How to Sell a House Fast in a Slow Market

Every home seller wants to sell their house quickly and for a good price.

But in a buyer’s real estate market, that can be a challenge. Listing your home for sale and hoping for the best just isn’t going to cut it.

What is a Buyer’s Market?

A buyer’s market is when there are more real estate properties available than people to buy them. This can make selling a house much more difficult due to the extra competition in the market. It typically happens when the economy is having troubles and people are afraid to make such a big investment.

If you are having a financial issue and really need to move your home quickly, then a short sale may be an option to consider as well.

Below are some top insider tips on how to sell a house fast in a slow market and ways to improve your selling process even during a tough economy.

List Your Property at the Right Price

Overpricing your home can ruin your chances of making a sale in any type of real estate market. Try to sell your home at a price that will appeal to a buyer and are in a price range that is in the current market conditions.

Being realistic about the value of your property and creating an enticing listing price can really help sell your house fast.

You can’t simply list at the same price as properties that sold recently in your area. You should research what comparable houses have sold for in your neighborhood and price slightly lower.

Houses that fall in the lower end of an average price range for the area will see the most action. So, ensuring you are at a lower number for your price will help you tremendously!

If you are working with an agent, be sure to listen to their advice and tips to help get your house sold as quickly as possibly.

Always Be Available for Viewing

Selling a house in a down market requires you to be flexible!

Restricting your property to only be viewed at certain hours of the day is going to affect your chances of making a sale and upset a potential buyer. If you want to sell your home fast, you should ensure your house is always available for viewing.

Real estate agents can help with this by using a lockbox to allow access at any time, but they will of course still let you know they are coming!

Also, don’t restrict access to any parts of your home to a buyer. Make sure you develop a strategy that lets you hide away your toiletries and personal items at a moment’s notice.

Improve the Appearance of Your Home

A buyer’s first impression of your home can make or break your chances of a sale. This is why you need to make sure your house looks amazing from the outside. Home staging is a great option to make your home more appealing to buyers.

Having great curb appeal, fresh paint and a clean home can all improve how potential buyers respond to your listing. Remove family photos too! Often buyers will have a hard time imagining themselves in the home if there are personal images everywhere.

You want buyers to have a positive feeling about your house when seeing it for the first time.

Improve Your Real Estate Marketing Strategy

When it comes to selling products, good marketing is vital. And the same is true for selling homes.

Many people reduce their marketing costs to save a bit of money. However, this will cause your house to stay on the market longer since you may not reaching potential buyers who are looking for homes like yours.

Before choosing a real estate agent you should ask them about a marketing strategy plan for your property. If the agents you interview don’t know how to answer to your question, you should continue your search to find agents who do.

These days, the internet provides a platform to reach a near unlimited number of people who start there for a home search. Taking advantage of social media and email blasts may help sell your property faster, even in a slow market.

Offering “benefits” with your sale like paying for closing costs or including light fixtures in the sale can be additional marketing strategies that can make that home sale happen faster.

Get Professional Photos taken

The vast majority of buyers look for homes online. In fact, 93% of all home buyers use online websites to find homes. Therefore it couldn’t be more important to take top-quality photos of your home.

You may think you can take great-looking photos by yourself, but hiring a professional real estate photographer is always the way to go. Using your own photos is not worth the risk.

Professional photographers understand how to make a house look more attractive. They know the best angles and how to get the lighting just right. Photographers will also edit your photos afterward to really make them pop.

Don’t Neglect Maintenance and Repairs

To sell a house fast in a slow market, you need to take care of any maintenance issues that you’ve been putting off. This will affect the asking price too, so it is definitely worth addressing!

You may not notice these small things like broken fans or chipped counters, but a potential buyer will.

Walk around your home and make notes of all the small issues you can see. This includes mold, peeling paint, and leaky plumbing.

Ask your agent to do the same, as they will notice things that you missed the first time.

It’s worth investing a little bit of money upfront to improve your home, especially if it will help you make a faster sale.

Stage Your House

One of the biggest mistakes that sellers make is not prepping their homes. If you really want to sell your house fast in a slow market, you can’t be lazy and cut corners.

Staging your home makes it more attractive and can really get it sold faster. Effectively staging your home involved depersonalizing it by removing family pictures and other keepsakes. Focus your efforts on the living room, kitchen, and master bedroom as these are the most important rooms in the house.

You want your viewers to feel as though it is their house already. Potential buyers should be able to visualize themselves living in your home. This is difficult if it’s still filled with your personal belongings.

Get Your House Professionally Cleaned

Presenting a beautifully clean home to new buyers is one of the most important tips for selling your home fast. Nobody wants to walk into a dirty house.

If your house isn’t clean, you’re ruining your chances of making a fast sale. It’s that simple. In a slow market, buyers’ expectations are raised. They will expect to see a home that is spotless and tidy, so doing a deep clean and declutter is very important.

If you’re not up to the task, hire the services of a professional cleaning team. Get them to do a deep clean throughout the entire home. This includes cleaning the bathrooms, windows, and carpets.

Emphasize the Features of Your Home

It can be difficult to differentiate your piece of real estate from others on the market, but the truth is that every real estate property is unique and those unique features can affect the market value and the offer someone may place.

Think about the the parts of your property that you love the most. What does your property have that others don’t? In a slow housing market, it can be these unique features that make the difference in whether you sell your house or not.

Promoting the best property features can help you sell your house faster, so make sure you focus on what makes your house special.

Some examples may include:

• Is the backyard spacious and well manicured?
• Is your lot size larger than the others in the community?
• Do your cabinets have antique finishings?
• Does the property have a pool?
• Do you have an addition that other models in your community does not?

Houses are all unique, when you find something special that can give you that selling edge – take advantage of it. When a listing is promoted, these features should be showcased so the really stand out to a potential buyer.

How to Sell a House Fast: Get Help

Now you have some tips on how to sell a house fast in a slow market! Is is not always the easiest thing to do – but it can be done and you can even get some high value offers if you can impress the right buyer!

To summarize what sellers can do to improve the chances of getting the best offer and selling a home in a slow market:

• Do not overprice your property as this will drive away potential buyers.
• Focus on making your whole property, inside and out, as attractive as possible by doing all necessary repairs, home improvements and maintenance.
• Invest in a home staging company to help the interior look its best.
• Do the best deep cleaning you can.
• Focus on the properties curb appeal by gardening, mowing the lawn and maybe a fresh coat of paint.
• Work with your real estate agent to maximize marketing and exposure for your property.
• One of the fastest ways to sell your house is to deal with a cash home buyer.