“If you really want to sell this place, you need to think and act like a salesperson.” I read this well thought-out statement this past week in The Wall Street Journal with great interest. The reporter, David Crook, in his article entitled “How to Sell a House, When You Have to Sell it Now” gave sellers seven tips on selling a house in the current market.
While some of the statements are debatable depending on the neighborhood and market, he especially underscored the importance of sellers' separating their emotional attachment to their family homes from their financial interest in their family’s largest asset.
Here is a paraphrase of what Crook wrote as his Seven Tips on Selling a House in the Current Market:
Don’t Wait Around: Even in the better housing areas, it's taking a long time to sell houses.
Fix it Up and Clean it Up: Buyers are taking your house out on a date. It has to make a good impression.
Price it Cheaply: Don't fight the market by trying to price your house at bubble-era levels or by factoring in all those improvements you made. It won't fly.
Hire a Top Real Estate Agent: Get the best, most aggressive selling (listing) agent you can find.
Promote. Promote. Promote: Don't rely on the agent to do all the work. The agent should pay the usual marketing costs, but you should be prepared to pay for extras, especially if you insist on more expensive or untraditional promotions.
Play the Banker: If you have no mortgage you have to pay off, your strongest selling point might be your ability to finance all or a substantial part of a buyer's purchase.
Take the Offer: If any qualified buyer comes in with a reasonable offer, be prepared to accept it.
The key point to remember is pricing. Pricing is probably the single most important factor in today’s market, regardless of the property’s price point. Buyers and sellers who face the realities of today’s market seem to be the most successful. Those who are living in the past will languish on the market.
No comments:
Post a Comment