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We own a home in Surprise, AZ, which has a bad market for seillers right now. In fact, there are probably four houses for sale on our street that have sat and sat without an offer. We're actually willing to wait until next summer to sell, but we're thinking about beginning to send out resumes now. Our concern is that my husband will land a job and we'll need to sell within a month.
Are there any strategies we could use to sell our house quick? A few people here and there dropped the price of their house and still didn't sell. We were thinking about leaving the W and D and offering $8 cash back. Does this help?
First things first.... Since you will probably sell in about a year, but could be sooner depending on employment start now:
get your home in pristine condition. Buyers are taking their time and choosing what is the very best for their money and they won't have to spend a lot after they move in. If you are wondering if you should do something... Do it!! Start a relationship with your REA now and ask them to be completely honest with you. Start at the front of the house and go through it. from front yard (curb appeal) to the backyard. Attic to basement and garage.
As it gets almost time, go rent a storage unit and put anything and everything you can into it. I know you like your doll collection Mr. Seller, but that is all the buyer can see is your dolls and not your house!! I know you loved that wallpaper when you picked it out, but not everybody loves mauve roses in their kitchen... get rid of it!!
then when it is time, price your house aggressively. Offering a seller's concession up to 3% of the CCA to be used at buyers discretion will help bring them to the door, and now that your home is in showing condition.... You have a better chance of pulling in that offer.
good luck and start now since you have the time!! YOu won't be pressured at the last moment.
Do everything the OP suggested. Then start coming up with contingency plans. It's quite possible the one who gets the job will have to go first while the other stays to sell the house. It's grim but that's life. There are some plusses. You get some time to learn your new area and you will probably make a better choice when you buy your next house.
Thank you both for your suggestions. We've been told several times that our house looks like a model home. It's less than two years old and has lots of upgrades/neutral colors, so we really don't have much to do in way of preparation. I guess we need to focus on how to get the few buyers out there in our house.
shellytc, is 2.5% the norm for commission then? So if we listed it with 3%, it would be attractive to a buyer's agent?
Good for you for having a nice well taken care of home. I know each time I sell my home it takes me a couple of months to get it showing ready. Typically we live in our homes one way and sell them another. ; )
there is no normal commission amount. Each agent in each area will communicate what they feel they need to do a good job. I can tell that in my area I typically charge 6%. 3% goes to the selling agent. Anything less would probably not generate much interest. I have a listing that is currently listed at 6.5%, offering 3.5% to the selling agent. We are really trying to generate interest.
My take is that when the shoe was on the other foot and seller was king, they could offer less of a commission.... now that buyer is king and buyers agent is royalty we need to cater to them and find a way to help them choose our listing.
Thank you both for your suggestions. We've been told several times that our house looks like a model home. It's less than two years old and has lots of upgrades/neutral colors, so we really don't have much to do in way of preparation. I guess we need to focus on how to get the few buyers out there in our house.
shellytc, is 2.5% the norm for commission then? So if we listed it with 3%, it would be attractive to a buyer's agent?
Just a word of caution - if you've lived in your home less than 2 years before you sell it, you will probably be subject to capital gains tax on it.
Also, keep in mind that homes in my part of AZ are taking between 4 to 6 months to sell, even nice ones, unless they're priced much lower than the rest of the competition. I'm pretty sure houses in your part of the state are taking at least that long (if not longer) to sell. If you wait to put your home on the market til you have to sell within 30 days, then you'll probably have to underprice it considerably in order to move it that fast in this market. Some other strategies might be to get in on the market ASAP. If you happen to snag a buyer quickly, you could push for a long close of escrow or possibly ask to do a rentback, or you might even consider renting an apt mo-to-mo until you've got your employment lined up at your new locale. Now's not a good time to turn away buyers.
You should list for at LEAST 3% in this market. The only time 2.5% was going on and being "accepted" was during the hot market when they could actually get away with it. In these times it's a BAD idea.
Just a word of caution - if you've lived in your home less than 2 years before you sell it, you will probably be subject to capital gains tax on it.
Also, keep in mind that homes in my part of AZ are taking between 4 to 6 months to sell, even nice ones, unless they're priced much lower than the rest of the competition. I'm pretty sure houses in your part of the state are taking at least that long (if not longer) to sell. If you wait to put your home on the market til you have to sell within 30 days, then you'll probably have to underprice it considerably in order to move it that fast in this market. Some other strategies might be to get in on the market ASAP. If you happen to snag a buyer quickly, you could push for a long close of escrow or possibly ask to do a rentback, or you might even consider renting an apt mo-to-mo until you've got your employment lined up at your new locale. Now's not a good time to turn away buyers.
Capital Gains in this market??? We would be like to have to pay Capital Gains. Anybody that has to pay Capital Gains right now should consider themselves lucky because it means that they made money on the house and didn't lose their shirt in the sale and their pants and shoes! I use to complain about Capital Gains Tax, but I would be happy to pay some now in light of the current real estate market.
Capital Gains in this market??? We would be like to have to pay Capital Gains. Anybody that has to pay Capital Gains right now should consider themselves lucky because it means that they made money on the house and didn't lose their shirt in the sale and their pants and shoes! I use to complain about Capital Gains Tax, but I would be happy to pay some now in light of the current real estate market.
You responded to a post that is over 3 years old and was not a comment on today's current market. You can check post dates in the upper left corner of the posting.
Some advice is never stale. Curb appeal, de-cluttering and staging works even in a bad market. I sold my 109 year old house near the end of 2007 in less than two days.
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We would be like to have to pay Capital Gains. Anybody that has to pay Capital Gains right now should consider themselves lucky because it means that they made money on the house and didn't lose their shirt in the sale and their pants and shoes! I use to complain about Capital Gains Tax, but I would be happy to pay some now in light of the current real estate market.
