your schedule and you get nothing. If you are not a serious seller then wait awhile to list your home. In today's market, you have to price your home slightly below, market. Now I know what you are thinking, "Tammy, come on, below market? Thats nuts." Not really. It will generate more offers more quickly and you might have the opportunity to entertain multiple offers thus resulting in a higher sales price. Plus, think about it...if you are a seller and you are priced slightly below market because you want to attract a buyer.....what will other sellers do that want to attract a buyer? Yep, price slightly below market. Generally, in a buyers market, what you "lose" on the sale side you more than make up for on the buy side. And with lower interest rates, that translates into more house for less money. And the deals abound on new construction because builders have to sell them or keep making monthly payments ontheir construction loans. You can really make up the difference you lose on the sale by buying new construction.
OK, secret number two, and this is the one that a lot of people have a harder time with....fix the house up BEFORE it goes on the market and keep it staged and in pristine condition. We currently have a seller who has a house that is not in good condition. We told them that before we listed the home, even walked through it and made a list of items that needed attention. His house is priced way below market but guess what? Terrible condition and he refuses to do anything. Yet, his Realtors are the one he is mad at. We have sent him feedback from every Realtor that has shown the house and says it is in bad shape. We given hints, suggestions, you name it, yet he still wants us to be patient and trust him on the price. We have had it four months and his plan ain't working. He drops the price which we certainly do not advise him to do because the house is worth more and if he would invest a little bit of money in it, he could raise the price becuase it does get a lot of activity. Plus, he fails to see, even with wondeful Realtors like his dynamic duo team, that nobody cares just about what the price is in a buyers market; they want it move in ready and good to go cause they have more money then time. As it was so elequoently put this week...you can't put lipstick on a pig. If the house needs ton of work, if it has no curb appeal, if buyers can stand on the front porch while their Realtor unlocks the keybox to get the key and open the door and see an unkept front entry that has wood rot, needs caulking, has had all the mulch wash away...chances are they are not even going to want to go in...would you?
Sp Mr. and/or Mrs Seller, take heart...you can sell your house at a fair market price pretty quickly if you are willing to price and stage it correctly. We tell our clients that if the home shows ten times and there are no offers, we must look at either price or staging and see what is missing. The clients that listen sell their homes. The ones who do it right at the time if the intial listing sell theirs faster. Read our referral letters and you'll see that pricing and staging do get it done!
For more info on staging or to see what our clients say, please visit us at www.YourDynamicDuoTeam.com. If you are ready to be on the market and not in the market call us and let us show you what Your Dynamic Duo Team can do to get your house sold!