Selling Your Home In Wounded Real Estate Market

Selling your home in the current housing market is risky business. Throughout the last five years, the housing market has taken a deep U-turn and clearly turned in the favor of buyers. Before you get into the real estate game, you must be prepared to price your home to sell, and do so strategically. If this means offering pricey incentives and cutting corners in order to sell your home, so be it.

Incentives

To set yourself apart from all of the sellers in your local housing market, be prepared to offer near ludicrous incentives. Some home sellers are even going as far as offering a percentage off of their home to the first buyer that offers their asking price. While this type of incentive may be an effective way to sell your home quickly, it’s excessive. Think of offering both tangible and intangible incentives such as paying for an update, freeing the buyer of all closing costs, including some of the furniture, decor and electronics of the home in the contract and installing a new roof before the buyer moves in. These incentives are costly, but considering the state of the housing market, most sellers agree that the costs incurred are worth getting the property off of their hands.

Forgo Extravagant Renovations

Ten years ago, making extravagant renovations on a home was considered an asset in the housing market. However, since the economic crash has had such a negative effect on the real estate world, less is now considered to be more. Holding back on extravagant renovations is a smart idea. Unless your home is located in the Hollywood Hills, there is no need to expand the floor plan of your home, undergo a full kitchen makeover or creating a 8×10 walk in master closet. If your local housing market hasn’t been steady during the last two years, standard updates will suffice. Simple updates like a fresh paint job, updated kitchen appliances and refinished flooring are what sell homes in the current housing market. Save yourself the cash and forego extravagant renovations.

Consider the Alternative

The harsh truth is that sometimes selling your home in such a wounded economy is simply not worth it. A lucrative alternative that provides near instant gratification is placing a “For Rent” sign on your lawn rather than a “For Sale” sign. Of course, this is just a temporary fix. If you aren’t willing to sell your home for less than it is actually worth, waiting until the housing market returns to a healthy and active state before placing your home up for sale is a smart move. If you would truly like to turn your home into an income property, consider converting it into a double income property. In addition to renting out the main area of your home, consider converting the basement or attic into an apartment. Consequently, when the market returns to a healthy state and you are ready to put your home up for sale, you can price your home higher because it is an income property.