Tips for selling your home for the best price in a slow market

How long is too long? In a dry market, a selling period of six months to a year is not unusual. Look at recent sales reports for similar homes nearby to determine a reasonable sales interval. In a hot seller’s market, a home that hasn’t sold in a month indicates a problem. In either case, there are several steps you can take before placing the white flag.

• Record your home, inside and out, and view the tape as a prospective buyer.. Is the lawn weed or is the garden bare? Is your house neat and impeccably clean? Spotlessly clean homes sell faster than ones that seem overly inhabited or show an abundance of the owner’s personality.

• Take a second look at your listing price. Visit open houses in your neighborhood. Are similar houses priced lower? Sales prices may have dropped since your first comparative market analysis. In a hot market, if you haven’t sold your home in a month, chances are you’ve overvalued it. If you reduce the sale price, consider a figure slightly lower than other comparable homes if you are interested in a quick sale.

• Do whatever it takes to stay away from home during screenings and open houses. The presence of sellers makes it difficult for potential buyers to take their time or speak openly with your partner and agent. Leave a few goodies to make potential buyers more comfortable: drinks, nuts, cookies, anything that doesn’t lose freshness or make too much of a mess.

• Pay close attention to the comments of the projections. Feedback can guide you in making home repairs, toning down your decor, making landscaping improvements, and the like.

• You can offer buyers benefits such as cash bonuses, closing costs, or lower your interest rate to lower monthly payments. You could also consider owner financing.

• Neutralize your color scheme. Most buyers prefer pale, neutral colors that make it easy to imagine a new home as their own. Houses with white exteriors are the best sellers; for interiors, try whites, off-white, or pale grays.

• Expose hardwoods and polish until shiny. It’s amazing how many buyers won’t even look at a home without hardwoods.

• If you have dogs, cats, old carpets, mold, or smoke problems, a potential buyer is likely to be offended by the smell. Ventilate the house and invest in an air cleaner and deodorizer to remove odors. Another option is a cleaning product with live enzymes that consume the odor-causing agents and permanently remove the odor.

• Staging your home is one of the best ways to sell your home in the fastest and cheapest way. The staging sets the stage throughout the home to create immediate buyer interest in the property. The way you live in your home and the way you sell your home are two different things. One idea is to pack several large pieces of furniture and as much clutter as possible in each room. Don’t just move to another room or garage, rent a storage space and take it out of the house before you show it off.

• Pay attention to lighting. Make sure light sources are clean. Cleaning them is not pleasant, but the bright light will pay off. You can even increase the brightness factor of your rooms by adding brighter light bulbs or adding accent lamps or cabinet lighting. Make sure to open the curtains and raise the blinds. For the best effect, use a balance of natural, overhead, and table / floor lighting.

• Try to readjust your sights. Determine the lowest price that seems acceptable to you and consider anything else as the icing on the cake. In a long-standing dry market, you may even have to sell at a loss, so it’s important to take all offers seriously. You don’t want to alienate a potential buyer who has solid financing because you’ve set your sights too high.

• If the market is down, consider offering a commission increase or a bonus to your listing broker as an added incentive. If you sweeten the boat for your agent, modify your listing contract to reflect the change and make sure it is added to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) book; Buying agents will also be inspired to give your home extra attention.