The Spring 2009 Real Estate Season is peculiar. It is a buyer's market but with only a few buyers around. Those that are looking, and able to buy, are fearful of making a mistake. Lots of mistakes: buying too high, buying a house that doesn't comp out, buying too soon, missing the bottom.
It is impossible to time the market. Money managers can't do it and neither can we in the real estate business. This is because we only know where the bottom is when it has passed when you're no longer in it!
So with such overwhelming pressure on the price, what options does a seller have to keep the value of his property in tact?
Here, in NJ real estate, when there is a large supply and fewer buyers, it is unwise to keep dropping the price. That simply creates a price war that no-one can win. Instead, understand that buyers will be comparing all the options in their price point as analytically as they can find tools. The strategy to shore up value is to focus on the beauty contest and offer tools of comparison that enables your property to stand out. Clearly and cleanly.
The Beauty Contest
Your home must look its best. All the stuff we know - freshly painted, neat and tidy, clean and in perfect condition. PLUS,
- Open spaces in each room. Buyers need a place to stand to see each room and then see room for them to move into.
- How does it work? If they were to buy this house, where would they eat, play, work, sleep, rest and relax, etc.
- Depersonalized. More than personal photos, certificates and trophies, put away anything that is completely specific to you the homeowner, as opposed to a wide group of buyers.
- Photos. The last and most important part of the beauty contest is the pictures. You must have beautiful photos of the inside and outside of your home, taken from the right angle, with the right lighting so that the house looks great...online! 85% of all home searches start online, and the more photos you show, the better your home stands out against the competition.
Tools of Comparison
Buyers, with lots of choices, will compare and contrast options by price point, as carefully and analytically as they can. Make sure you offer them information to make the best comparison possible. The more information you can provide here, the more in control you are of the story being told to the buyer. information to have available, on hand, with the realtor's brochure, floor plan and comps is:-
- Illustrations of the home being located in a "Great Neighborhood "
- The Cost to Run the home
- Square Footage, amenities including # of closets, level lot, basement & extra spaces (include everything that could possibly be seen as a positive; you just don't know what's going to trigger the "must have it" impulse!)
- Ratio of Asking Price: Assessed Value
- Recent Sales in the Neighborhood and feel free to offer a paragraph to each listing illustrating how you stack against each sale.
No comments:
Post a Comment