How to Sell Real Estate in a Buyer’s Market

Sellers have the upper hand in a sellers' real estate market. They can ask for higher prices and make more demands of the buyers, because they know that they are competing for their home.

On the flip side, a buyers' market is exactly the opposite; there are many more homes available than potential buyers and those looking for a new abode have the advantage, with lots of bargaining power to bring down the price and get added incentives tossed into the deal. This is because most sellers are desperate to find a buyer and get out of their current place and mortgage.

Most recently, the market has returned to a serious buyers' market. With millions of new and previously owned homes available and a lack of free-flowing credit for buyers, those who are capable of buying are in the minority and are a highly prized commodity among sellers.

These days, buyers have a lot of room to negotiate a low price, get their closing costs paid by the seller, and even get the seller to do extra work on the house or throw in added incentives. If you are trying to sell in the current residential real estate market, here are some vital steps to take if you want to score the deal.

Have Realistic Expectations
You have to know what is going on in your local real estate market to know what you can expect from the sale. Your realtor will obviously know a lot about your area and can give you a good estimate of the price you should be willing to consider. However, you can also do your own research by checking various websites online that show the worthy homes in your area and what they are being offered for.

If you set the price way too high, you will not even have buyers coming to look at your place, much less making offers, but if you price your home way below the market real estate value, you will be robbing yourself of all the equity you have built up in the house. Do your homework so that you are not frustrated by unrealistic expectations.

Advertise Like Crazy
Even though most people hire real estate agents to sell their homes for them, you might want to do some extra advertising yourself to get the word out about your property. Ask your agent what methods and venues he plans to use to get your home sold and then fill in the cracks as you seem them.

For instance, you could place your home on free Internet real estate websites, talk to all your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors and ask if they know anyone looking to buy a home. You could also place listings in your local paper or the newspapers of neighboring towns.

Consider Every Offer
Many people in a buyers' market will try to low ball an offer to push the limits of what they can get. While it might be easy to be insulted by these paltry sums, it is best not to lose your temper, but to take a deep breath, remember the state of the residential real estate market, and make a counter offer that seems reasonable to you and see if the potential buyer is willing to make a serious bid.

You do not have time to snub your nose at all the low ball bids, because the longer your house sits on the market, the more money you lose, and the less you can expect to make on it in a future sale.

Author: Andrew Stratton