Thinking of Selling Real Estate? Insightful ways to sell Real Estate in the Current Market

There are many things to consider when thinking about selling real estate. First of all, "Why are you selling?". Is the sale due to a relocation? Are you having to move because of work? This is a very common reason property owners put their homes on the market. Relocation out of state can be a very stressful time. As a real estate professional, I have seen my share of problems and headaches with this type of selling. Here are a few quick pointers that can help!

1) Time Frame. You need to figure out exactly how much time you have to sell.

2) Company assistance. There are a lot of companies out there that provide assistance when selling. The company can help pay moving expenses. There are also companies out there that can help with the sale of your home (Commissions, Sales Price, etc.). There maybe some great assistance to help you with the move. Make sure you check those avenues.

3) Get prepared now! This means start putting everything into boxes that you do not use on a daily/weekly basis. Using boxes will help save substantial time and make the move drastically easier.

4) Know exactly what you need to make to move. In a slowing market, remember there may not be a lot of excess equity in the home for you personally, but you need to move and pay your existing lender off, so make sure you know where you need to be as opposed to where you want to be. I see it more and more today; homeowners are expecting the high values and are shock when their homes sit on the market for 4-6 months! If time is an issue you need to understand that the most important thing is to sell you home and move on! Don't get discouraged if you don't make much in a slowing and reversing market as we are currently in. Remember you'll be purchasing a new home and you'll do wonderfully well on the purchase price!

5) Renting out the home for investment might be the best option for you. In a slowing market where perhaps you purchased high and now you're upside down in the home, it may be a good idea to look at renting it out. Even if you are breaking even or maybe losing a couple hundred per month, that may be worthwhile until the market picks back up. Food for thought.

Right now we are looking at a national slowing in the real estate market. This signal should encourage those that are looking to make a quick buck off their real estate to hold and not look to selling right now. Obviously if you have been in the home for more than 2-3 years, you may be in good shape to sell now if you are looking to upgrade or move closer to work etc., but just to sell, right now would not be wise. This market is definitely a buyers market. Again, a seller that has been in the property for a few years will still benefit from the rise in real estate. For example an area in my market here in Utah has 40 months of inventory to sell. This is not good for sellers unless you've been in the home for 3-4 years and have seen some appreciation because the market has changed dramatically in that area. The last two years of appreciation has evaporated!

If you have out-grown the home, chances are you've been there for 3-7 years, and have seen good appreciation. The best advice right now, is to get with a professional and find out where the market has dropped to. Price it to sell, and you will do well. Seller's number one mistake in a market like this one is: "GREED"! Do not get greedy. Price it where a willing buyer in this type of market is willing to buy and get it SOLD!!!

Trying to sell by owner in a market like this is though. The markets over all inventory in most metropolitan areas have more than double the inventory of a healthy market and that makes a For Sale By Owner's chances very slim. My advice to the FSBO's is to price low and get it SOLD. An agent will be able to put more cash into your pocket, but if you do not want to work with one, price it low enough to entice some activity (Although you may find you do not like the buyers that you'll attract.) To see how an agent can net more cash to sellers read this article (Number 1 Top Reason to use a Real Estate Professional). It's one every FSBO should read.