Purchasing
- Your first home
- Your next home and move
- An investment property
- A vacation home
Refinancing
- To tap your home equity
- To save money
- To avoid rate increases
- To lower monthly payments
Home Equity
- Loans and lines of credit
- Finance major expenses
- Consolidate Debt
- Invest
You can still sell with confidence
By Justin Hunter
The current real estate market
in the U.S. has more than its fair share
of obstacles for home sellers after
years of basically “walking in
the park.”
No longer are record-breaking trends
on the beneficial side of sellers as
home sales have been declining throughout
the country at a never before seen pace.
Now that home prices have begun to take
the form of sales, sellers have to be
a little more clever and patient before
actively entering the market.
Peter G. Miller’s article, “How
To Get The Best Price In A Slowing Market,”
posted on October 10, 2006 on Realty
Times, provides some helpful tips to
help sellers regain confidence when
looking for a sale.
According to the National Association
of Realtors, single-family
home prices dropped nationwide 1.7 percent
from this same time last year. They
also reported that in 2000, the typical
existing single-family home sold for
$111,800. That figure reached $225,000
in August 2006.
Since the real estate market is obviously
inconsistent, there are a few important
steps or guidelines to follow that will
help you attain the most possible success
selling your property.
The fist thing you should understand
is that there is a lot more supply (listed
properties) than demand (buyers).
Sellers controlled the real estate market
for the past several years, but that
is no longer the case as buyers now
have the luxury of picking and choosing
from a plethora of available properties.
“While pre-market prep could have
been ignored in the recent past, today
you have to paint, clean-up and repair
before offering a home for sale. An
MLS photo that shows a home with a lousy
roof is evidence of a property that
likely will not sell quickly or at full
price.”
Remember, cash is still an important
issue for buyers, especially first-timers
who do not have access to equity from
a prior sale.
As a result, you can increase your selling
potential by offering to pay closing
costs rather than reducing prices. This
may save you more in the long run and
buyers will appreciate saving a little
more cash upfront.
The third thing to do is to choose the
right broker. “When comparing
local brokers, look for such markers
as recent success in your neighborhood,
a high level of local activity and professional
education.”
Choosing the right broker is very important
because if he or she is well respected
around the community you will be able
to command a more efficient asking price
without people questioning your integrity.
They will trust you because they trust
your agent or broker.
Along the same lines as choosing an
effective broker you need to know that
your property will be advertised in
just about every publication available.
The more exposure equals a greater chance
of a sale.
“This means that when considering
a listing broker you need to review
the marketing plan with care. What,
exactly is the broker going to do in
terms of advertising, open houses, MLS
placements, online marketing, broker
relations, etc?”
A seller can be effective in any market
as long as he or she understands how
to market the property
and how to establish an effective, powerful
asking price.