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Seller Scoops: Five Suggestions to Protect Your Interests in a Shifting Market (plus a Bonus Tip!)

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Homes for Sale in Fort Walton Beach - Going Up?Shifting markets, whether from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market or vice versa, present special challenges that can be difficult to navigate. The current real estate market in the greater Fort Walton Beach area is shifting into a seller’s market, the pace of transactions is picking up and inventories have fallen, leading to stronger competition for homes coming on the market.

In this environment, situations that may be detrimental to sellers can occur, such as the one described in yesterday’s post about sellers who may have gotten less than they could have for their home due to their Realtors’ apparent rush to get the home under contract. Especially now, at the bottom of the market, owners needing to sell deserve every dollar they can possibly receive from their home.

If you plan to sell your home, in order to ensure that you get the highest possible price in the shortest possible time, it pays to implement the following five suggestions:

  • Be sure to interview at least two or three Realtors before deciding who you want to list with.
    According to the 2011 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, two-thirds of home sellers only contacted one agent and selected them to assist with their home sale. Here is one of many articles describing guidelines for choosing a Realtor.
  • Work with your Realtor to price your home correctly.
    Your Realtor should show you not only comparable sales (what the market has recently paid for similar homes), but also active listings (your competition), pending sales (pricing that resulted in an offer) and expired listings (pricing that didn’t work). Even in a seller’s market, pricing your home too aggressively can potentially reduce your chances of getting the highest possible offer.
  • Follow as many of your Realtor’s suggestions for readying your home for sale as you can afford and have the time to accomplish.
    Many steps you can take are free or inexpensive. Here is a list of ways to maximize your home’s appeal to potential buyers.
  • Don’t be overly anxious to take the first offer, especially if there are several immediate requests for showings.
    It may work in your favor to allow 3-5 days for all immediately interested buyers (your best prospects) to see your home. If even two offers come in right away, your Realtor can then advise all agents with interested buyers that there are multiple offers, and to bring their buyers’ highest and best by a certain deadline. Then once the deadline expires, you can review all offers knowing that all interested buyers have been given a chance to make their best offer, and you then have a measure of confidence that you are getting the best possible price in the current market.
  • Be sure your Realtor explains the advantages and disadvantages of all negotiable terms of the offer contract(s).
    Though your Realtor cannot offer legal advice, they can provide insight into potential issues that may arise based on the terms of each offer. Price is not the only aspect of an offer to consider. Requested inspection periods, closing date, additional contingencies, and in particular, the type of financing and written evidence that the buyer will be able to obtain financing should all play a role in your decision on which offer to accept.

BONUS TIP: The market dictates the appropriate price for your property, so if interest is crazy-out-of-control, you and your Realtor might take it as a sign that your home was significantly under-priced. Why not consider taking it off the market for a day or so, re-price at the level the higher offers were being made, and put it back on the market? (Again, don’t get greedy and overprice or you may shoot yourself in the foot.)

Realtors, whether in a transaction broker or single agency relationship with you, should work to get you the best possible price in the shortest possible time. Most Realtors do just that, according to our established code of ethics. Our recent experience with agents who did not appear to do this for their seller was unsettling, to say the least. Hopefully, this article will provide you the information you need to find and list your home with an ethical Realtor.

Warm regards,

Sharon


Filed under: Home Seller Scoops Tagged: homes for sale in Fort Walton Beach FL, Realtor Ethics, Seller Scoops

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