Planning Tips for Sellers
Sellers should consider these top tips to achieve a
successful home sale in the current market.
The beginning of the year is always a good time to
start planning for the sale of your home. It's easy
to be confused by the various contradictory
predictions of each year's real estate market and
what they might mean to you as a home seller. Some
real estate experts say prices will drop, some say
they'll flatten, while some say they'll increase
although only slightly. In fact, the reality is that
since real estate is local, all three are likely to
occur but in different areas. The best way to
maximize your investment in any given location is to
select the real estate agent who meets your needs.
Nationally, according to a report by NAR entitled
"The Housing Bubble and Its Implications for the
Economy" (September 13, 2006), "The inventory of
unsold homes on the market is at an all-time high of
3.9 million, which is a 40 percent rise from a year
ago." Knowing this, there are several tips that
sellers should consider to achieve a successful sale
in the current market.
Know Your Home's Current Market Value
With that information in hand, you will be able to:
1. Set realistic expectations for your home sale.
You need to understand your home's true current
value in your local real estate market. Online real
estate websites now offer instant home valuations.
While these automated tools are fun to use, they are
based on past home sales and use computer formula
that do not necessarily reflect current market
trends. As such, automated home valuations can be
misleading as they are not necessarily reliable
predictors of the value that today's buyers will
place on your home.
2. Compare several real estate agents and select the
one who best meets your needs. Selling a home is the
largest single financial transaction most people
will ever conduct, yet many homeowners simply choose
the first agent they interview rather than shopping
for the agent who's right for them. Ask several
agents for proposals that include information on how
they would market your home, the number of homes
they've sold in your area, references from home
sellers who've used their services, and their
commission rate. After choosing the proposals that
best meet your needs, interview the agents before
making a final selection. With the large number of
homes on the market, you need a real estate agent
who can help you differentiate your home from the
competition. The only way to select the right agent
is to shop and compare.
3. Offer to cover some of the buyer's costs to make
the purchase of your home more financially
attractive. Paying for all or a portion of the
buyer's closing costs, funding a portion of the
buyer's financing, or paying for inspections or
repairs that reduce the buyer's out-of-pocket
expenses help differentiate your home from the
competition.
- Enlist Expert Help: Select a Qualified Real Estate
Agent
- An experienced, local agent is the best resource to
help you meet your real estate goals. Coupled with
your own research, information provided by your
local real estate agent can help you determine if
this is the best time for you to buy or sell a home.
- Compare and interview several experienced, licensed
real estate agents who specialize in your market
area.
- Ask for each agent's recent success stories in your
market.
- Contact and interview the agent's former customers.
- Choose an agent who has been successful in your
local real estate market and whose experience,
marketing approach, commission rate, personality and
business style best meet your needs.
- With a little research, and the right real estate
agent, you can be successful in selling and optimize
your real estate goals.
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