What is a seller to do in the current buyer's market we have in Kansas City? I often get asked that question and my first answer is anything and everything. Seriously, anything a seller can do to position themselves ahead of the competition is worth doing. Attention to the smallest of details could make the difference between a home selling or not selling. Should a seller vacuum before every showing. Yes they should. Should a seller wipe down the center island before a showing. Yes they should. If it snowed overnight, should a seller shovel the snow off the driveway and sidewalks before they leave for work. Yes they should. I could go on and on. Each time a seller walks out the door they should ask themselves, "Is there anything more I can do?", because you never know when the right buyer is going to walk through the door. Even if you have not had a showing in what seems like forever, eventually the right buyer IS going to walk through the door and you've got to be ready to impress them.
Keep in mind that there are a large number of homes on the market and the buyer will have many choices put before them. So anything you can do to add to your home's value proposition is absolutely worth doing. There are also some unique selling techniques that seller's can implement to assist in getting their homes sold in a buyer's market. Just keep in mind, that these methods should be used as "pawns" in the marketing process and not be the basis of the marketing plan.
Here are a few common seller inquiries that I hear:
Seller Inquiry: Should I stage my home?
Answer: I have heard home stagers quote that staged homes sell 50% quicker and for several percent more than non-stages homes. That is certainly difficult to quantify, but I find those numbers could be plausible. I typically only recommend staging a home if it is vacant and the layout of the home is such that it would be difficult for a home buyer to visualize their furniture in the home. There is also the occasion that the seller's furniture does not fit (size or style) the home and staging can be beneficial. Also keep in mind that many buyers (me included) have no problem viewing an empty home. Many buyers love being able to view the home without furniture blocking the way. It's also easier to locate carpet stains and signs of water leakage in a home with no furniture present. Some buyers have a problem visualizing their own furniture when a seller's furniture present, while others have a problem if no furniture is present. Really the decision to stage or not to stage needs to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Seller Inquiry: Should I offer a larger commission to buyer's agents?
Answer: I wouldn't consider this right out of the gate. If you have analyzed the market stats, priced the home appropriately and have it in great showing condition, this is likely unnecessary. Now if you are two months in and showings are down, offering a cash bonus or increasing the buyer's agent commission, say 0.5%, could generate more showings. Remember that a vast majority of Realtors make less than $30,000 a year and I think it would be naive to think that a higher commission wouldn't be a motivating factor to bring out their buyers . If you are needing to generate interest down the road, this is certainly an option.
Seller Inquiry: Should I offer buyers incentives or interest rate buy downs? Answer: Buyer incentives can be powerful tools in the right situation. But again I'll say it: I wouldn't consider this right out of the gate. If you have analyzed the market stats, priced the home appropriately and have it in great showing condition, this is likely unnecessary. If you are a couple of months in and the home has not sold, this is an option and could open up the buyer pool to buyer's that otherwise may not be able to afford your home. You could offer to pay to buy down the buyer's mortgage interest rate, say a 1/4 point - thus lowering their monthly payments. You could offer $1,500 towards a buyer's closing costs to generate interest among cash strapped buyers. If you are concerned that a certain aspect of your home - such as the carpeting - is causing a problem you could offer a $2,000 carpet allowance, etc. (I must add that if a seller is willing to offer a carpet allowance, they may as well go ahead and replace the carpet BEFORE the home sells if it's possible to do so.)
Seller Inquiry: Should I price my home higher so I can afford to offer incentives?
Answer: I would never recommend doing that because there is no incentive that I know of that overcomes an inappropriately priced home. Incentives should be viewed as "pawns" in the game, because buyer's and buyer's agents can usually see an overpriced home a mile away. If a showing never gets scheduled on a home, the incentives being offered won't mean a thing. When it comes to an appropriate list price, a good general rule is to price a home in a manner that would likely result in it selling within the average time frame it has taken other comparable area homes to sell. So if it's taking an average of 65 days to sell homes in "x" subdivision, price your home in a way that you could reasonable expect the home to sell within 64 days.
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