How to Sell Your Home in a Buyers Market

September 11, 2007 By Matthew Paulson

The real estate market, including the oceanfront property market, has slowed down significantly in the last 6 months, and the predominant view amongst financial analysts that home prices will continue to dip well into 2009. There are a lot more homes being sold than there are buyers out on the market. If you want to get your house sold, you have quite a challenge on your hands, but it can be done. Consider following these suggestions to make your home more desirable than the other homes in the market in your neighborhood.

Get a Home Inspection Ahead of Time – Hire a professional home inspector before you put it on the market, and then take care of any problems that the home inspector finds. Keep a copy of this documentation and show it to anyone who takes a walkthrough in your house. People buying used homes have an un-said expectation that the home they buy is in perfect condition. They won’t be surprised when their home inspector comes through and checks out the house, and will know ahead of time that you made a solid effort to take care of your home. This will create a whole new level of trust between you and the buyer.

Offer a Buyer’s Agent Bonus – Offer a $1,000 bonus to the buyers agent in your listing. People buying homes usually talk to a real estate agent when they go out and buy your home. If you offer a bonus to the real estate agent that works with the buyer who buys your home, real estate agents are much more likely to show off your home than other similar homes, because there is a financial incentive to do so. This will create more traffic and speed up the selling process.

Make Sure Your Home is Ready to Sell – Make sure that your home is in the best possible shape it can be. This means putting down new carpet if need be, painting the walls, and making sure that it’s as clean as it’s ever been. Your home should look as close to a model home as it can, and look like you don’t actually live there. Make sure there’s plenty of open space on the counters, and if you’re having an open house, bake a fresh loaf of home-made bread that day. It’ll give your home a wonderful smell that will leave a positive impact in the potential buyer’s minds.

You have to make your home much more desirable than any other homes around if you want it to get sold. If you have waterfront property for sale, or are near a park, you’ll have better luck selling. You have to make sure there’s not a problem in the house at all, that it’s in perfect condition, and give an incentive to the potential buyers and their agents. There are some markets that are doing just fine, such as Mustang Island Texas, if you live in one of them, you’ll probably be able to sell your house fairly easily.

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