If you’re desiring to sell your home, then there are some things you must keep in mind before putting your home on the market:
If you're planning to sell your home, will an abundance of nearby foreclosures affect your selling price? Yes, it could.
Research Thoroughly – The home you paid $159,000 for more then ten years ago could have sold for as high as $298,000 two years ago. Today, home values have plunged in many markets which means you could be trying to market a house worth a hundred grand less than its peak worth. Find out what comparable homes in your area are selling for by visiting sites like Trulia.com and Zillow.com which track the market. If you have a friend in the real estate business, ask for the most recent comp for your area.
Plan Accordingly – Now that you know what your home would likely fetch in this market, is that a price that you can live with? If not, consider not selling your home right now. Where buyers have been going through sticker shock for most of the last two decades, that same shock is being felt by sellers who realize that inflated home prices are now a thing of the past.
Think Wisely – One important factor to consider before putting your home up for sale: are you competing against foreclosures? If so, you’ll have a tough time selling your home at the price that you think it should fetch in this market. Visit RealtyTrac.com to see how many homes in your area are under foreclosure. If one or two, you may be okay. If there are many more than you’ll have a tough time competing against “fire sale” prices.
Choose Smartly – How will you market your home? Will you be using the services of a real estate (R/E) agent? If so, what will the R/E fee be? If choosing For Sale By Owner (FSBO) will you be able to market your home accordingly? Being that this is a buyer’s market, expect buyers to want to see your home at a moment’s notice – will you be available to show it?
Market Aggressively – In many housing markets, you have just one or two weeks to find a buyer before your home is considered stale – on the market too long. This means that you will need to aggressively market your home, using both internet and print methodologies to get the word our. If possible, price your home slightly below the prevailing market rate and make sure that no updates are needed. Expect buyers to want incentives to buy your home, perhaps a lower price or payment of their closing costs. Know your rock bottom price before you get started to see just how much room you have to negotiate.
End Quickly – One advantage of selling FSBO is that you can quickly gauge the market. If you can take a week off from work to market your home, you may be in a better frame of mind to negotiate a price that is acceptable to both parties. In addition, you won’t have to leave your home languishing on the market for months if it is quickly apparent that you won’t be able to sell. With a Real Estate firm handling your sale, you may have to keep it listed for up to six months.
Of course, if you have the flexibility as to whether your home must be sold now or not, then one important area of tension has been removed. You can always try your luck six months later especially if foreclosed inventory shrinks while demand increases.
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