How to Sell Your Own House – Tips for an Unkind Marketplace
Learning how to sell your own house is easy. However, when home values are flat and the real estate market is trending downward, actually selling your house can become a harder proposition. What follows are some helpful tips for an unkind marketplace that can help set you and your house off from the rest of the marketplace and encourage a higher sales price. These tips include hiring people to hold signs rather than hanging them on poles or staking them into the ground, listing your price lower as opposed to higher, indicating an real estate auction rather than a sale, and advertising like you are selling a product, not a house.
The number one tip to be successful in an unkind real estate market is to be creative when marketing your house. Remember that there are potentially thousands of other homes on the market at any given time. You need to find a way to separate yourself from the competition. One way to do this is be creative with signage and advertising. While traditional methods of listing a house are must, they are becoming more and more convoluted as the market continues to stagnate. Use color signs, and lots of them, directing potential buyers from busy intersections to your property. Where your budget allows hire individuals to hold the signs as opposed to simply pounding them into the ground. This gives the impression of professionalism and also allows you to avoid certain advertising restrictions.
Another helpful tip is to change the typical philosophy of real estate advertising. Traditional methodology says that a seller should list his or her house higher than what they would like to get because a buyer will always put forth a lower offer. However, this is no longer a seller’s market and a higher listing price may permanently discourage a potential buyer. When times are hard, many people buy a house much like they purchase other products: the lower the price, the more likely they are to buy it. Upgrades that once increased the value of your home are now considered too expensive. A buyer’s terminology revolves around what is needed as opposed to what they want. Therefore, you should list your house lower than what you ideally want to sell it for. This will help separate you from the competition.
When economic times are hard, sometimes simply changing the sales terminology will help differentiate your house from others. For example, instead of using the word “sale”, use the word “auction”. An auction brings up images of dirt cheap prices and flexibility, while a sale brings up references to definite and finite price tags. Use “real estate investment” as opposed to “buy a home”. Try to place the purchase of a home into an investment concept instead casting it as a major purchase.
Finally, be confident when negotiation sales terms. Try to place any concessions to a buyer in an authoritative and demonstrative manner. Tell the buyer, without being demanding, what the terms are, and because you are already listing the house for the lowest price you will accept, these commands will seem confident and should only reassure the buyer of the great deal he or she is receiving.
When economic times are tough, it might be harder to learn how to sell your own house. However, by following these simple tips you can be successful in an unkind marketplace.
