January 13, 2006

The Five Simple Elements to Selling Any Home in Any Market

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The Five Simple Elements to Selling Any Home in Any Market- by Jeff Hoffman

© Jeff Hoffman- All Rights reserved
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You want to sell your house. You want to sell it on time for top dollar. So how do you do it?

There are five simple elements to selling any home in any market. Pay attention to all five and you’ll quickly have a sale for a fair price.

Five Elements to Selling a Home

1. Price
2. Location
3. Exposure
4. Appearance
5. Time

Price It Right, and Buyers Will Appear
Since most home buyers still comparison shop today, it’s important that your home be priced competitively to other recently sold homes that are similar in the size, amenities and location of your home. To receive the most money in the shortest time, you must price at within the market value range of comparable properties.

The sold properties represent the most accurate determination of market value. These are the homes that have actually come into the market, found a buyer, and have sold. You must rely upon market facts, and not the personal opinion you or your agent has.

There is a saying among real estate experts that goes like this: The market may be up or down, but it never is wrong.

Of course, the strength or weakness of your local real estate market will influence your pricing strategy. If you happen to be in a strong seller’s market, and you have a long enough time horizon, you can sometimes get away with overpricing your home, and within a relatively short period of time the market will catch up to you, and perhaps even surpass you.

However, if you’re in a weakening seller’s market where home buying demand has peaked, pricing above the market value is a dangerous position to be in because you might be at that price for a long, long time.

Your goal is to determine what the Fair Market Value of your home is. Simply, it’s the value that would appeal to many people and result in a sale in a reasonable amount of time. Sellers don’t lose buyers as much in the negotiation phase as they do in the showing phase, because when you overprice your home, the buyers may not even see it. Be objective in your decision and you’ll have a fair offer in no time.

Location, Location, Location!
Most everyone has heard this said regarding the value of real estate. Most people think you can’t do anything about the location of your home, but you can within certain limits change the appearance of the neighborhood to benefit your sale efforts.

If you have neighbors who have neglected the appearance of their homes approach them and let them know you’ll be selling soon. Tell them your goal is to get top dollar, and by doing so you’ll be working to raise the value of their home as well. In exchange for the time and money you’ll spend making your home the best it can be, ask the neighbors to return the favor by attending to the exterior of their home and yards. Offer to have the neighborhood kid cut and edge the lawns, weed the grounds, you can even provide a neighborhood dumpster for all debris removal from homes on your street. Make a contest out of it ala the “biggest loser” TV show by offering a prize to the home that shapes up the most within a set time period. Human beings like reciprocating. By offering to do something for the neighbors they’re more likely to want to pitch in and make the street look its best.

Exposure – Is the Word Getting Out About Your Home?

Tracking the amount of interest you’re getting is more than counting how many buyers have visited your home. Today, most real estate agents can provide you with detailed information on:
• The number of agents that have hit your listing page
• The number of private party hits to your listing page
• The number of flyers removed from your listing box
• The number of showings or previews you home has received
• The places and frequency that your home has been advertised
• The number of phone calls to the office or hotline on your home

As with anything you attempt to sell, have “eyes” on your product is key. It your agent can demonstrate people know about your home, but it’s still not getting traffic or an offer(s), it probably is a pricing, not an exposure issue.

Appearance – Is Your Home in Shape for Selling?

Perhaps the easiest yet the most difficult aspect of selling a home is getting it in ship shape. How can it be both easy and hard you ask? Because a good agent or professional home stager can in less than 60 minutes diagnose and set in motion what needs to be done to maximize your home’s appeal. The hard part is getting the seller to put their pride or personal opinion aside long enough to follow that advice. If you resist the professional advice upfront, be open to it once showings begin and your agent funnels the comments back to you. Listen for dropped hints or even better direct non-filtered feedback that speaks directly to the buyer’s opinion of your home’s condition. Take these comments to heart and put aside your pride and you’ll be well on your way to a sale.

Time – Have You Given Yourself Enough?

Time is always the biggest lever a seller has. Run out of it and you can kiss maximizing profits goodbye. The second benefit of time is that it allows you the emotional peace of mind to operate within an environment of stability not stress and worry. If the average time to sell a home like yours is 57 days and escrow takes 45 days, don’t list your home 90 days prior to when you need to be moved. Instead give yourself 120-140 days so that you have some padding if you need it. If you run out of time you run out of options, except for the option of dramatically cutting your price to make a sale. Before you list your home carefully weigh the time horizon you need to be moved against the realities of the market and plan accordingly, it’ll save you grey hairs and lost profits.

No matter the market conditions there is a buyer for every home. Following these five simple steps will ensure that you get every penny the market will bear and you meet your time horizon without undue delay and false starts and stops.

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Jeff Hoffman is the President of Hoffman Realty Group, Inc. and has assisted thousands of sellers and buyers during his real estate career. He is the creator of a powerful home selling system designed for the home seller not the real estate agent. To learn more about this amazing program visit Smart Seller Listing Home Marketing System

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The Ultimate Guide to Worry-Free Home Selling

Want the inside secrets of selling your house or condo quickly? And for top dollar? Jeff Hoffman knows how to make that happen. For over 17 years Sacramento Valley home sellers have relied upon his tips for solid advice on all aspects of selling a home. Now '18 Notorious Home Selling Problems & How I Solved Them' gives you practical, step-by-step information, how to avoid the traps and pitfalls that so many home sellers routinely face when selling their homes. Check it out here.

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