Put yourself in buyer’s shoes when selling your home
This week there are around 1,750 homes for sale in the Spokane area. They cover all sizes, shapes, conditions, colors, styles, ages, locations, and commuter access. The inventory available to buyers and mortgage rates are excellent. Let’s set a scenario.
Your home is up for sale and it has been on the market many days longer than you had expected. Your agent has marketed your home, had other offices and their REALTORS® tour your place so they know its features. Flyers have gone out to all sales associates and broker offices. Ads in the newspapers and in free real estate magazines at the supermarkets have told the public you have a home for sale. It may even have been featured on the local real estate television show. And, there is also that sign standing in your front yard that works 24 hours a day on your behalf.
Yet, still no buyer. Possibly, no offers, either. What’s wrong?
It may be a combination of things that could handicap your home in the competitive market we have today in Spokane real estate.You can help your cause by performing your own consulting analysis of your home. It just takes a few moments and really doesn’t cost anything. The only condition is that you have to be honest with yourself.
How did you arrive at the price you are asking for your home? If you interviewed several REALTORS®, they each would have done a comparative market study on your home and its attributes and those homes of similar size and quality that sold recently in your neighborhood.
This helps you set a realistic price.If you insisted on a price you want for the property that is out of line with the market, that may be one of your problems.
Price is determined by market forces or supply and demand, not wishful thinking. If you ignored the survey done on your home by the seasoned REALTORS® to go with the price you wished for, you really didn’t do anyone a favor.
The sales associate has your listing at your higher price but it probably isn’t selling. There is no doubt that your home will eventually sell at the price you put it at, but it may take a few years for the market to catch up.
So, in this scenario, the sales associate has paid for advertising, spent time at your open house, etc., and the chances of your selling at the higher-than-market-price agreed on to list the home are just about zero. Therefore, the salesperson is wasting time, and most importantly, is not representing the seller fairly by agreeing to try and get inflated price.
No one wins.
Today’s buyers are very knowledgeable and generally are shown a number of homes by their agent. This gives the buyers a very good perspective of the relative value of homes in the area. This, as well as comparative price, brings us to other important factors like location, cleanliness, tidy lawns and shrubbery, good paint, etc.
Clean and Tidy Sell
If your agent asks you to remove some of the furniture as your home goes on the market, you should. Your agent is there to get top dollar on your home and often just a few things can make it more salable. The seller needs to look at his home the same way a buyer would. Too much furniture makes a room look small and cluttered. Give it some “air.”
Be sure and clean up the garage and the basement, if you have them. Touch up paint that needs it, or better yet, give the home a fresh coat. These are all plusses from a buyer’s view. Currently, a home that is priced properly and fits well with most of the items mentioned above will sell quickly.
So, if your home is stretching beyond a reasonable sale time, you probably can correct your situation by looking at your home like a buyer. What would you honestly pay for the home you are trying to sell?
It’s a tough question, but those comparative sales studies can tell you what buyers have been paying. And, as the old saying goes, “Price can generally solve most real estate sales problems.”