Advice on selling homes in a down market

There are two types of sellers. Those who want to sell and those who need to sell.

You've gotten a new job in Tulsa and you have to move. You are now the type of seller who needs to sell. The problem is there are many homes for sale in your neighborhood that you will have to compete against. What do you do?

If you are the seller who wants to sell you probably list your home at the same price the others are listed and hope for the best. However, you are the seller who needs to sell so you need a plan of action.

Step one: Assess the competition. I'm not talking about just your neighborhood but anything comparable in comparable school districts. Buyers don't usually just look at one subdivision - they often look at a broader area. You have to know where your home would rank among other homes for sale in some key areas:

1. Condition - do you need new paint inside and out? how's the landscaping?
Is the roof near the end of its life? how about the appliances? Buyers are going to look at many homes and while price is a major consideration, so is how much that home will cost to upgrade and maintain. If your home needs updating then do it. It's not always about price for a buyer.

2. What has sold in the last 30 days. last 60 days. last 90 days. You better hope there has been some traffic.

3. What is the current inventory of homes for sale in your area? How long have they been on the market? Remember this is your competition.

4. How many homes in the area are currently under contract?

5. What is your home for sale vs. pended-home factor? To get this take the number of homes for sale and divide it by the number of homes under contract. The higher the number the worse for you? If your factor is 10 or less then that's good news because it shows homes are selling. Less than that means there is little happening out there.

Now that you know where you stand, it's time to price your home. If you take nothing else from this remember one thing: It never benefits a seller to stay on the market a prolonged period of time. Many people don't really care if there house sells. They are going to buy a bigger house "if" they get their price. If you have to sell then it's time you hopped aboard the straight talk express: "Price your home to sell."

Before pricing, make sure you have updated your home and made it as appealing as possible. Remove clutter. Repair anything rotted, broken, crocked or othewise messed up.

Now assess the competition. Hopefully your local market still has a heart beat. If so set a realistic price. Once you have done all that and gone on the market then your Realtor should have your home properly marketed. this doesn't mean a postage stamp sized ad in the newspaper. 80% of all home buyers utilize the interenet to view homes. Your MLS listing is the key to good Internet Marketing. The information in MLS is distributed to endless real estate websites. If the information is incomplete in MLS then the information on every site that shows your home will be incomplete. Your realtor can utilize virtual tours, numerous pictures, have dowloadable/emailable fact sheets and more.

Feedback is the next key. Once you have a showing, you want to know what the buyer and their agent thought about your home? Not all agents will give feedback but it is an essential tool in selling a house for a listing agent.

Good feedback helps us discover thing that maybe we can change to increase the chances of selling the home. Calling for feedback also gives your listing agent a chance to close the sale if the buyers are on the fence and it's something we can deal with. For example, "my buyers really love the house but are concerned about the vacant lot next door that has a water retention pond." Well mr. buyer's agent, that lot next door was just purchased and the new owners are building a lovely brick colonial. The developer is going to fill the lot in with dirt and compact it."
You also have to track the buyers who looked at your home. If no one is buying that's one thing, but if they end up buying something else you need to now why.

Finally keep an eye on the market around you. Your agent should keep you up on all homes that come for sale, go under contract or reduce thier price.

If someone is going to sell it needs to be you. Be proactive, watch the market and listen to your agent.

Good luck!