Tips to sell your home in the down market
Selling your home when the market is cold can present significant challenges. Forced to lower the price in spite of huge amount of money spent on home improvements and renovations? Buyers driving hard bargains and you are facing tough time on negotiations? Your home sitting unsold on the list for long time now? This scenario calls for special measures that make use of sales and marketing strategies that are above and beyond what are usually required when the market is comparatively stable. And lowering the price is not always the answer. So, what else can you do to sell your home quickly even when the market is down? Let’s find out.
1. Make use of online marketing
There are multiple online tools that can be leveraged to help you sell your house quickly in a down market. For example, you can create a virtual tour of your home or a blog with high resolution digital images and video that showcase your house in an attractive light. You can also provide information about the area, number of rooms and baths and some other useful information about the facilities in your neighborhood. All these steps would help you attract many potential buyers who are connected through internet and often use these portals to search and buy properties. Make sure that your MLS listing is picked up by competitive listing portals such as Trulia, Zillow, Redfin and also by the National Association of Real estate agent at www.realtor.com.
2. Be ready to stage your house
Make your house as appealing as possible. Consider that you may not want to compete against the prices of foreclosure or short sale homes but you can definitely outperform them in terms of appearance and the condition. Make sure that the exterior of your house looks impressive with a fresh coat of paint and well-manicured lawns – probably one of the most important step to enhance the appeal of your house. Clean and de-clutter the interiors, and make your home look light and airy. You can hire a professional to help you stage your house for the showing. Want to know more how to stage your house in the best light? Read “Tips to make your house look ready for sale”.
3. Get inspections and repair done
The whole idea is to give an impression to the potential buyers that the house is ready to move in and they would not need to spend extra time and money to fix broken things and tend to things that may need immediate repair and maintenance.
4. Price it right
Irrespective of the renovation and home improvement projects you have undertaken to make your home more appealing, it is still important that you price the home right. You can enlist the help of a professional real estate agent who can make sure that your listing price is not out of the line in comparison to the other homes listed on the market. Worried that you have overpriced your home? Read our article “Is your home priced to sell?” to know more.
5. Make your home accessible for showing
If your home is available for showing for a very restrictive time frame, you might lose many potential buyers who look for fluidity in the schedule. It is of course important to have appointments but making it too difficult for your listing agent to access your home easily can put off many prospective clients. It goes without saying that if your home is not shown more, the probability of selling it quickly also decreases. Always remember that in the down market, your closest competition are foreclosures and short sale houses that are accessible for showing anytime. Both the agents and the buyers are likely to explore opportunities that are easily accessible with less roadblocks.
6. Know what your competition is doing
Whether it is about the price, condition of other homes on the listing, the level of staging or the latest marketing techniques that are being used to sell home quickly in the down market, it is important to get a clue what your competition is up to. You can attend some open houses in your neighborhood to get a handle on the real estate market and assess how your fare in the comparison. It will also help you price your home more realistically – which is one of the most important feature in selling your house besides of course the condition and the appearance of your house.
7. Work with an experienced real estate agent
Seasoned real estate agent know how to navigate especially in the exasperating environment when the market is low. They have the expertise, training and the right skills to help you with proven strategies to sell your house favorably even amidst the unfavorable conditions. A professional real estate agent can also help you with drawing legal documents and state contracts. They have the right connections to get you in touch with potential home buyers through a nation-wide network. A professional real estate agent knows how to focus on relevant buyers such as the ones who are relocating for career, expanding the family, divorce or for retirement reasons. These buyers are looking to buy a new home irrespective of the market conditions. To know more about the importance of a professional real estate agent, read “How a good real estate agent can help you sell your house quickly?”
8. Sweeten the deal
When the market is down, it is the buyer that holds the real power. They are often looking for deals that can make your home more attractive in comparison to similar homes that are out there. How can you make the deal more enticing without looking desperate? You can offer to pay closing costs entirely, free home warranty or perhaps other incentives like assistance with home improvements, down payments or financing. These extra perks often help to get more attention from the buyers.
What is the bottom line?
Selling your home in the down market is definitely a tricky and frustrating undertaking. Be prepared to make extra efforts such as getting your home in top shape, offering concessions at closing and pricing the home appropriately. And don’t forget to hire a reliable and experienced real estate agent to help you navigate this journey. Last but not the least: Don’t wait for the better deal. Sell fast.
Related Article: “Why hire a real estate agent to buy a home?”