Most sales of real estate are made by a select group of brokers. Only a small percentage of the real estate agents in the world make the vast majority of all the sales. This means that if you want to sell your house quickly, you need to get on board with one of them. The best way to find one isn’t usually to open up the yellow pages and pick the one with the prettiest mug shot. The best way to locate a good agent is to ask around. If you keep your ears open, you’ll hear recommendations from people who have nothing to do with the real estate industry. When people make a recommendation without anything to gain from it, you know that it’s probably a pretty good one. If you don’t hear anyone talking about it, ask your friends and family who they have used. Someone you know will know a good real estate broker. When you find them, give them a call and list your house immediately. They’ll be more than happy to take the listing.
Get the assistance of your real estate broker when setting the price. They can look at comparable sales and see what the market is calling for. The last thing you want to do is overprice your house in this market. Buyers are generally looking for the newest and the cheapest house in the neighborhood. If you fit these criteria, you’re golden. One big mistake that sellers make is making frequent price changes. What this does is tell everyone that you’re desperate. The last thing you want to be in any negotiation is desperate. You want to at least keep some leverage in this process. If you lower your price every week, buyers will start to think that your house has nothing to offer. They think, “Well, everyone else in town has looked at that lemon and said no. Why should I go look at it?” This is the last thing you want potential buyers to think about your house. If you really want to sell, why not slash the price lower than anyone around. No one is going to pay a premium for the exact same house as yours. They’re going to buy the cheaper one. There’s nothing wrong with lowering your price if it’s been sitting for awhile, but don’t do it too often. You want your house to keep its perceived real estate value.
Another big mistake that people take is passing on the first quick bid that they get. Your house might have only been on the market a few days and someone makes an offer. You quickly assume that your house is in bigger demand than it actually is. Therefore, you decide to sit back and let all of the many house buyers that are desperate for your property fight it out in a bidding war. However, you do this and months go by without any interest. By the time you realize this, the first potential buyer is long gone. Just because a bid comes in quickly doesn’t make it a bad thing. If you need a quick sale and you get a quick offer, this would seem like it’s a no-brainer. You’d be surprised by the number of people that will turn down the first offer because of false hope. This doesn’t mean that you should just give your house away to the first speculator that comes knocking, but you should look at every offer. When you need quick sales, you can’t afford to be picky. The expression “beggars can’t be choosers” is definitely true in this case.
There are numerous things that you can do to entice buyers to jump in and buy. Get creative and throw in some extra incentives. In today’s market, you can never be too creative. Just decide that you’re going to sell the house quickly and go for it.
