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How to Sell in a Buyer's Market

By
Real Estate Agent with Prudential Preferred Realtors

O.K. honestly I can't guarantee that a seller will sell in this market, but I can give you some helpful hints based on what I notice buyer's are looking for.  And if it makes you feel any better, I'm getting ready to sell in the Spring market next year so guess what... I have to take my own advice. 

The Absolute Musts

This information probably won't be anything new.  Hopefully, you've already heard from the news or other professionals in the real estate business that in today's market, these things HAVE to be done to get the premium price.

  1. PRICE CORRECTLY - If you want to sell in the near future, price is critical and buyers know approximately what your home is worth because they have been in all your competitor's homes.
  2. CURB APPEAL - With so many homes on the market, this aspect is absolutely crucial.  Buyers have been known to walk away because the outside of the home left something to be desired.  From their point of view, if you won't keep up the outside of the home, who wants to go inside... it probably looks about the same as the outside... not good.
  3. BE FLEXIBLE - Unfortunately, as a seller and if you really want to sell, playing hard ball can cost you more time on the market.  Don't give up the ship but be reasonable.

For a video relating to this view this link: http://activerain.com/blogsview/179720/The-Market-Is-What

Now, For More Detail

This area really has to do with what we call Staging.  Because of the many homes for sale, staging professionals are really finding a niche in this market and are helping homes be the home that rises above the competition.  As a Realtor, opinions vary about staging and painting.  At one time, everything was supposed to neutral.  Now, I've seen more homes with color and it seems to be something that buyers are drawn to.  A really great resource that I like to view is HGTV.  In their latest magazine, they gave some really great pointers that I wanted to share.

  1. White wash won't sell - The home that was picked consisted of mainly white walls throughout the home. Here's what the commentary was on the color white. "...white is not a neutral color, and therein lies a lesson.  It can be downright bold and cold." (HGTV Ideas.)  Instead the fix was to put color in every room, warm ginger in the living room giving it a sophisticated look, sage in the bathroom, and a smoky plum in the bedroom.
  2. Get rid of Clutter - Stagers are big on getting rid of the clutter in a house.  By doing so they can create a room that looks bigger.
  3. Rearranging Furniture - Feel free to move the wing-backed chair from the living room into the master.  Another item that I've noticed is that stagers have no problem moving the big living room sofa away from the wall.  They tend to create more intimate settings and a lot of times the furniture is pulled away from the walls. 
  4. Decorate with Extra Color - Fresh flowers, candles and focal point knick knacks really add to the room's cozy feel.

Do You Have An Ugly Room... You Do, Don't You?

I'm still browsing through this catalog more for personal reasons than anything else and I notice another great article from HGTV.  How do you solve the Ugly Room issue.

To read more on this article click here:

References: HGTV Ideas. Grand Rapids Press. Summer 2007., "Designed to sell".  "Where's your Ugliest Room?"

 

Terry Haugen STAGE it RIGHT! 321-956-2495
Stage it Right! - Melbourne, FL
Tammy, would that it could be that easy :-)  All your points were very good, but I think in most areas of the U.S. the biggest challenge facing stagers is getting realtors to recognize it as a viable means of presenting a home, and getting home sellers to divorce themselves from their personal feelings about their homes, and let stagers work their magic.  The market here in my area of Florida is totally DEAD.  One would think staging would be a must here, but not yet.  I guess sellers are just not hungry enough to bite.
Aug 23, 2007 06:22 AM
New Jersey Real Estate James Boyer Morris, Essex & Union County NJ Realtor
RE/MAX Properties Unlimited, Real Estate - Morristown, NJ

Great Post Tammy,  All homes can sell, they just need to be priced to represent the value the home offers.  If the home owner wants to stage the home and make it look better then it is a better value.

 

James Boyer

Realtor Associate

Keller Williams Real Estate

Summit, NJ 07901

Aug 23, 2007 06:40 AM
Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

Following price, the biggest barrier to sale that I see is accessibility.  Folks who make it hard to view the house have all sorts of reasons but none that make any sense to me. 

Fact is, the best house on the block will always sell, if folks can get in it.

  • Appointment windows
  • Loose dogs
  • icy walkways
  • can't view during nap time
  • must confirm appts with owner

and on and on and on. 

We often only have a few hours to show homes and when one seller thinks that theirs is the only one on the market, it will just be the one on the market the longest.

