Almost every real estate veteran is hoping that the seasonal pattern of home buyer interest stays the course.  You may not know it, but every January, prospective buyers begin their home search with a passion. The result is usually a rush of sales in January and February (before or after Super Bowl weekend) and moving vans working overtime in March and April.  Will this year be anything like years of old?  Who knows, but if you’re hoping to sell your home, you had better be prepared.

If history does repeat itself, after slower than normal sales activity in the fourth quarter of 2008, you won’t want to miss a single opportunity to sell your home.  So what is the most important thing you can do to sell your home quickly? 

There are at least four positive steps that every buyer can take to increase their chances of a faster sale in today’s buyers market.   If your home is more than a few years old, some items may need to be freshened, replaced or even updated in order to compete against newer homes.  Even then, the home must be properly staged for presentation to connect with the prospective buyer. You’ll also want to improve your odds by working with an experienced real estate professional that will work hard for you and look out for your best interests. Finally, properly pricing the home is a must.

Determining the right selling price may be the most crucial decision.  Too often emotion gets in the way and sellers try to squeeze just a little too much out of their home – and fall into the trap of chasing the market.  For example, the comparative sales in your area might suggest a listing price of $250,000, but you insist on listing your home just a little higher at $265,000.  Unfortunately, after a few weeks or months your home has not sold so you agree to lower your asking price to $255,000.  Yet during that same time period, the comparable home prices in the neighborhood may have declined to $245,000.  Even as you lowered the price on your home, you lost ground in relation to your competition – in other words you’re chasing the market trend but never catch up to it.  In most cases, the longer it takes to sell, the lower the price will fall… and the more interest you’ll pay.

If your home is priced right, you will normally receive highly interested and qualified buyers during the first four to six weeks after listing. If you have little or no traffic, the home is almost certainly overpriced.  Another rule of thumb is that after 15 showings with no offer, you can assume that the market has rejected your home.  Be realistic and price your home to the market.

Originally posted January 11, 2009