Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Five steps home sellers need to know to sell in a buyers market!

As a real estate agent that has been in the business for many years I have learnt a few tricks to getting your home sold in a tough market.
I work in Blaauwberg, a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa.
We like the rest of the world are in the throes of a slowdown in the property market.
What are sellers to do?
Obviously the number one mistake sellers make is they come on to the market at an unrealistic price. In a tough market you need to be realistically priced from get go, otherwise you waste precious time and as the market gets tougher you end up getting into a desperate to sell situation.
Choosing a good estate agent is the first step a seller can make in getting there home sold. A good agent needs to know the market, have a strong web presence and have good selling and networking skills.
These few simple ideas will in my opinion make a huge impression on getting your home sold and will cost very little for the seller.
Step 1: Make sure your home is de cluttered! When a prospective client walks through the door they should be seeing the home not the stuff lying about. Pack stuff away and allow buyers to view your property without clutter.

Step 2: Get your home to smell good. Microwaving vanilla essence or brewing fresh coffee really get clients to feel good about your property. People use all there senses when buying a property and I have sold properties where the buyers motivation was that the home smelled good. Trust me this really works!!!

Step 3: Splurge a little money on a fresh coat of paint. Keep the colours neutral. Try paint your home just before going on market. If you cannot afford an outside paint job hire a high pressure spray gun and clean the paintwork of any dust. If your carpets are in a bad way replace them or alternatively have them professionally cleaned.

Step 4: Make sure your garden is cleaned up and the lawn freshly cut. Keep clutter at a minimum. If you have animals that make a noise then take them for a walk when clients are viewing your property Dog doodooz are a big no no and need to be cleaned up. Make sure your pool is sparkling and leaves are raked up.

Step 5: Open up your home for a viewing and make sure there is lots of light shining into your home. A dark house is a big turn off for many buyers. If your home smells great, looks good and has a sunny feel you are already 90% on the way of greatly improving the sale of your home.

Interested in some great reports on selling your home? Take a look at these reports on RE/MAX selling reports for sellers

Seller Guidance: I would encourage you to employ a professional estate agent to help you sell your home. When your agent or another agent is showing your house, go away and let them do your work for you. I also urge you to utilize my FREE SELLERS TOOLKIT
before selling your house.

Buyer Guidance: I would encourage you to really check out anything and everything you are told by a well meaning seller. Employ the services of a Buyer's Agent to help you discern what you read and listen to about the area you are thinking of calling home. I would also urge you to get AVOID BUYING ERRORS before heading out on the journey to find your new house.
To view our listings go to OUR LISTINGS
The Husband and Wife Team have won the coveted platinum award three years in a row. 2005, 2006, 2007.
Membership of the RE/MAX platinum club is one of the highest single year commission honours that Re/max bestows upon a sales associate.
Ashley and Izelle are well known estate agents that service the blaauwberg area.
There area includes, Milnerton, Melkbos, Sunset Beach, Big Bay, Parklands, Bloubergstrand and Table View.
You can check out there website at husbandandwifeteam
and there blog atOur Blog!