In a Slowing Market, Price Is Only the First Step
Saturday, July 29, 2006; Page F01
If for-sale signs have sprouted like weeds in your neighborhood and the grass is growing up around them, it's no time to panic, say real estate experts.
It's time to go back to the basics.
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For years, nothing seemed to faze home buyers here. Price didn't matter. You could sell with dirty dishes still stacked in the sink. Even the eyesores got multiple bids.
In the past year, though, the number of homes on the market has tripled. Some sit for months instead of days. To sell, the experts say, the price has to be right and the house has to look move-in ready.
Setting a price at or below market, cutting it within weeks if buyers don't respond, helping buyers with closing costs, making your house stand out with new paint or new appliances -- those are traditional strategies in competitive times.
Now, some sellers also are dangling offers of vacations and cars. Others are turning to auctions, normally associated with foreclosures and fire sales. Some are just praying.
Here's a closer look at some sales tactics for today's market.
A Price You Can Count On
Pricing a house right is the most important part of the equation, but it can be hard to find that number in a changing market. It doesn't help to know what a house sold for six months ago or even three months ago.
"You have to look at what the contract prices have been recently, not at what the high-water mark was in 2005," said Linda Braley, an appraiser in McLean. "Those prices are gone."
Even those who had their houses appraised for refinancing in the past year should look again before listing, Braley said. "In a market where not much is changing, you might have a shelf life of about six months on an appraisal. But in the current situation, it's very difficult to keep up with prices."
The American Society of Appraisers in Herndon suggests sellers read their old appraisals to find things that had a negative effect and consider updating or remodeling those areas. Sellers might pay for an upfront appraisal, which costs about $350, to avoid getting blindsided.
Sellers also have to take a steely-eyed look at the condition of their house. If there are defects, a shopper will zero in on those first, said Tom Hanson, an agent with the Pure Energy Team at Gerlach Real Estate in Silver Spring.
