If you have been trying to sell your property, no one need tell you what it means when the media says, “This is a buyer’s market”. A buyer’s market is to real estate as a bear market is to stocks. Even when prices are so low that it just makes sense to buy, there are no buyers to be found!  

No matter how bleak things may be, however, there are still plenty of people that have excellent credit and real money saved for a down payment. The question is, then, how does a seller find these buyers?

1. Tic-Tac-Toe or “Thermonuclear War”

The best advice to you as a seller in this market is: if you do not have to sell, stay out of the market. Some games are only won by not playing them at all. This is not the time to “dip your toe into the water” just to see what your property will bring. If you are not prepared for the brutal beating you will take from buyers, then stay away.

2. Price is King

What you owe on the home, what you feel you must get, what you think is fair – none of these factors come into play in the mind of the buyer. If you must sell your home in this market, the #1 determining factor is the price. “Fair market value” is what defined as what a ready, willing and able buyer is prepared to pay for your home today. In a market where prices are falling, this means you must actually price your property below recent sales – that is, below ascertainable “fair market value”. Reducing the price later as prices fall will not get your property sold because you are still priced above market!

3. When In Doubt, Price It Even Lower 

This is not a market to “speculate”. Of course you want to get as much as you can for the property. No one wants to feel as if they have left money on the table. It is counter-intuitive, but the best way to get the most money for your property is to ask less, not more! The reason is that if you have priced the property too low, buyers will recognize that and bid the price up, even in this market.

4..You Have A Narrow Window To Maximize Your Dollars

Your best chance to get the most money for your property is when it first hits the market. The reason is that your best buyers are the ones that are already in the market, have already done their homework and are just waiting for the right deal. Once you lose that pool of buyers, they are gone.

5. You Have One Chance To Make A Good Impression

Yes, staging your home is important - without question. But please notice that this is the last item on the list. Yes, buyers will pay a premium for a property that is in move-in condition. However, buyers determine a range they are willing to pay based on condition and they do not generally exceed that range. The primary purpose of staging your property is to compete favorably compared to the other properties they are looking at in their price range.  

So clean up, tidy up, de-clutter, throw away or pack away those things you don’t use on a daily basis. However, do not spend money on making big capital improvements. You may want to do some paint touch ups or replace unsalvageable carpeting or tile. But leave the new appliances or central a/c for the next owner to install.

By Ramona DeMille. Ramona has been a member of PWCC since April 2010 and is a Residential Real Estate Consultant with 5 years of experience. Contact Ramona at Ramona@Dreamtown.com