7 Tips to Sell Your Home in a Slow Market

Home sales in the Hamilton-Burlington Area are down a whopping 27.2% in January compared with the same month last year according to the most recent report released by the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington. It’s no secret when the market is hot homes sell faster and buyers are more inclined to overlook minor deficiencies in a home. However, when the market is not – selling a home becomes more challenging and it can take longer to sell. So what can you do to make sure home sells in a reasonable amount of time during a market slowdown?

1. Price Your Home for the Current Market—the most important first step when selling in a slow market is to price your home correctly. Last year homes in the Hamilton area were selling like hotcakes with multiple offers and bidding wars. Those days are gone and home sellers need to understand the new realities of the market and price accordingly. Make sure you have a local real estate agent familiar with the market provide you with an up-to-date market evaluation.

2. Proper Exposure—Make sure your home is listed on the local real estate board MLS (Multiple Listing Service) to ensure you listing is getting maximum exposure. If your home is not listed on the local real estate board it may be missed by potential home buyers working with local agents.

3. Make Sure Your Home Stands Out from the Competition—first, clean, clean your home from top to bottom! If you are too busy hire a professional cleaning company to take care of it. Painting is another simple and effective low cost method of improving your home—get rid of any bold colors. Do fix any overdue repairs, update outdated light fixtures, door hardware and appliances. Replace worn out carpeting or flooring.

4. Get Professional Photographs—often a buyer’s decision on whether or not to schedule viewing of your home is based on your listings photos. Make sure your real estate agent hires professional photographers to take photos of your home. Blurry, dark and crooked photos taken with your agent’s cell are not acceptable.

5. Consider Staging Your Home—if your home is vacant you may want to consider staging your home. Vacant homes are more difficult to sell as potential buyers have a hard time visualizing themselves and their furniture placement in the home. Also, if your home is cluttered or the furniture placement is not optimizing the living space you may want to consider staging.

6. Be Prepared to Lower Your Price if Necessary—When the market is slow it is important to make sure you are positioned well on price relative to your competitors. The market is dynamic so if your home hasn’t sold in a reasonable amount of time you may need to consider lowering your price. Talk with your agent and make sure you are receiving timely updates of recent nearby comparable sales and new listings entering the market.

7. Be Patient—above all remember the market has slowed down and it is going to take a bit longer to sell your home. Try to be your Zen self and not worry or panic—rest assured if you follow the above steps your home is going to sell.