Housing Market - The Business of Housing

The data is in, and the results are surprising: the housing recession is over, and home sales are skyrocketing.

Is this a seller’s market?

The Wall Street Journal reports that homes are selling so fast that the supply of homes for sale is dropping quickly.

It could mean big bucks for homeowners who want to sell their homes with fewer terms at better prices.

These tips help home sellers get the most for their efforts before the seller’s market cools again:

The best way to take advantage of the seller’s market is to put a property on the block as soon as possible.

Realty Today reports that due to lagging production in the construction of new homes, plus increased home sales from economic growth, more people want to buy homes than available homes for sale.

Homeowners can expect more buyers ready to view an offer-ready home than they could a year ago, and this standard may remain well into the future.

When homeowners consider the price they want to set for their homes, they should ask a realtor about the wisdom of creating a bidding war for prospective buyers.

Those who want to sell their homes quickly may decide to list the house at a reasonable but slightly elevated price.

Others could invest some dough into:

And set the price below average to increase the number of interested buyers.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a bidding war can increase the final sale price of a home as much as $100,000 above the asking price.

Some homeowners prefer not to have hordes of buyers flocking to their doorstep at all hours.

In a seller’s market, savvy home sellers can limit the types of buyers from whom they will accept offers.

For several reasons, sellers know some home buyers may back out on an offer after acceptance.

As a result, a seller may choose to limit these circumstances,

For example, homeowners could decide they won’t take offers from buyers who can only buy the home contingent on selling their current home.

In a buyer’s market, property sellers often have to take the agent they can get since agents in that situation are so busy trying to sell the many homes they have available.

Realty professionals will compete to get a seller’s business with a limited number of homes for sale available on the market.

This means that realtors are willing to make some concessions to sellers.

Suppose Realtors are confident they can prompt a bidding war with a particular property.

In that case, they may drop the commission percentage to get the seller’s business because they believe they can make up the lost commission with a higher sale price.

At this point, it is unclear how long this seller’s market in the U.S. will last.

For now, people who want to sell their homes can list them at a higher price, start a bidding war, and get realtors to compete for their business.

The post How to Get the Most Out of A Seller’s Market appeared first on Housing Market.