Most people are aware that we’re now in a buyer’s market. For the past few months, sellers have watched as more and more homes have come on the market allowing buyers greater negotiating power over sales price and repair issues.

My firm belief is that there are only two things that sell a house, price and location. You can’t do much about a house’s location, but you can price it lower than market if your house sits on a busy street or near commercial or industrial property. If the seller is firm about keeping their sales price at a particular price point, there are a couple of other ways they can try to improve their chances of getting a great offer.

  1. Offer incentives such as a credit towards the buyer’s closing costs or a decorating allowance if the house is dated or in need of new carpeting.
  2. For condominiums or townhouses, offer to pay up to six month’s worth of home owner association dues.
  3. Offer a higher buyer’s agent commission (BAC) to make the house more attractive for Realtors to show and sell. The standard BAC is 2.7% of the sales price. A good incentive BAC would be 3% or 3.15%. I’ve even seen commissions offered at 3.5% and would absolutely LOVE to sell one of those!
  4. Include in the house sale something unusual of value. This incentive would typically only apply to high end homes where some sellers have included a new car with the house. Lesser expensive value items may include upgrading the kitchen appliances to stainless steel.
  5. Think about hiring a professional staging company to give you ideas about how to reposition your furniture and accessory items, remove unnecessary clutter and/or paint accent walls so that your home elicits a WOW factor when buyers enter for showings.

When you sell your home, make sure you know about the other homes in your area that are also on the market. These houses are your direct competition since any buyer looking at your house will probably also see these and will be making comparisons amongst all houses toured.

I’d love to help you sell your home. Please call me today to discuss your home’s market value! You can reach me at 503-421-2407.