How to Sell a House in a Buyers Market
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A buyer’s market occurs when supply exceeds demand, and there are more homes for sale than there are buyers shopping for homes. These conditions give buyers leverage over sellers because the market is forced to respond when supply is higher, and demand is lower. In a real estate buyer’s market, houses tend to sell for less and sit on the market for a longer period of time before receiving an offer. More competition in the marketplace occurs between sellers, who often must engage in a price war to entice buyers to make offers on their homes. It is crucial to understand the steps to maximize the value of your home while making the most of this coming buyer’s market.
Hiring An Experienced Agent
Choosing the right real estate agent to represent you is a serious decision that can cost or save you thousands of dollars. Knowing what questions to ask when hiring a real estate agent can make the difference between buyer’s remorse—second-guessing if you made the right decision or knowing that you made the best choice. Hiring an experienced real estate agent is essential in this process as they will do everything from paperwork to negotiating terms of the sale, all with your best interest in mind. If you hire a top-notch agent, they will more than cover their costs through a higher sales price as well as the following:
- Have Knowledge of the Local Housing Market
- List your home at the Right Price
- Market Your Home
- Negotiate With Buyers
- Save You Time
Inspect And Make Repairs
Tackle any major repairs found in your inspection — like a roof, furnace, or water heater — or expect to come down in price later in the process. No one wants to buy a house needing many repairs, so get them out of the way before you put your house on the market.
Fix cosmetic items that might keep your home from making a good first impression. These fixture improvements include painting, repairing window screens, and updating fixtures.
Update your home to attract buyers
Interior updates
Clean and declutter: Do a deep cleaning of your house while also decluttering every room. Remove excess furniture that might make a room look small, pare down trinkets, and remove personal belongings like photos and keepsakes. And don’t forget about closets and pantries. Consider getting a storage unit and keeping items off-site while your home is on the market. 64% of buyers said that ample storage space was extremely or very important.
Stage the home: In a competitive market, home staging can be necessary for making your home attractive to buyers. Consider hiring a professional stager to provide unbiased input and expert recommendations on making each room look its best.
Wash windows: Make sure you have all the windows thoroughly cleaned, both interior and exterior, to let in as much natural light as possible.
Exterior updates
Landscaping: Tidy up garden beds, plant colorful flowers, mow the lawn, and remove any leaves or debris. 29% of recent sellers said they improved their landscaping before selling.
Pressure washing: Make sure the driveway, walkway, and sidewalk are neat and clean.
Painting: Take a critical look at your home’s exterior and see if it needs to be repainted. 21% of recent sellers reported painting the exterior of their homes. If not a complete paint job, perhaps just a new coat of paint on the shutters, doors, or window frames could freshen things up.
Decorative flourishes: Budget-friendly updates like new house numbers, upgraded light fixtures, or a new mailbox can show that your home has been well maintained.
Pricing Strategies for a Buyer's Market
With help from your agent, consider which pricing strategy will work best for your home:
At market value: Pricing your home exactly what the market says is fair, which sets you up for a smooth, successful appraisal.
Below market value: Pricing your home slightly below market value to attract shoppers.
Above market value: Usually not your best bet in a buyer’s market. When you list above market value, not only will you have a hard time attracting buyers, but when you do find a buyer, your home may appraise too low, and the deal could fall apart, as lenders won’t finance homes that appraise lower than the sale price.
Prepare Yourself Mentally
When you live in a home, especially for a long time, it’s easy to overlook the things that can make or break an offer. It’s important to take an objective look at your home and see it through the eyes of a buyer. Remove yourself and your memories from the equation, and imagine that you are seeing your home for the first time. Try to be as unbiased as possible. This objective approach will help you identify potential issues that might scare away buyers. There may be any number of structural or home system problems that have been causing the sellers themselves grief. The good news is that, again, professional real estate agents can ballpark values and assess a property with all of its flaws in the context of the likely deal. They’ll get you to a price point where your property will sell.
Stay ahead of the curve and avoid the headache of “what ifs” and “should haves” by partnering with Josh V Realty, an expert probate realtor in Los Angeles, to sell your home. Contact me today at (323) 826-5570 or visit my website for more helpful tips at www.joshvrealty.com! You’ll be glad you did.
