Today’s real estate market is not as bad as some media reports would have you believe. New mortgage applications are up. Existing homes are selling. Mortgage rates are still historically low.
Most of the dismal reports about the real estate market are overlooking the realities in the market place. This is a market that is taking a normal and long-predicted cyclical rebalancing. It is certainly not the catastrophe some reports are portraying.
Three reasons why sellers are having problems selling are pricing, condition, and refusal to negotiate or have the property accessible for showings.
Many sellers price high because they feel trapped due to taking out home equity loans that have maxed out their house or they bought a house in recent years with 100% financing. These sellers predictably do not have the equity in their home to negotiate very far from the asking price.
Condition of the home is the easiest part of the home sale for the sellers to control. By removing clutter from the house (notice I did not say home?) buyers can then see the house and start picturing themselves in it. Sellers should try to remove at least 50% of everything in a closet. Get a storage unit and remove most of the items not absolutely needed on a daily basis. Sellers need to stop thinking of their house as a home. People need to try to live differently in a house on the market from the home they will live in.
Condition also includes: repairing small items like leaking faucets; having clean walls, floors, and ceilings; and the removal of offensive odors. If you can smell it - it’s harder to sell it! Candles and other masking aromas should be used sparingly.
Everyone in the real estate transaction should know that it is business being conducted. No one should be insulted with a low offer or a counter offer to a low offer. By reviewing the offer thoroughly, negotiating items not to their satisfaction, and giving a little, sellers and buyers can find common ground.
Finally, there are a large number of houses on the market right now. Sellers need to have no time boundaries for showing their homes. While 24 hour notice is nice, not all buyers want, or can, give it. Most will skip that property and move onto the next. There are too many houses out there to fit into someone else’s schedule. Another obstacle is the seller who only wants to let people in at certain times of the day or evening. If you can accommodate the buyers they will come. The more people who see your property the better the opportunity to get it sold.
Buyers - now is the time to get out and look. Typically prices go up in the spring. Interest rates are probably going to stay the same or increase. Houses that are on the market this time of year are owned by serious sellers. These are the people who are not just testing the market. They want to sell. There are a lot of great buys out there NOW!
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