New Resource
Hello and thanks in advance for reading this page. As I write this it is 6/5/2008. We have been in a buyers market for about 2 years as of this writing. This is defined as a market with over six months of inventory. It is not defined as time for buyers to pillage and plunder much to their surprise at times. It is however time for sellers to get very real about price and condition.
Lets talk about price for a bit. This market has seen a decline of about 7-8% in the past year. This is just a rough number but a starting point. Other things to factor in will be the price point of your home and the location. Because 9-18% less homes are selling than this time last year the price you start out at has never been more important. Say you want to start out at a higher price than a CMA recommends. This move can be very bad in that if prices continue their downward trend a price that may have been "a bit high" may be hi and dry in as little as 30 to 60 days. Now you are looking at trying to "chase the market down". Never a good strategy. Notice earlier I said "CMA recommends". A good Realtor will be a professional and show you what the market is telling us about the price you will probably have your best chance of selling at. Always hire a Realtor based on experience and marketing not because they told you the price you wanted to hear. In fact I will take this one step further and tell you it is an ethics violation for a Realtor to intentionally misrepresent the price of a home.
So you have gone over the comparative Market Analysis(CMA) with a Broker and it does not look like you can get the money you "need" to make this sale. Explore your options with your Realtor and see what can be done but let me say this. It's OK to stay! One more time-it's OK to stay. Selling is not for everyone in a market like this and you may have to go to plan B. Your options could include turning the home into a rental for a year or two, or just staying and enjoying the things that brought you to the house in the first place. This market will turn around. They all do.
So you have decided you may be a seller in this market. One more thing to consider is the concentration of short sale and foreclosures you may be competing against in this market. Ask your Broker to cover this during the CMA. This will effect both your overall ability to sell and your price if you are in a declining market. A professional Realtor will walk you through all the ramifications as you decide to move foreword.
One last word on price. Are you willing to start at a compelling price. Notice I did not say competitive but compelling. In a market where only one out of every 10 homes is selling you have to be the one that stops buyers in their tracks!!!! Thats what will get you the contract. So lets move on to condition.
Condition is second only to price in this market. You have to be the shiny penny. If you are in doubt on anything, paint carpet etc. Do it before the buyer even gets a chance to see it. There is an old adage in Real Estate. A $300 repair to a seller looks like a $2000 repair to the buyer when they make an offer. Doing a pre-inspection prior to the listing will also help identify any problems. The buyer will inspect within the first two weeks of the contract and any problems found then will open up a whole new round of negotiations that could delay of kill your deal.
Priced right and staged right your home will have a much better chance to sell in this market. Any questions? fell free to shoot me an e-mail or call me at 719.233.6453
Thanks,
Mike Erhardt