Selling in a Real Estate Market Full of Inventory

This real estate market is heaven for prospective buyers and certainly challenging for sellers. With the amount of properties in the market, many of them foreclosures, short sales or pre-foreclosures, sellers have plenty of competition to worry about. Many sellers have found their property stuck in the market for over a year, many with agent representation. The FSBO sign and ad in the paper are passé, and this old approach does not work in this type of market. So what's a seller to do? Here are a few tips to help you navigate this market.

One of the hardest things that sellers have to do in this challenging market is to become realistic about their situation. Can you afford to wait to sell or do you have to sell now? If selling fast is a must, then you need to price your home below the competition and make it as attractive to buyers as you can.

Besides taking a truthful approach to their finances, sellers will have to look at their homes with a buyer's perspective. How does my house measure against the competition? This will require for you as a seller to get an education on the current market trends in your neighborhood, and learn the pricing of the competition, as well as the home features. You can enlist the help of a real estate professional to help you with this information and to help you price your home as well.

You may not have the biggest house on the block, but you can make it as attractive as other homes in the area by creating the illusion of a bigger space, decluttering your home, rearranging some furniture, and presenting it to buyers in great shape. Set aside a small budget amount for painting or retouching some rooms, to spruce the garden and backyard, and add some outside accessories, or update some appliances. You don't have to buy top of the line appliances, many buyers appreciate brand new appliances as well, not necessarily expensive ones.

Be honest with your agent - tell him/her the reasons why you have to sell fast. If this is an emergency, and you have to be out of the home in less than six months, your agent must tailor his marketing plan and give your property priority. It is not to say that your agent will disregard other clients, but the level of interaction will be scaled to sell your home faster than the expectations. He/she may enlist the help of other agents in the office.

These are some simple issues for you to consider as a seller in a market full of inventory.