Buying or selling a home in today’s market means being up on market pricing and trends. As noone has yet determined whether we’re at the bottom of the market, still heading down or on the way back up, it’s critical to keep up with market conditions in your area, pricing and financing options. The best way to guage the market is to take a look at the amount of inventory of available homes currently on the market and at what’s selling. After a few weeks of reviewing inventory and sales data you may quickly determine which homes are likely to sell and which are likely to sit on the market for an extended time.
In a buyer’s market, price is generally king. This seems obvious, but what many sellers may not yet understand is that pricing a home and hoping for an offer isn’t the right strategy for a quick sale. The belief that you can ‘always come down later’ will undoubtedly leave you ‘coming down later’ – again and again. On the other hand, houses that are priced at or just below market value are seeing quicker sales. With so many houses for sale buyers aren’t taking the time to look at homes that are overpriced.
Again, the key to a successful purchase or sale in this market is to be on top of the market. Check the local paper for property transfers, get on an email update froma local broker on new and competing properties for sale and be prepared to buy or sell for a price that’s in line with what similar homes in your area are selling for without regard to whether the pundits think the market is headed up or down.
