The Art Of Luring In A Buyer
(Home sellers and buyers are in a gridlock and no one wants to be the first to budge. )
Sellers are not lowering their prices and buyers refuse to buy until they see the price edge downwards.
It's the standoff to end all standoffs.
But some sellers have to sell their homes for a variety of reasons. Divorce, job relocations or the unfortunate few who already bought a new one before getting rid of the old, are especially desperate to sell.
These motivated sellers are turning to creative tactics in order to get their home sold. Offering everything from new kitchens to car leases, homeowners will stop at nothing to get their home off their hands.
A November 13, 2006 article by Mark Trumbull of The Christian Science Monitor, "What will it take to get you to buy this home," looks at how sellers are turning to creative incentives to secure a buyer.
"When she put up a new 'for sale' sign two weeks ago, real estate agent Mary Ellen Wasielewski had some unusual advice for the sellers: Give the buyer money to build a garage. The family lives in the Boston suburb of Medway, where homeowners enjoyed a seller's market not so long ago. This $679,000 home has plenty to recommend it: an estatelike setting, a custom chef's kitchen, a Jacuzzi, and a stone fireplace."
"'The buyers are out there. I see the same ones coming around,' she says. 'They're not willing to pull the trigger until [they find] the perfect equation of the condition and the price.'"
Now, Wasielewski has to offer funds for a garage in order to try and get this home to attract potential buyers, although it is a very nice house as it is.
In today's buyer's market (a buyer's market occurs when there is over a six month supply of homes on the market), it seems as if a seller has to do everything in their power in order to secure a sale.
"Many homeowners are getting increasingly aggressive and creative - in some cases mimicking incentives that contractors are offering on newly built homes. Many will cover closing costs, or even make a few months of mortgage payments for the buyer."
"The incentives help in some cases. But they won't alleviate the pressure to meet buyer expectations on more basic issues such as the listing price, the condition of the home, and even that garage."
Probably the most important factor that will determine whether or not your home sells and how quickly is the price. If your house is priced to high, it won't sell, period.
Also, buyers are increasingly picky about the condition of the home because they have so many to choose from, so make sure your home is in pristine condition.
"Some flaking paint or clutter might have been OK to buyers in 2004, but not now. 'They won't accept odors and they won't accept dirty carpet,' says Warren Robinson of Robinson Group Realtors in Durham, N.C. 'This year, it is a big deal.'"
"Calling in professional 'stagers' to redecorate key rooms is one option, but sellers can take many common-sense steps on their own, such as giving rooms a fresh coat of paint and removing excess furniture."