Pam's Prescott Blog

Real Estate Myth:  It's impossible to sell a home these days. 

Fact: 136 homes in Prescott sold last month, 5500 in Phoenix. Somebody is selling!  Are they all foreclosures?  At least 50% are.  Still, that means a lot of ordinary people were able to get the job done.

So how do you make it happen?  In this market, it really comes to this:

Get the price right.  Sellers must be realistic.  Foreclosures really are putting downward pressure on prices, buyers have A LOT of choices, and they just are not going to pay above market value for your home, no matter how beautiful it is and how many upgrades it has.  You simply will not get the price you would have gotten in 2006, so you must get that out of your mind. 

Listen to your Realtor.  He or she will tell you what you must price the home at to sell.  Don't take the "wait and see" approach.  In a down market, that costs you more money in the end.  If you do price your home higher than the Realtor recommends, make sure you agree to make price adjustments as necessary per his/her request --and follow through!

If you do not HAVE to sell now, either get the house off the market and wait, or price it right.  Otherwise, it's a waste of everyone's time and money.

If you MUST sell you may have to settle for less than you thought.  These are tough times.  It may be best to get out early and cut your losses.  One of the smartest sellers I ever had did this last spring.  He wanted to sell in two weeks.  I was sceptical, but we priced the home under the current market, and sure enough, it sold in 14 days.  By getting out quickly and cutting his losses, he actually came out ahead.  The market fell, and the price he got ten months ago is greater than what he would get today. 

Remember too, you may get less that you wanted from the home, but you will be buying at a lower price, too, so it often evens out.

If it comes to having to pay out money to sell, you will need counseling that I can't provide on this blog alone, but will address at a later time.  You may want to check out the blogs about short sales.  Keep in mind that the government is now pushing banks to restructure/modify loans for troubled homeowners.  Our broker shared a story yesterday of a loan that was modified from 6.5% to 1%, interest only, for five years!  This kept the homeowner in the home and an asset on the bank's books.  Remodifying your loan may be something you want to learn about. 

Aside from pricing is there anything else you can do?  Sure.  Buyers have so many choices that every objection, no matter how small, can cause them to lose interest in your home.  So, see (and smell!) your home as a seller would.  Freshen up your home.  Paint and do minor renovations and repairs.  De-clutter and consider having a professional Stager come in to help you present the home in its very best light.

And of course, get a Realtor like me who works hard to promote your home.  With all this in place, you really can and will sell, even in today's tough market.