Bottom Line :"How to Sell a home in this Brutal Market

Written by Jim Remley--Realty Times

Real estate values have been falling quickly across much of the U.S. The pace of existing home sales is down sharply as well, with many homes languishing on the market for months and months.
Ther are strategies that can help you sell your home--for a fair price--even in hard hit areas.

Best Moves for the Sellers

You might have to be very aggressive in the current environment, especially if your local real estate market has a glut of homes for sale. Here's how...
1. DON'T START WITH A HIGH PRICE . Asking price is the single most important reason that a property does not sell. In this buyer's market, it is a mistake to set a high price and assume that you can lower it later, if necessary, in negotiations. Area real estate agents pay the most attention to listings when they first appear on the market. In these days they won't even show your home if they think it is overpriced. If you start too high, by the time you do lower your price, real estate agents will have newer lisings to show buyers. The buyrs who do see your home will view your price cut as a sign of desperation and bid low.
Pricing your home as a slight bargain ensures that as many potential buyers as possible will walk through your door.

2. RECHECK THE ASKING PRICE OF COMPARABLE LISTINGS every two to four weeks. If you do a price reduction make it large enough so the new price is very competitive with comparable homes or is even a "best buy."

3. IMPORTANT: The amounts your neighbors sold their homes for a year or two ago should not even enter your thinking when you set your asking price. It was a very different market then and those prices are irrelevant today.

4. HELPFUL: If your home is not attracting many showings, the price is probably the problem. If it is attracting showings but not offers, the home itself is most likely to blame.

5. FIX IT UP FIRST. "Fixer-uppers" tend to be ignored in slow real estate markets because buyers can find good deals without bringing their paint and tools

6. PAY ATTENTION TO CURB APPEAL

What to do: spend a weekend beautifying the front of your home. Replace damaged window screens, tidy up landscaping, pressure was the sidewalk and the home, add mulch around trees and in flower beds. If necessary upgrade outdoor lighting fixtures, doorknobs and doorbell switch.
Freshen up the interior--a fresh coat of paint (desert colors) and new carpet can make a difference. Hire a professional cleaning service to clean thoroughly.
Smell matters--use scente candles or potpourri If the home smells of smoke or cooking odors, hire a building restoration company to remove odors if scrubbing doesn't do it.

OFFER INCENTIVES TO BUYERS AND BROKERS.--many homes sellers are "bribing" buyers with cash, cars, and flat-screen TVs. Help with closing costs. Pay for buy-downs on buyer's loan. Offer an extra 1% to Realtors on top of regular commission. IMPORTANT: If you offer a sales incentive disclose this in your sales contract with the buyer. If the buyer later defaults on the loan, the lender could claim that you and buyer engaged in fraud by manipulating the sales price to include an asset on which the seller could not foreclose.

DON'T OVER NEGOTIATE--If a potential buyr's first offer is reasonable , consider accepting it, rather than making a higher counter offer. Buyers have so many homes from which to choose that they sometimes move on rathr than make a second counter.

From my own exerience with buyers in Sun City--most want the granite counters, tile floors, desert colors, newer appliances, wood shutters They turn up their noses at homes that are not upgraded.