HOW DO WE SELL IN A TIGHT MARKET?

I hate to include this old response here, but this question is asked every week. Nothing has changed! For the past twenty years, we have been teaching that there are five main reasons why a property sells.

1. LOCATION – You may not be able to change the location, but the seller was once the buyer and chose that location at that time. A desirable location is often hard to get traffic to and an undesirable location is often highly visible. You must determine how to adjust your price and marketing accordingly.

2. PRICE – Sellers sometimes think that price is based upon their needs or investment. This just isn’t the case. Market value remains what a buyer and seller agree upon. The best indicator of market value is recent sales of like properties. Typically, like or comparable properties are about the same size and age and are in close proximity to the property being sold.

3. TERMS – Terms are negotiable once an offer has been received, but the seller initially dictates the terms. The most critical terms are the rules for showing. In a market where buyers have a large inventory to pick over, it is important to make your property readily accessible. If you have animals, it is best to get them and their equipment off the property. Everyone loves their own animals, but other people’s animals represent exposure that buyers do not like. If you cannot move the animals, then do the best you can to minimize their impact on showing the property.

4. CONDITION OF PROPERTY – Selling a property “as is, where is and with all faults” and getting market value are parallel opposites and the two shall never meet. Some deferred maintenance items absolutely must be corrected. Those include any moisture intrusions and most safety items. If you cannot and do not make the repairs before putting a property on the market, expect to reduce the price about double what those repairs would have actually cost.

5. THE AGENT YOU SELECT –Your agent should be responsive to you, have a proven marketing plan, have good communication skills and the tools to get your property before the largest audience possible. If you plan to sell it yourself, recognize that you are the agent you selected. You, the seller, control all five of these parameters. If your property does not get sold, no matter the type of market, then you do not understand, are not able, or decline to adjust one or more of these five parameters.

Contact the old realtor at :ask@capitolarearealty.com if you would like to discuss this opinion..