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Strategies for Selling Real Estate in a Slow Market
When real estate prices fall and more than six months of inventory remains on the market, the market is (take your pick):
- Slumping
- Depressed
- Softening
- Falling
- Slowing Down
Whichever term you choose, it doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that people still buy and sell and still invest in real estate. The market hasn't come to a crunching stand still. You simply adjust to the market. Those who don't will get squished.
Selling in a Falling Market
If you are a seller, shoving a For Sale sign in your front yard isn't going to help much. Nor is plopping the listing into MLS. You've got to be aggressive and make your home stand out like a shining star among the hundreds of others on the market. Whether you plan to hire an agent or you want to sell your home yourself, you can use these strategies to sell quickly and for more money in a depressed market:
Getting Your Home Ready for Market
Here's how to make it sparkle and twinkle with that come-hither-and-buy-me look.
Setting the Stage
It's all about how to add the "WOW" factor to your home. Staging goes beyond decluttering and cleaning. It's inserting the magic and invoking that mysterious urge that makes a buyer say "Yes, I want this house."
The Queen of Home Staging
Barb Schwarz founded home staging and shares her secrets with you. Today, as owner of Stagedhomes.com, Barb Schwarz says she has trained around a million real estate agents to stage homes, logged over 17,000 hours on the speaking platform and joined the ranks of an elite group of 300 individuals who have been awarded the designation of Certified Speaking Professional from the National Speakers Association.
Her book, "Home Staging - The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money," with co-author Mary Seehafer Sears, is filled with practical advice. She offers tips and explains in detail how to tackle each room of the house:
- Living areas should be spacious and light.
- Kitchens should be light and bright with all counters bare.
- Pantries should contain a minimum amount of neatly arranged canned goods and bottled water. No bags of pet food.
- Create an open, airy and romantic master bedroom.
- Clean and polish foyer floors.
- Remove stacks of mail & overstuffed coat trees.
- De-clutter family room or den.
- Set the dining room table with chargers, china and centerpiece. No flatware because people steal it.
- Involve children. Make their closets roomy and unclutter shelves.
- Buy pretty hangers for your closets and show lots of space.
She offers advice on how to deal with messy neighbors and formulas for turning unappealing homes into magical showcases that sell for top dollar in record time. There's not a room left unstaged nor a space left untouched.
Improvements that Return the Investment
If you have time before hitting the market, a bit of cash and the energy to do it yourself, this is about the little repairs and upgrades that will return rewards.
Hardwood Floors
If your home has hardwood floors, that's what buyers want, and it would pay to have the carpeting removed and the floors refinished.
Carpeting
If your sub-floor is plywood, then replace the carpeting with light tan. Neutral carpeting is your best bet for resale.
Ceramic
Replace chipped or cracked tiles. Clean or replace the grout. But don't install ceramic (it's too expensive) unless it's for aesthetic reasons in an entry way.
Paint Ceilings & Walls
Buyers spend more time than you would think staring at ceilings. They are looking for signs of a leaky roof, but what you don't want them to see are stains from grease or smoke and ceiling cracks. Ditto for walls. Nothing says freshness like new paint, and it's the most cost effective improvement. Use fiberglass tape on large cracks, cover with joint compound and sand. Paint a neutral color such as light tan - think of coffee with cream.
Wallpaper
It's not that all buyers hate wallpaper. They hate your wallpaper - because it's your personal choice, not theirs. And they hate all dated wallpaper. Get rid of it. The easiest way is to steam it off by using an inexpensive wallpaper remover steamer.
Wood paneling
Even if your wood paneling is not real wood but composite, you can paint it. Dated paneling must go. Older wood paneling such as walnut, mahogany, cedar and pine, it's all gone out of style. Paint it a neutral and soft color after priming it.
Textured ceilings
Older popcorn ceilings with the "sparkles" often contain asbestos and if disturbed are health hazards. Say goodbye to it. But even recently sprayed ceilings turn off buyers. It's not expensive but it is time consuming to remove. Lay down drop cloths and scrape it off. You will need to repaint.
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