Many folks these days have their homes up for sale, it is a Buyer’s Market and supply has outstripped demand. This situation has resulted in a decline in prices. Many analysts have said that the 2005 top end prices were artificially inflated to begin with and the market is just doing a normal correction.
Real Estate, like most of life and the markets operate in cycles. 2003-2005 was a cycle of tremendous upward appreciation. The early part of 2006 began the downward trend as more houses came on the market and buyers didn’t show for the normal winter months to buy.
Regardless of the whys, what can you do to position your home in such a market?
First of all, there isn’t any big mystery as to the factors that sell a home. There are three factors and they are: 1)Price 2) Condition 3) Location. These three factors need to be weighed objectively when you are putting your home on the market for sale.
Let’s take Price, this is an emotionally charged issue for most, even real estate agents. We all know the blood, sweat and tears that we have put into our homes making improvements and doing routine maintenance. This tends to color our perception of the value of our personal homestead. We all believe our home is the best in the field of competition, it is just human nature…but it is important that you base the value on facts and not emotions.
What you “need” to get out of the house and what the market will bear are not necessarily the same figure. Many folks who refinanced during the height of the market may now find as the values have adjusted, that they are upside down in their home and really can’t afford to sell until values adjust upward again. If you did that, you must realize that any money you took out of the home for repairs, debt consolidation, etc. is money you have benefited from. You’re just kidding yourself to think that your home ownership didn’t benefit you if now there is no more equity to pull out.
When you are making decisions with regard to who should market your property, your decision should not be based on which agent told you the most favorable price or value for your property. Unfortunately, not all agents are created equal in their skill levels of assessing values and unfortunately, not all agents have the best integrity. I have been the 2nd agent in to be interviewed after the first agent has given the home owner some inflated idea of the value of their home. Some agents do this to get the listing and then they spend the rest of the listing period beating the homeowner over the head to reduce the price.
In all types of markets, you REDUCE marketing time by pricing your home among the competition to stand out as a value. Buyers want to get the most value for their money and if your home stands out with more amenities for the same dollar, your house will be selected from the active listings rather than remaining on the market. An experienced agent will prepare a CMA- comparable market analysis. This is a mini-appraisal type opinion of value for the property. The guidelines are: Comparable sized homes; comparable vintage home; same construction that have sold within the last 6 months, within two miles of the subject house. Same guidelines for active listings to see where to position your price in the field of competition.
Condition: This seems straight forward enough, but all repairs, no matter how small, need to be made and they need to be professionally done. If you don’t have the skill level to make the repair, you do your home a disservice by doing the work yourself as shoddy workmanship is a red flag to buyers and their agents. Buyers view shoddy workmanship as an indication of how you generally took care of and maintained the property.
Fresh paint and clean carpet are two of the least expensive and best things you can do to prepare to sell your home. Speaking of clean, if you have pets, you need a brutally honest person/friend or family member who does not live with you to tell you if you have pet odor in the house. Air fresheners and heavy incense and perfumes only mask odors and can be as offensive to a buyer as the pet odor itself.
Location: Oh, if there was anything we could do about a bad location. The best you can hope for if the location of the home is not desirable is to minimize the issues to the best of your ability. Perhaps a privacy fence is in order so that the neighbor next door with 20 cats, 3 cars on blocks in the back yard and an over flowing trash is not visible from your home will help. If high crime is an issues, install a security system.
Keep in mind, you bought at this location so someone else will and they will likely have the same profile as you. You and your agent just need to seek that type of buyer, price the home accordingly and be sure it’s condition is good.
There are more tips available regarding marketing your home in this market. I’d be glad to share them with you here or in person. If you are thinking of selling, feel free to call me at: 386-299-6393 and I’ll prepare a CMA for you…for free!
Wishing You Sunshine,
Janet
Selling Volusia County Flagler County Florida Real Estate and Business….to the world!
