Sellers Market vs Buyers Market
There are two types of real estate markets. There are sellers markets and buyers markets. In a buyers market, there are more homes for sale than there are buyers. So buyers can be a little more picky when it comes to selecting their home. In a sellers market, there are more buyers than there are homes to buy. In this situation, home sellers have an opportunity to potentially get multiple offers on a home, and potentially sell their home for more than asking price, or have extra beneficial terms worked in the contract. That being said, there are some things that sellers should consider in a sellers market, and avoid these five mistakes when listing their house.
1. Price Too High
In supply and demand situations, short supply tends to push prices up. However, this is one of, if not the most common way for a seller to sabotage themselves. The bulk of buyers begin their home search on the internet. A whopping 80% of buyers look at a home online before they go and actually view the home. If you price your home way above the neighborhood trends it could potentially keep buyers from looking at your home. Keep in mind that the information for your neighborhoods real estate transactions are online. Something else to keep in mind is that real estate is local, meaning that pricing trends in another neighborhood most of the time have little to no bearing on your area. Prices can change and vary from street to street. It is ok to push the market however too much push and the market will push back.
2. Selling too fast.
Sometimes you put your home on the market for things outside of your control. Sometimes it is for a job relocation, or maybe even a divorce. If you don’t need a rushed sale, it can be worth taking a step back and look at what you can do to magnify the value of your home. This can be done in a variety of ways, but the easiest ways are to work on your property’s curb appeal, or performing a deep cleaning and decluttering.
3. Not Taking Your First Offer Seriously
Its very easy to get caught in the thought that a better offer will come. However, 90% of the time, the first offer you receive is the best offer. The reason for this is that the buyer who makes that first offer, loves your home the most and is incredibly motivated to buy it. If you think to hold out for a better offer, that’s very risky. There have been many times that a seller will lose a fantastic sale because they wouldn’t work with the first buyer to write them an offer. After some time and down the line, the buyer will find another home that they love, and the seller will end up taking a lower offer than the first one they received.
4. Not Being show-ready
If you have priced your home right, then chances are that you will have buyers knocking on your door left and right to see your home. In order to get the sale, and sell your home, you need to make it available for prospective buyers to see it. This means being willing to give up some time to let an agent do an open house, or leaving when someone wants to have an agent show the home. Having a seller hang around during a showing can make things awkward for a potential buyer and makes them uncomfortable.
It will be hard for them to imagine themselves in the home if you are standing in the corner. Don’t turn away potential buyers. Make sure your home is ready before it hits the market, and is clean and tidy. That sends a message that you are serious about selling, and it will attract people who are seriously buying.
5. Trying to time the market.
Its no secret that real estate and property prices are constantly in flux. If the cycles were easy for someone to predict, everyone would be a millionaire. That being said however, the real estate market has drastically improved the last few years. That doesn’t mean that the trend will always be going up. Sellers who drag their feet like zombies to sell their home might find that a sellers market has passed them buy and has shifted into a buyers market. This could potentially get them less for their home than when the market was up. Top that along with extra mortgage payments and it can be quite expensive to wait out the market and “find the right time” to sell.
