4 Tips for Selling a House in a Buyer’s Market

House prices are falling across Canada and there are more homes for sale than there are buyers. That’s bad news for sellers, because buyers feel free to make lowball offers and then just wait. It’s a buyer’s market, but don’t despair.

1. Face Reality and Then List Your Home

A successful home sale begins before the house is listed…when you come to grips with the fact that you are probably not going to get as much for your house as your neighbour did 2 years ago.

In a falling market, if you have to sell, you need to have the best possible product out there at the price it should be.  Not what you wish you could get, not what the neighbor got two years ago, but at the price you should get now. That’s the reality.

2. Scope out other houses for sale.

The most important thing is to compare your home to the competition on the market at this point in time.

Get out in the car and spend a weekend looking at everything you can. Visit some weekend open houses. Just get a feel for what your buyers are looking at. Visit newly built houses and find out which amenities and incentives builders are offering. Eavesdrop on other visitors to open houses to find out if there’s something in particular they’re looking for — something you should do to make your house more presentable.

3. Make it move-in condition.

Your house has to be at it’s best when buyers have a lot of houses to choose from. Generally buyers do not want to buy a house that needs a lot of work unless it’s an absolute bargain. You have to take away all their opportunities to say no.

Last year when buyers outnumbered sellers, you could get away with selling a house with ratty carpet, smelly furniture and walls that need painting. But that was then and this is now.

You may even want to hire a house inspector before putting the house on the market so you know now, and fix it.

4. Price realistically.

Don’t get greedy.  Just because home prices grew almost exponentially over the past decade you have to be realistic that there has been moderation in the market.  There have not been this many houses on the market for almost a decade!

It takes research, often conducted by a real estate agent, to come up with a realistic asking price, and discipline to abide by it.

It’s important that you, as the seller, understand the dynamics of pricing your home. Don’t go into it thinking there is a sucker born every day because most people are represented by a Realtor who will advise them not to pay more than a house is worth.

In a seller’s market, sellers typically ask for 10 percent to 20 percent more than they expect to get, but in a buyer’s market 3 percent to 5 percent more than you expect to get is more realistic. Setting an aggressive asking price attracts more prospective buyers to your door, discourages lowball offers and saves negotiating time.