Ask someone in the real estate industry how business has been lately
and they’re likely to tell you it has slowed down compared to last
year. With mortgage rates rising, fewer people are in a hurry to move,
and houses are staying on the market longer.
As a result of the increase in inventory, sellers
are losing their ability to get top dollar. The National Association of
Realtors (NAR) says pending home sales are already showing signs of
leveling out, indicating the housing market is entering a period of
stabilization. Existing home sales are projected to drop 6 percent to
6.65 million this year from a record of 7.08 million in 2005.
But if you have to sell anyway because of a move,
job relocation or for some other reason, there are steps you can take
to make your property stand out from the rest.
Mark Fortune is a Re/Max Realtor whose territory
covers most of Southern California. He says first impressions are
critical. “When you walk up the driveway with a potential buyer, they
want to see pride of ownership. If they don’t feel good about the looks
on the outside, they’ll find flaws on the inside too. It’s critical
that your home have curb appeal if you want it to sell,” he says.
That means trimming the trees, resurfacing the
driveway, keeping the lawn mowed and the plants well manicured.
Whatever it takes to make it look nicer than the neighboring homes on
your street.
Inside, Fortune recommends sellers paint any
rooms that need it, replace broken tiles and dirty carpet and remove
the clutter. “You want a potential buyer to feel like they can just
move in and take up residence. Not like they’ll have to do a lot of
work to get the home up to their standards,” says Fortune.
Once you’re ready to list your home, seek out an
agent who is up on the latest trends. “Agents used to just put a sign
out front, take out an ad in the local paper and wait for people to
come. But the real estate industry has evolved a lot in the past few
years and the old ways of doing things no longer suffice,” says Brendan
King, chief operating officer at Point2 Technologies, a software
technology company specializing in online marketing tools for real
estate professionals. “Online is where people are beginning their
search for their new home, and they’re going to a number of different
sites for this information. If you want your home to sell, your listing
needs to show up on as many sites as possible.”
“I’ve had people call me up from half way across
the world to make appointments to see houses they found online.
Multiple photos and solid exposure on the Internet really do a good job
of helping sell the property,” says Fortune.