How to Sell Your Home Quicker in a Stalled Market

As you may have seen in your own neighborhood, sellers are having a tough time of it. If you are planning to sell your home this year, follow these 10 steps from a recent Realty Times article to sell more quickly.

The confident, booming real estate marketplace of past years has been completely replaced in most parts of the country by an uncertain, sluggish market. We can’t say for certain what 2008 will look like, but we do know that many markets have stalled, if not declined.

What should you do if you have to (or want to) sell in the current marketplace? Take a look at these 10 steps you can take to ensure your home has a good chance of selling quickly and for a good price.

Step 1: Partner with a local broker. Slow markets have relatively few buyers, so you want your home exposed to as many home shoppers as possible. Numbers from the National Association of Realtors show that 85 percent of all buyers rely on real estate brokers when buying a home, while 80 percent rely on the Internet. Since local brokers are the ones posting real estate information on the Internet and the ones who buyers call when they want a house, it follows that sellers should get in touch with a broker, too.

Step 2: Read the sale agreement. Almost all jurisdictions have a lengthy, complex standardized real estate contract. If you use one, you’re agreeing to all of the terms and conditions, so you need to be sure to read the entire agreement to understand what is being said. If you find something that you want to change, remove or add, talk to your broker or attorney. These documents are form agreements, so anything that is not required by law can be modified with a cross-out or addenda.

Step 3: Understand your marketplace. Looking at recorded sales prices in your area is a good first step, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. For instance, two homes may have had a recorded sales price of $400,000, but one home actually sold for $400,000, while the other home sold for $400,000, but the seller gave a 2 percent credit to the buyer for new appliances and carpeting. Local brokers are the best resource to help you understand the ins and outs of recent transactions and to offer advice on what to concede in your negotiations.

Step 4: Set out your terms. Instead of thinking about your home selling at a particular price point, think about your home as a package of price and terms. For example, it may be better to offer a “seller contribution” to help buyers pay for closing costs rather than lowering the price, and it may actually be less than a price reduction. It can also be more attractive to buyers who could use the help with closing costs.

Step 5: Reduce the deposit. In any contract, there is a need for “consideration,” or a deposit from the buyer to bind the deal. If you are a seller, you want the largest possible deposit, whereas a buyer wants to make the smallest possible deposit. In a slower market, less consideration may be appropriate if the buyer is already approved for a loan, he or she has a strong interest in the property and you have no other offers in sight.

Step 6: Throw in freebies. Do you really want to move your refrigerator or hot tub? In some cases, you can “reluctantly” throw these things if the buyer will make an offer.

Step 7: Update your MLS photos. If school is out for the summer but your home’s photos show four feet of snow in the yard, this tells the buyer that your home has been on the market for a while, meaning that the price and terms are probably flexible. To be more competitive and portray less flexibility, work with your broker to update your photos.

Step 8: Review your marketing plan. Work with your broker to review the marketing plan that he or she developed. This should be done frequently to ensure that the plan is being followed and that it is changed if necessary.

Step 9: Check out open houses. There’s nothing wrong with knowing your competition. It’s hard to be objective when your own home is on the market, but see if there is anything other sellers are doing to draw in buyers. Maybe there is something you can make into a bargaining point, such as installing new carpet of the buyer’s choice.

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