How to sell your house in a depressed market
Selling your home can be a tense, emotional process, but it doesn’t have to be. Selling your house can be relatively painless if you’re prepared and know what to expect. Selling your home in a depressed market vs. selling in a “sellers market” features much of the same advice, however, since selling in a depressed market usually means the prices are lower and more competitive, we’ve included other strategies to assure you get top dollar. Here, we’re featuring some tips so you can arm yourself with information to make your home sale a positive experience.
1.) Preparation
The first step to being successful in nearly anything, is to be prepared for everything. You can prepare for the best and the worst possible outcomes by educating yourself about your market, your home, your competition, and knowing a little bit about the real estate industry in general.
By knowing how your home stacks up against houses in your area, you have a better chance of pricing it competitively. A competent Real Estate agent should be your first major step into embarking on this journey, which means finding someone who is qualified, professional, and trustworthy. No matter why you’re selling your home, it’s impervious to find a realtor that you’re comfortable with – it could ultimately mean the difference between a quick, easy sale and a painfully long, stressful waste of time.
Once you’ve found an agent that you’re comfortable with, the next step (or the step before this one) should be to get a better understanding of your home in terms of value, including your nearby competition. Take a look at some of the critical areas in your home, including:
- Recent sales in your area – what’s the median?
- Any major upgrades or updates your home has received over time – like adding a pool, or upgrading countertops.
- Major flaws in your home – including any damage, or updates that may need to be done.
- Nearby selling points that affect your home – parks, shopping centers, etc.
Account for anything that could affect your homes value, and then let your agent do the rest. Once they have a pricing strategy for your home, be willing and ready to take their advice in regards to sale, to assure the fastest possible turnaround.
2.) Getting Ready!
It’s important to mention how beneficial it will be for you, as a seller, to invest time and energy into getting your house in top condition before sale. If, or how much money you want to spend on this process is entirely up to you, and insight from your realtor can definitely help you in making smarter choices with regards to the decisions that will help your house sell. Some of your options include-
- Staging your home
- Freshening up the home with a new coat of paint, or some simple fixtures
- Deep cleaning everything from the carpets to the walls
- Sprucing up the landscaping
- Organizing your home and removing clutter
- Making the home neutral – give others a chance to see themselves living there
- Preparing yourself and your family
The last step on our list involves less potential elbow grease, and more of an important emotional investment. Be prepared to keep your house in show condition for an extended period of time, and make sacrifices toward the common goal of getting your house sold. Remember that in today’s strong buyers market, the typical buyer probably has many houses lined up just like yours in their price range, so yours needs to be in the absolute best condition. Highlight your houses best features and be conscious of the houses around you to ensure a fast sale.
3.) Understanding The Market
You may not think this isn’t important for you, but the act of studying the market is critical. You should have your agent run a current Comparative Market Analysis, also known as a CMA, and then ask them to explain it to you. This will give you a better understanding of your market, which is invaluable in terms of ways to market your home to compete with the houses in your area.
Understanding the market goes hand in hand with marketing strategies, many of which your real estate agent can handle for you (but keep in mind there are options available to you to advertise your home yourself, in the instance where you don’t want to pursue selling through a realtor, or just want some additional options.) Typical marketing strategies include print outs, signs, posters, virtual tours, and hand-outs which highlight your houses most desirable features.
4.) Closing The Transaction
Arguably one of the most important steps, is securing the funds to close your transaction. From the time you get the first (second, or third!) offer(s), your realtor should be counseling you in the right direction to get to closing. The final decision of which offer to accept rests in your hands, and should be considered carefully, as your realtor in the end, can only advise you. You are responsible for accepting, rejecting, or countering any offer that comes to the table. The deal is not sealed until are parties agree to the contract, and negotiations cease on both ends. Once you’ve decided on an offer on your house, you can step back and let the purchaser work through the steps with a lender on their own. This step requires some patience, as a lot often needs to be done before closing can take place, from financing to home inspections. The final closing date can only be met when all other steps are finished, and all areas addressed, have been met. The final day of closing is at the agency, or the attorneys office, depending on your individual situation. You then need to sign additional paperwork and pay all fees in regards to your home, and the home is considered fully sold when you present an executed deed to the buyer and receive your funds.
Most of selling a home in a depressed market comes from being competitive, patient, and consistent with your strategies. A lot of factors come into play when a potential buyer looks at a home, and occasionally these are factors beyond your control – the homes age or location, for example – but some of the best advice is to simply be competitive. Make your home a leader in everything your market has to offer, develop a solid pricing strategy and trust your agent.
With all of that in mind, you could sell your home quickly in any market!