 

Aug 23, 2007 07:07 AM
Suburban Chicago Illinois Real Estate
Suburban Village Realty - Barrington, IL
Curb Appeal.... it's what can make or break you. (Priced appropriately of course.) And there is nothing worse then making a home hard to show when we have so many to show!
Aug 23, 2007 07:49 AM
Cari Pilon
RE:STYLE Home Staging - Brighton, MI
RE:STYLE Home Staging
Thanks Tammy for recognizing the importance of staging! Gone are the days of location, location, location - now it is price and condition.
Aug 23, 2007 08:58 AM
Karen Otto
Home Star Staging - Plano, TX
Plano Home Staging, Dallas Home Staging, www.homes

Tammy congratulations on your featured post!

Thank you for seeing the value and importance of staging - preparing a home for sale.  In a buyer's market with so much to choose from a seller has to make their home shine against the competition.  Stagers can also write cost effective reports for the pro-active seller who is a DIYer. The same great results can happen for them if they just do the work necessary to get the property ready.  You can't just hang a sign outside and expect it to fly off the shelf.  Package and market your product! A little sweat equity goes a long way in the return.

Aug 23, 2007 09:10 AM
Ryan Case
Pacific Servicing - Temecula, CA
Problem is even if you price correctly 5 bank owned homes will pop up around the corner for $100,000 less and its taking all the buyers away! And lowering the values!
Aug 23, 2007 10:58 AM
Cheri Dueker
Transitional Designs, LLC - Saint Louis, MO
Transitional Designs, LLC, Home Staging St. Louis
Tammy: Great post-stagers are members of a homeowners professional team when it is time to sell. We help them highlight the best features of the home-you know the reason they fell in love with the house to begin with. Thanks for helping us explain why we do this job!
Aug 23, 2007 11:06 AM
Christopher Onwuasoanya
Atlantic Waste & Power System - Sparta, NJ
I will share with my Realtor partners your blog. It makes so much sense yet most people don't do it. Thanks
Aug 23, 2007 12:20 PM
William Johnson
Retired - La Jolla, CA
Retired

Whatever made a Seller think their huge array of family pictures all over the place and cute cheap K- Mart stuff from China is decorating, well, it wasn't me.

I listed a property and the seller said I took all of her charm out the house. I asked " And What Charm Would That Be?" She got the point and the place looked 100 % better and sold in about 2 weeks.

People think their homes unless cluttered aren't charming. For the most part they end up getting cluttered because in fact they are decorated so poorly and not at all functional. Clutter is a owners way of trying to make it feel better when it is not set correctly.

Aug 23, 2007 12:49 PM
Kim Wilbourn
Kim Wilbourn Realty - Scottsboro, AL
Your Local Alabama REALTOR

I feel like staging a home does make the looks of a home look better. One of my listings recently had way to much furniture in the living room, and it had beautiful hardwood floors, but you could not see them because of the furniture. We rearranged the living room, and took some items out. Before everytime it was showed the comments where there is to much furniture, we eliminated it and now the home shows well.

Aug 23, 2007 12:55 PM
Rebecca Savitski
BSR Real Estate Group - Cary, NC
NC Real Estate Listings

Clean and repaint the front door - I always judge a home by the front door.

Aug 23, 2007 02:51 PM
Malika Cumbie
Alotta Apartments - Brooklyn, NY
Good post. Condition of the home is very important when there are plenty of the same style homes on the market.
Aug 23, 2007 03:36 PM
Cyndee Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
727-710-8035 Clearwater, Beach Short Sales Luxury Condos &Homes
Great tips and so true - with so many choices we need to make sure we're giving people the advice they need to hear to sell their homes. 
Aug 23, 2007 05:32 PM
Tammy Stone
Prudential Preferred Realtors - Grand Rapids, MI
"Eco-Green" Agent in West Michigan
Thanks everyone for the comments.  I used to think that staging a home wasn't that vital, it was all about price. In this market, I've had a change of opinion.
Aug 23, 2007 10:45 PM
Kim Hilgenberg
Ultimate Home Stager - Topeka, KS

Staging in this market is VERY important.  It is most important to ensure that the house that you are selling makes a LASTING impression.  It is often hard to remember the vacant house with no appeal.  However, once the curb appeal gets the buyers in the house, the house needs to WOW them.  How do you do that?  With Home Staging.

Kim Hilgenberg, Ultimate Home Stager, 785-266-0080

Aug 26, 2007 01:39 PM