The fact of the matter is it really depends on your location. You know the saying, "location, location, location". I've heard of places right now in the U.S. where the market is so good, that they are actually in a sellers market! While this is incredibly rare, it goes to show you that it really depends on where you live.Since I am a Realtor in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area, a.k.a., the Metroplex, I'm going to cover this area. Our area was not hit nearly as bad as many other cities around the country. The market here has been fairly stable. Over the past few years we have definitely seen a drop in home values, but not nearly as drastic as other places. There is a constant influx of people who come to this area every year. A news report just released this week showed that the top 2 fastest growing cities in the U.S. are right here in North Texas. However, selling your home here is not going to happen over night.
There are many homes here that have been on the market for a long time while others sell fairly quickly. Why is that? Well, there are several reasons why this happens. The first reason, and probably the most important reason why a home sits on the market and doesn't receive any offers, is because it is over priced. Some home owners have the idea that starting off at a higher price point would be best, and then if it doesn't sell, drop it a little. This is a bad idea. Here's why. When you list your home for sale, it gets the most exposure when it is first listed! This means, that if it's priced properly, you will get a lot of traffic through your property. However, if you list with a higher price first, people won't even give you the time of day because they're looking at your neighbors house who is priced much better. What happens in this situation is that your home becomes the second place home. People may come by and see your home, and you may very well get some traffic through there. But they won't be talking about an offer on your home. They'll be talking about putting in an offer on the home next door. Most people won't even bother with a home they know is over priced. They're too busy checking out all the homes that are actually priced properly! So work with your Realtor on pricing your home properly according to what other homes are selling for and how long they are sitting on the market.
The second reason is because you may not have the right agent working for you. Having the right agent sell your home can mean selling your home within the first few months its on the market, or having it sit on the market for 6 months and still not sell. While price is crucial to getting off on the right foot, choosing the right agent to market your home is just as important. People have to know about your property in order to see it. This seems like an obvious statement, but you would be surprised how many homes don't get the kind of exposure that they need. I'll cover the topic of marketing in more detail in the future. Having an agent who knows how to market, coupled with a tech-savvy agent, really do go hand-in-hand. Everything now a days is online. Over 90% of home buyers look online, FIRST, when searching for a home. Less than 6% of buyers look through print ads like newspapers and magazines to find homes. So it is vital to find an agent that knows their way around the digital community.
Another factor that impacts the sale of a home is the attitude of the homeowners. Are you a motivated seller? Or do you want to take your time? There is a very big difference between these two. If you are motivated to sell your home quickly, this doesn't mean you have to give your home away in order to make that happen. It does mean, though, that you need to be realistic about what your home is actually worth, and not what you think it's worth. Your agent will be able to walk you through what other homes are selling for in your area, how long homes are sitting on the market, and what a good starting point for you will be.
The theme throughout this process is that when you start off on the right foot, things can go very well, even in a difficult market! So don't be worried about whether you can get your home sold this year. It can be done. Sooner than you think!
Until next time... I'll keep, "turning your dreams into an address".
