You may have to lower your sale price expectations in a down economy.
In a down economy, it takes a little more than a coat of paint and well-trimmed hedges to sell your home. Though the competition is tough, making the sale quickly is not impossible. Take a different approach to selling real estate fast when the economy cools off by being realistic about price and attending to every last detail.
The Right Price
Put your desires for a large profit from selling your home on the back-burner and instead rely on the reality that a fair price will sell your home long before an unreasonable one. Do some research not only in your neighborhood but also in your entire area to learn what similar houses have sold for. Consider selling your house on your own and eliminate the real estate sales commission in order to get your price down to something that has a chance of selling. In a tough economy, houses priced out of the range of other houses in the area usually do not even get a look from potential buyers. Create a selling price for your house that is fair to you, but will also prove competitive in the market.
Curb Appeal
Even in a difficult economy, people still use their emotions to make their buying decisions. If you are limited in what you can invest in to remodel your home to add value to it then spend some of that money on the curb appeal of your home. Curb appeal is that first impression a home makes when people see it from the street, and you can not only improve your chances of selling your home with greater curb appeal but you may even get your first asking price for it as well. Invest in some landscaping for the front, and fix up any areas that need repair. In a bad economy, the first impression a house on the market makes is extremely important.
Inspection
Consider having a home inspection done prior to putting the house on the market. An inspection lists all of the things that need to be repaired before you can put the house on the market, but more importantly it will alert you to things that will come up when the buyer has an inspection done. Without having an inspection of your home prior to selling it, you may not realize that the foundation is cracked or your porch needs major repairs. In a down market, you can kill a sale quickly by not having the details of an inspection attended to ahead of time.
