Does Selling Your Home Feel a Bit Like Fishing for the Big One?
Let's face it, when it's time to sell your home in a Buyer's market, finding the right buyer to bite on your line can be quite tricky. There are so many fish in the sea! Northern Colorado real estate is flooded with inventory, foreclosures and bank-owned properties -- yes, it is a buyer's market indeed.
What most sellers do not realize, however, is that there really ARE buyers out there, and there really ARE deals being done and homes being sold!
So, what is a Seller to do? The two key ingredients to selling your home today are: pricing and condition. We have to face it, pricing and condition are essential components to attracting the buyer who will buy your home. Pricing starts by understanding what the term "market value" really means, and then identifying the market value for your home. Market value is the price the market is paying for homes similar to yours, in similar condition, in your general neighborhood or town. Price can be best determined by analyzing what has sold in the past 3 to 6 months, making adjustments to account for condition, features, upgrades or lack thereof. Pricing can also be affected by progression/regression. Lastly, pricing is also a reflection of a Seller's motivation.
Let's briefly address condition. It's a beauty pageant out there! A buyer forms their impression from the curb, so curb appeal is a must. If you can't get a buyer out of the car to your front door, you haven't done your job!
Once
you pass the curb appeal test, from the time a buyer opens the front
door and enters the home, you have to WOW them. Ever visited
a model home and walked around in awe of what it would be like to live
in that home? Similarly, buyers want and need to be wow'd
when viewing your home. Declutter, depersonalize, organize
& simplify. Kitchens and baths must sparkle and
shine. In summary, the idea is that if a buyer walks into your home and is wow'd all the way through, and then they realize your price is the same or less than the guy's down the street, who hasn't mowed their lawn or painted the fence or cleared a path through the garage ... it's a no brainer! Your home is the obvious value, and buyers today are absolutely value-oriented. Everyone wants the best bang for the buck.
Lastly, in a buyer's market, while sellers are having to concede on price and give up some of their hard-earned equity to get their homes sold -- remember the concept of market value -- the good news is that while you may have to take a haircut on your side of the deal, you will likely be giving a pretty good one on the other side!
For a complimentary market analysis of your home, or to simply discuss your options in today's market, visit me at my website www.SellsNorthernColorado.com or call 970-622-1837
Kathy Brown, RE/MAX Alliance, kbrown@remax.net
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