Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Spend money to sell your house in today's market?

In our current market, we have a low inventory of homes, and yet we see some houses for sale that just sit on the market. In most cases, one of two things is happening: 1. the house is way overpriced, or 2. the condition of the house is not great.

Too often homeowners feel like they don't want to put any additional money into their property because they have seen such a decline in value since 2007. Prior to the market decline, people understood that if they wanted to sell their house they needed to get the house in good showing condition.

In today's market, I have seen many sellers refuse to put any money into getting their house ready to sell. I can understand people's hesitation, and I wouldn't ever want people to put money into their house for nothing. But, today's buyer wants to move into a house that is in good condition and looks nice. The mindset of today's buyer is that if it doesn't look great, they expect a VERY DEEP DISCOUNT on price.

What I recommend to my sellers is that they may need to spend some money to get their house in the best showing condition. If the paint is peeling off the outside of the house, that is going to hurt its chances of selling if you are looking for the best possible price. Basic repair and cosmetic work is a must.

Bottom line, sometimes you may need to spend a couple thousand dollars to get the best price for your house. In my experience, homes that show well and are priced appropriately for today's market will sell very quickly. All sellers should go into the selling process wanting to get their homes sold as quickly as possible. Why, besides the nuisance of selling your house, you want to be able to take advantage of low home prices and low interest rates when you are buying your new home.

Curb appeal still matters. A clean house in good repair matters. If you want to sell your home, take a look at your house through potential buyer's eyes. They don't care what your house was worth in 2007. They know today's market, and they want the best house on the market in their price range. Make that house be yours and get it sold!