Many experts have declared that any meaningful housing rebound will begin soon; and how long have we heard that? Home prices continue to decline fueled by tight lending standards and a rising supply of houses on the market.
In today’s market you have to be determined to sell and face the reality in many regions -- it's a buyers' market, and you will be competing with a growing supply of motivated sellers to get buyers interested in your house.
When trying to sell your home in a buyers' market, the three most important factors are price, condition and flexibility. Just because you may have paid too much for your home doesn't mean buyers think they should have to pay; pricing must be based on today’s market, no matter how difficult it may be for you to realize that.
Price It Right: Real estate pros say the key to selling a house is to "price it right." Set the price at what you can get, not what you think its worth. The fact is, it doesn't matter what you think your house is worth -- the only thing that matters is what a buyer is willing to pay. You don't want to over-price your house because buyers ignore it and your listing will lose its freshness and appeal, not to mention the uncompensated effort of keeping the home spotless during the showings. Also, the "original listing price" and "current asking price" are on your home's Multiple Listing Service (MLS) listing; if you do not show some decline from the original offering price, some buyers will see it as a sign you have unreasonable expectations of what you can fetch for your home.
Research Local Market: The best way to know if your home is priced fairly relative to comparable houses for sale is to compare your asking price to comparable homes in your community.
1. Get the listings of the houses in your area, and the price range. Look at the listing for every comparable home that is or was listed in your neighborhood over the past six months.
2. Compare similar properties; make adjustments for locations, age, upgrades and lot sizes and come up with a range of values.
3. Also, get a list of the recent sales prices and the original listing prices of comparable houses in the area. You can track this down on web sites such as www.zillow.com and www.realtor.com
Get a Pre-Sale Inspection: Sellers are strongly advised to consider getting a pre-sale home inspection, especially if their home is older or in need of repairs. They can either use a clean home inspection report as a selling advantage or take care of the repairs listed on the inspection report.
And lastly, be flexible. In this market, buyers will expect to pay less than the asking price. They will be armed with the original list prices and final sales prices of comparable homes and will know the price reductions other sellers are accepting.
I specialize in helping buyers and sellers invest in real estate in the Northern Virginia area to include Loudoun County and surrounding areas including Clarke, Fauquier, Prince William and Fairfax Counties. Some of our local neighborhoods include Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling, Potomac Falls, Brambleton, Broadlands, Lansdowne, River Creek, Belmont Country Club, Beacon Hill, Shenstone, Waterford, Lovettsville, Lucketts, Purcellville, Hamilton, Round Hill and Bluemont
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