Selling Your Home In Todays Real Estate Market

selling your home

If you are in a situation when you really need to sell your Massachusetts home (e.g., relocation, change in family status, purchased another home), and you are not listing your home as of today, here are some strategies to will get you started. While these strategies are in no particular order, Your listing PRICE is probably most important right now. Price your home competitively – now is NOT the time to try to get what your neighbor got for their identical house two years ago, ...it just won’t happen. Real Estate prices have been plummeting annually.

The comparables are important, but you also need to know what is going on in the real estate market today. If home prices are shifting down, comparables 3-6 months ago may distort the price. Neither YOU or your AGENT determines the sale price – the market actually does. A very effective strategy is to price your home lower than the competition. Variable Range Marketing (VMR) - using a price range - is worth your consideration and may be the best pricing strategy. Ask your REALTOR for any additional information.

Hire a strong REALTOR – don’t try to sell on your own home to save a few thousand dollars. It simply will not work, except in very rare cases. Interview several Agents and pick the one with a strong Internet and print marketing plan (in writing), and experience with selling in this market today. Ask for references. A Realtor with a CRS and/or a GRI is a strong contender. Don't hire the Agent who promises to get you a certain price for your home (they can’t promise what happens in a real estate market). Also, don't choose the Agent who suggests the highest price for your home.

Remember point #1. Make sure there is a well-developed marketing plan – maximum exposure is the key, in this time of huge inventory. There must be a strong and varied Internet presence, along with the traditional methods of real estate marketing. You will want a Broker Open House early on. Ask for a written plan with dates. Agree on how your Agent will communicate feedback with you and when, and enforce this plan! Photos of your home must be outstanding and there should be plenty of them! The MLS listing must be accurate, without typos, and should contain lots of information about your home.

Stage your house to sell – Your home (since you are moving) now becomes a house…a product…a piece of merchandise that must be marketed. Staging is not decorating, and is not its condition. Your house needs to appeal to a broad spectrum of Buyers, and you don’t want them distracted by your clutter and all the personal trappings of how you live (photos, knick knacks, trophies, etc); they need to envision themselves living there. Don’t start showing your property until everything looks fabulous, inside and out, unless you absolutely cannot avoid it. If the house is vacant, it needs to be staged. National stats indicate that, on average, staged houses sell much sooner and for more money.

Consider a home inspection before you list your home – Learn what problems your home might have (particularly important if you have owned your home for more than a few years) and take care of these issues, particularly the obvious defects. This will be reassuring to Buyers and it may take away some of the points of post-inspection negotiation (Buyers will still likely do their own home inspection). Obvious defects cause Buyers to suspect there are other hidden problems and this translates into lower offers.

Be flexible – You don’t want showings 24/7 and you don't restrict them to 2 hours per day or weekends only. Agents (with Buyers) need full access to your home, so determine what is reasonable with your Agent, and be prepared to make some reasonable exceptions (e.g., an out-of-town Buyer). Make sure the front door key works properly. Get your pets out of the house or yard – not allowing Buyers into the back yard because of a loud or rowdy dog is discouraging to all Buyers.

Be fully prepared to negotiate – Buyers expect it these days and they will likely bring you a less-than-full-price offer, and probably ask for some sort of reduction in your listing price.

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Here is what my clients have to say about my home inspection services:

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Hi Dave,

I want to thank you for the home inspection you did for us at 144 Avis Ave. in Dracut MA. We did not get the house because the home owners did not want to split the cost of fixing that wall. I had gotten two estimates, one from a landscaper and one from a Mason. Both gave an estimate of $15,000.00, for which I am grateful for your inspection and pointing out the wall problem. It would of been an undue burden on us, not to mention I am also grateful about the radon testing also. I just got the results today and they came back at 7.5 and 8.4, so that would of been another expense. I do hope that when we find a new house that you will be able to do our home inspection. Your fee was a drop in the hat, to what it would of cost us to fix the wall and then the cost of venting the basement. My husband was also very impressed with your report and how well it was written. Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know what happened, and hopefully will be doing business with you again very soon.

Have a Good Day
Jackie Sliney