Selling a home in a seller’s market sounds like homes can sell without much effort. However, this is not always the case. Home sellers still have some obstacles they need to overcome before a successful home sale. While homes tend to sell faster than average in this market, homes that are not marketed appropriately can take longer to sell. When an offer is made, the contract can fall through for many reasons, especially if the seller does not have the experience or the professional help to handle closing on a home.
In this market, it is common for home buyers to be aggressive due to low inventory in housing. It is not unusual for home sellers to receive multiple home offers after their home has only been listed for a few days. In order to win against multiple offers, a home buyer can decide to provide a unique offer such as submitting a large earnest money deposit, reducing or eliminating contingencies, paying the difference between the appraisal and sales price, and offering to pay the seller’s costs.
These conditions may not seem like obstacles for home sellers, but any one of them can cause a home buyer to back out of the contract due to buyer’s remorse. The home buyer may feel like they offered too much too quickly once they have time to think about the deal they had made with the seller. Keeping a home under contract is a skill many home sellers don’t possess.
The high demand for housing makes it possible for home sellers to be able to sell their homes for top dollar with best terms and conditions. Still, homes need to be priced appropriately to sell. A high price point can have a negative effect on when a house sells. Typically, as the price point increases, so does the number of days spent on the market.
Even in a seller’s market, a home seller should implement a pricing strategy to increase their chances of selling their home quickly. A good method in pricing a home for sale is to slightly under price the home so it can receive more buyer activity. If the home is not selling even after aggressive marketing tactics, there is a high probability that the home is overpriced and a price adjustment needs to be made.
Some home sellers decide to list their homes through FSBO, or for sale by owner. While it certainly can be easier to sell a home in a seller’s market than a buyer’s market, it is still challenging to keep a house under contract without an experienced real estate professional. It is recommended to use a realtor to sell a home, even in this market. A real estate agent can not only find the right buyer, but also negotiate an agreeable home offer and make the transaction process go smoothly through staying on top of deadlines, issues, and paperwork.
The Young Team has helped many FSBOs after their buyer backed out of the contract. We coordinate the entire home selling process and take on the obstacles of selling a home for our clients. We are still selling most properties twice as fast as the market average. For example, our clients’ homes at the $250,000 price point are selling within a week from listing.
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