How To Sell Your House Fast In A Slow Market

In today's real estate market, more houses are sitting on the market than there are available buyers. And more homes continue to be offloaded into the market either as REOS or home owners trying to sell their houses.

Selling your house fast can therefore quickly become a challenge. So how can you sell your house given such adverse market conditions?

Internet is the first place most home buyers look. Most of the times, they are usually able to access houses listed in the MLS like realtor.com and other real estate websites.

Usually this happens long before they call a Realtor. Several factors determine what they do next, such as narrowing down on a property and going out to see it.

1)    Price
Once they search their house using the right criteria, such as size, neighborhood, price range, the first thing they look for is the price.

Of course a home buyer is attracted by the lowest priced homes.   This means you need to price your house lower than similar houses in the neighborhood if it has to sell faster.

While price is not the only factor home buyers look for, it is the first thing they ever notice long before they look at anything else.

It is important to remember that a newly listed property holds more appeal than houses that have been in the market for months, so it is important to get the price right the first time.

Of course you can only price it low if your mortgage balance allows it. Your Realtor should be able to guide you to get the best price for your house.

2)    Staging and presentation
This is one of the most overlooked elements when selling your house.   The pictures posted with the listings can make a big impact with the buyer.

This of course happens long before the home buyer drives out with their Realtor to see the home.

Does it look presentable?   Are the most prominent features of the house highlighted by the pictures?

Whenever possible, it is better to stage a house with furniture than one without it. If this is not possible, always try to cover all angles of the house while trying to present the best features of the house.

Remember the decision of the home buyer to choose to come take a look at your house will depend on the first impressions they get online.

3)    Curb appeal
The first impression the home buyer gets when they drive out to see the house is the outside of the house.

How clean does the yard look? Is the roof covered by a tree hanging over it? The curb appeal can be drastically improved by a simple coat of paint on the outside and the mailbox.

Remember the house must be attractive for them to even take a look inside.

4)    Condition of the house
Does the house need repairs? Most buyers are turned off by repairs.    Most cannot handle any repairs.

They will expect a price cut o cover repairs if at all they can handle it.

Do all appliances work?   A new carpet and coat of paint can do wonders. You have to be careful not to go over the budget when fixing the house.

5)    Negotiate
If an interested buyer asks for it, be ready to negotiate. Most of the times a small price break is all they need.   It can make the difference between selling or not, or even keeping it for months.

About the Author

Most home buyers start their search on the internet from websites that have mls idx where they can search for homes available. If you are a Realtor, learn how you can super charge your business with an automated direct response real estate website.

Author (simon87). Submitted on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 Time: 12:01 PM

Rating: Not yet rated

Comments

No comments posted.