Depending on who you talk to at the moment, when it comes to real estate there is either no property stock available, or stock that's been sitting on the market for months. As a seller, if you don't want to wait around to list your home, there are a few key things to consider in a market that isn't quite booming. In speaking to people across the industry about exactly this, a rough kind of list of the top 5 mistakes sellers make in a declining market started to emerge.
Most of these are not rocket science, and most I have also made mention of before. A lot of what you should and should not be doing to give your home the best chance of selling remains the same despite the market conditions, an idea I also touched on yesterday.
So, here's what some real estate agents believe to be the five biggest mistakes a seller can make in a declining market.
1. Not hiring a professional real estate agent. The percentage of buyers working with a professional agent to purchase a home is as high as 95! So essentially if you decide to sell your home yourself, you are effectively eliminating that 95% of your market. Real estate is often considered a numbers game, so make sure you're on the right side.
2. Not maximising the marketing of your home. In today's market this means particularly make sure you're marketing on the Internet. 80-90% of buyers start their search online, and today most offline advertising in turn drives customers online, so your presence is essential. Your presence also has to be a good one, most important are plenty of quality photos, and increasingly video. Many customers won't actually return to a property listing if it has no photos when they first encounter it.
3. Not making your home accessible. If a seller makes it difficult for their home to be viewed, the buyers will end up viewing someone else's. Even in a slower market, there is always inventory and similarly to the photo issue mentioned above – if the buyer can't see it first time around, it's often likely that they won't make a second attempt.
4. Not making the most of your home. I've stressed the importance of presentation before, and it really can't be stressed enough. Declutter, depersonalise and fix any problems. Buyers usually know what they want, and they form opinions quickly – often they'll make up their mind within the first 30 seconds, which doesn't really give you much of a chance if you don't have your presentation down pat. You may think they'll fall in love with your house once they see your kitchen or bathroom renovation, but if they fall out of love the minute they step into your entry, chances are you won't win them back over.
5. Not pricing your property right. In any market, if your property is overpriced you'll drive buyers away. Some may not even bother to look at your property if it's priced out of a reasonable range. , realtors said. In today's economic climate, pricing your home properly is more important than ever. It is easy to get caught in the trap of believing reduced prices only apply to other people's property and that you'll still get the price your home was valued at last year, but it's just not true at the moment. In an aggressive market, you need to make sure your price is equally aggressive – enough so to make the sale.