Western Washington's real estate market has changed. Big shock to those who are trying to sell, huh? OK, in all seriousness, it has shifted into a buyers market after 3 years of unprecedented appreciation for home owners. What can you do about it if you need to sell a property?
Well, start by hitting the right price out of the gate. For now, the days of listing a home at a price that has "Built in" appreciation are gone... You need to be at (or just below) the right price from day one, and no matter how you paint it, price reductions and long market times will cost you not only holding costs, it'll cut down the sales price as well. Think about it from a buyer standpoint- If the average time on the market is 72 days (and the average for Puget Sound Counties is), and you see a property that has been on the market for 120 days, what are you going to think..? "Let's MAKE A DEAL!" and you're going to lowball the heck out of the seller. As a seller, you're better off listing a little low and getting it then you are listing $5K over and ending up selling $15K under.
Next, STAGE THE HOME! Yes- Make it pretty so that buyers will fall in love with it. Reduce clutter in the yard; keep the lawn mowed and the trees clipped. Limit furniture in the house; take down pictures of your grandmother, knick-knacks, and other things that make the house YOUR HOME so that buyers can see it as THEIR HOME. If the house is priced right and looks purty, it won't matter that it's really a dog.
Offer incentives for buyers- Things like closing cost assistance, payment abatement, or home warranties. Even if the house is a dog that you just can't dress up, the small investment will pay for itself when the house sells, and this will help it sell. Another incentive would be seller financing or Lease to Purchase terms on the property. There are a lot of ways to make a deal attractive for a buyer.
If you're going at it yourself- Hire an agent. I know, I know... Kind of self serving coming from a Realtor, but the truth is when the market favors sellers, For Sale By Owners thrive. When the market favors buyers, FSBO's make less money trying to go it themselves, particularly after the costs of marketing and advertising it themselves. Also, serious buyers (and who wants to deal with any other kind?) only shop For Sale By Owner to save money- The same money the FSBO seller is trying to save by selling it on their own. And you can't both have it.
One of my secrets for selling is to write a reverse offer. These can be tricky (as there is a lot of legal considerations and ramifications to look at when you do these), and I mention it here as an example of the creativity that your agent needs to have to get the sale done these days. I won't go into any great detail here about reverse offers, as I don't want someone to proceed with one based off of what I said and get themselves into trouble.
Last, be willing to negotiate. I can't believe how many people are unwilling to negotiate $5K to make a sale happen because if they let go of it they'll only make $90,000 in 4 years of ownership instead of $95,000. That $5K will make LESS THAN A DOLLAR A DAY difference in your next home's mortgage. And yet there are those willing to lose the home they are buying because of a small amount of negotiations on the one they need to sell.
In the current Northwest market, it takes creativity and skill to sell a house. Make sure you either have it, or know where to get it.
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