Jul

24

Long Island Real Estate Market: Creating The Demand For YOUR Property

Filed Under Sellers | Comments Off

How do you sell your house when it’s 1 of 200 listings on the market in your local market? How does an agent “create” a demand for your house? Well first, “demand” for your house would suggest that it needs to be different from the others on the market. How do we accomplish this?

1. Price – If, for example, your home is a cape and they’re are over 40 capes for sale in your area, being priced at number 40 may make your home the very last one a potential buyer looks at. Also keep in mind that the 40 houses on the market have not sold yet for a reason! Perhaps they’re all…overpriced. So pricing your home along with the rest of the pack may not yield the best results.

2. Staging – Many homeowners watch television shows about “staging” a property. However, there’s a big difference between staging your home, as opposed to a home. Many homeowners stage their home the way they like it. They leave up too many family pictures and organize it according to their likeability. As a Real Estate Agent, I find myself in situations where owners do not see their home the way I know a buyer will. Here’s a tip, if something is very sentimental to you, remove it. Another tip, if a piece of furniture is just there to take up space, remove it. Yet another tip: If the colors in the home, on the walls, furniture, etc. are particular to your liking, paint them or remove them. $500.00 can seriously go a long way toward improving your home in terms of increasing the selling points. Approach this with the following mindset and say this to yourself: “I’m not selling my home. I’m selling a home.”

3. Appearances – As prospective sellers, you want to appear ready to sell. This goes along with the staging of the home. Remove as many items, small or large, and place into boxes, neatly arranged in an area of the home that is not central to the showing area(s). This will suggest to prospective buyers and their agents, that you are a “good seller”, meaning you are ready to sell and have your “ducks in order”. Buyers and their agents, like this.

4. Showings With Ease – This is vital to the sale of the home. You must be patient with agents who are late, early and are “no shows”. Remember, you are in “sales” now. You want to be able to allow your listing agent to have an easy way to show the home. Real Estate Agents are people too so be patient and always nice. It makes for a better experience for the buyer as well. Never criticize an agent in front of prospective buyers. This leads me to the next way to create a demand for your property.

5. Attitude – Your attitude as well as the agents should be positive. If your listing agent has done their job correctly, you should be priced 5% below market value. You must accept that and move on emotionally. The more your displeasure shows to a prospective buyer, the more you will decrease the likelihood of a sale. Attitude can really make a significant difference. Always smile and allow the flow of the buyers to move through the house at their leisure which leads me to the next way to create a demand for your property.

6. Allow Buyers To Roam – Many times, when I’m showing a home another real estate agent has listed, the owners/sellers will sometimes assume a role of salesman. They rattle off many highlights of things they want a prospective buyer to see. I try and discourage my sellers (my listings) from doing this. It can sometimes cramp a buyer’s mindset and do more damage to the showing experience. Maybe pointing out a few things that aren’t readily visible is okay, but try to allow the showing agent and their prospective buyer to roam freely. When I show properties, I tend not to be overly directive. I allow the buyers to roam and I will ask questions and point out items on a different level. Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer. Would you want someone leading you around every corner of a home, directing your every move?

7. Terms – The more creative you can be in offering something to prospective buyers, the better off you’ll be. This is a marketing approach that can pay off big time. A person who buys anything, has to feel something for the product they’re buying. Along with how the home looks, how easy it is for agents to show it, affordability, and energy they feel from the agent and the property itself, offering something to the prospective buyer can help make their decision of whether or not to buy your home or move down the block and continue looking.

Ultimately, in this market, an agent must price the home correctly. Appraisals and how they’re going to effect the Long Island real estate market will be the next topic I focus on as we move forward into the second half of 2008. The market is changing and it’s not about which agent can “get you the most money” but rather, the one that can offer you the best evaluation (whether you like it or not) based on the cold, hard facts of the market.

(c) Copyright 2008, www.tommcgiveron.com

By Tom McGiveron

For a COMPLETE HOME VALUE ANALYSIS, call me at (631)587-1700, ext. 51.

To see ANY listing on MLSli.com – call me at the same number above.


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