Pointers to Help Sell Your Home Now!

Home sales are hurting, and if you're trying to sell yours now, you're undoubtedly feeling the pain. It's a tight market, but not an impossible one. Here are some tips to help you get competitive and find the right buyer.

Was it all just a dream? Only three years ago, home sales and prices were at an all-time high, and real estate professionals were full of smiles. Since then, consumers have felt the pinch of the market, as reality popped the housing bubble in a very big way.

Those dreamy days-and a lot of home equity-are long gone. If you're a homeowner looking to sell, it's time to get acclimated to the current market. Five years ago, all you had to do was put out a FOR SALE sign, and homebuyers flocked to your door. Today, it's a different story.

Price has to be right

No longer can you, as homeowners, command top dollar for a sub par property. You must be extremely price sensitive to the market, even if that means sacrificing some of your home equity. This involves pricing your home within the range of recently sold properties. You should also know the specifics of some of those sales. Were there incentives included? Perhaps a cash rebate or a big screen TV was thrown in to sweeten the deal. Ask someone involved in the sale if there were any discounts involved.

To set your price, work with a realtor, or hire an appraiser to determine comparable values. Don't get greedy-price your home to sell. The days of turning a handsome profit are long gone.

Work with the right agent

If you don't have the time to sell your home yourself, work with a top-notch realtor. Even in down markets, the true pros know how to sell real estate. Interview a number of different agents, and find out their records of success. It's very risky to pair up with a rookie realtor. He may offer you a drastically reduced commission to get your business, but if he can't sell the house, any kind of money-saving deal is futile.

Incentives included

When prices drop and competition heats up, offering extra incentives will help you stand out from the crowd. Many sellers are sweetening the pot with big screen TVs, appliances, and straight-up cash. You can offer any of those items, but consider other incentives. Do you have professional services that could be included in a trade? Bartering your skills for a sale will not only get your house sold sooner, it could lead to business down the road.

Looking back on the last real estate boom, it's easy to get nostalgic for multiple offers and top-dollar sales prices. But today, it's time to wake up and smell the competition: You must be very aggressive and smart if you're going to move your property. It's the only way to compete in a very competitive real estate market.