The Real Estate Market Prepares to Rev Up

Although 60% of people who would like to own a home still worry about job security and creditworthiness, according to a recent survey of 3,500 US homeowners and renters conducted by Harris Interactive, as interest rates continue to climb many prospective buyers are starting to believe they need to get back into the buying game. Interest rates currently stand at 4.74 percent, up from a record low 4.17 percent in November.

What this means for you-the seller-is that competition is incredibly fierce. Potential buyers still crave comfort, yet they've become accustomed to seeing perfection in the homes that have been shown to them. Plus with the amount of new construction custom homes on the market, selling an older home can prove to be even more difficult.

Conventional real estate wisdom states the more times a home is shown to buyers, the more likely it is to sell. Therefore, to get more showings and really impress those buyers who stop by, here's what you need to do to come out ahead of the competition:

Make Your Home Sparkle
There shouldn't be a speck of dirt visible to potential buyers, and also make sure you take care of so-called “behind the scenes” cleaning: The microwave, the refrigerator, the pantry and the closets. You never know when a buyer might open a door to something, and you don't want them to be disgusted by what they find. There should practically be a museum-like quality to your home: Appliances polished and sparkling, fresh towels hung and no discernible odors in the air.

Make Minor Repairs Now
This is not the market in which you can defer maintenance until after your home has sold. In fact, without doing due diligence now to make sure loose handles are repaired, burned-out light bulbs are replaced and leaky faucets are fixed, you won't get very far in the selling process at all! If you can't spend the time and money to make minor repairs, buyers will think that something more major could be wrong with the house too, such as structural issues.

Neutralize Your Home
Don't give buyers any negative reason to remember your home. This means remove loud furniture and replace loud paint colors with more neutral tones, so that buyers don't become turned off by something that's so opposite of their tastes. Also remove any personal items or photos to make the showing less about your family's life in the home, and more about the home itself.

Be Realistic About Price
Determine your timeline for selling your home, which in turn can help define your initial list price. If you're on a tight deadline to sell your home, you might consider lowering the price initially to drive more buyers to your home. If you have some more time and can afford to be patient in the process, you might start out with a price that, while it is fair and comparable to the prices of other similar properties in the area, is not lower than theirs.

Posted at 10:46AM Feb 07, 2011 by Bob Billimack in General