Every Sunday,  neighborhoods are flooded with flags and signs announcing open houses.  As a successful REALTOR®, how can you make yours  stand out from the crowd, and make a potential homebuyer not only follow those signs to yours, but make them glad they did? 

Laura Coffey  has 10 great tips on how to make your open house a success.

“1. Place the Open House on Realtor.com

The first thing you want to do when you decide to hold an open house is place an announcement on Realtor.com. If you are a featured agent you can do this in your edit listings section. If you are not a featured agent, shame on you! For only a few hundred dollars a year, it will magnify your business.

2. Door Knock the Neighborhood

Here in Santa Clarita, there are many areas where solicitation is not allowed. However, if you are just inviting people to an open house, no harm, no foul. I have a lender that will make postcards for me, and on the postcard, there is a free drawing that one person who visits my Open House will receive a 4-hour limousine ride which is provided by my lender. It gets traffic into the Open House and impresses possible up-and-coming sellers

3. Preview Property in the Area

Any Realtor knows that nine times out of ten, the customer coming through the Open House is not going to buy that particular house. You need to know and see other properties that are less expensive and more expensive and/or larger than the home you hold open.

4. Proper Sign Placement

The more Open House signs you have, the better. I recommend Open House signs that have your name or your web-site on them. It’s great advertising even if someone doesn’t come to your Open House since your name is on busy street corners for hours. Never cut short of heavy sign placement. If you are new and are holding an Open House for another agent, choose location wisely. Next to freeways and high traffic areas are always best.”

Each Realtor has their own “tricks of the trade” when it comes to holding a successful open house. Armed with your previous experiences with open houses, in addition to the rest of Laura’s 10 great tips, you’re sure to have success at your next open house and the many ones that follow.

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Today’s market is a far cry from the “homes practically sell themselves” market that we saw a few years ago. In fact, the buyer’s market we find ourselves in currently is entrenched with high inventories and tight credit.  But even though the pendulum has swung in the other direction, pricing a home remains just as important as it did when sellers could name their price. 

Betty Jung blogs about pricing a home in today’s market:

“In today’s market, where there are numerous sellers and an over abundance of inventory all competing for fewer buyers, adjusting the price downwards may come too late and cost you less in gain than if the home were priced correctly from the beginning. I’ve seen it over and over again. Sellers start their price too high, and the house ends up selling for far less than it would had it started at a proper price point.

Homes that are priced correctly generate attention, activity and a sale.  Over-priced homes sit for longer periods of time, and they are passed over and ultimately result in price reduction after price reduction.  If a house is over-priced and then it has a price reduction, it is often overlooked.  Because it isn’t a new listing, it needs extra exposure and attention in order to get agents and buyers to even notice it.  The house is less appealing because it has been on the market for a long time.  It’s a vicious cycle- the longer the house is on the market, the more stressed sellers become.”

Jung’s approach to selling emphasizes the importance of getting a home noticed. While this includes great photos, online advertising, and word of mouth, none of those things will sell a home if the price is wrong. Get your home noticed by pricing it right.

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We’re getting our home ready for sale and we currently have formica in the kitchen. We have a quote of $4,000.00 to replace our formica with granite. Would we get our money’s worth by replacing the formica with granite, or would we be better off pricing the house accordingly and leaving the granite choice to the buyer?

-John

The market is so different now than a few years ago when buyers were happy to do the work themselves. Today’s market is saturated with inventory and sellers need to go out of their way to make their property look and feel better than the competition. First impressions are key and may be the difference between someone choosing your home over another one. So it’s all about how “marketable” your home is. It’s also about looking at the competition and knowing what buyers expect in your particular real estate market.

For example: if you live in a subdivision where all the homes are similar, but yours stands out because it has upgrades like granite and marble floors, then your house will most likely sell quicker and for top dollar. If the contrary happens, where most homes have granite counters and yours doesn’t, then buyers may pass up on your property or even worse, look at it as a “fixer-upper” or a house in need of upgrades, and they will offer a price accordingly.

So don’t think about “getting your money out” by doing the upgrade, study the marketability of your home and how those upgrades can help you sell your home faster and at a better price.

Ines Hegedus-Garcia is a Miami Beach Realtor with Majestic Properties and authors Miamism.com, PrimeMiamiBeach.com, and MiamismPix.com. She is a founding partner of Team Miamism, one of South Florida’s first realty teams to capitalize on Internet marketing and dedicated to using media innovations to promote their services.

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In most markets, factors like price declines and high inventories have given buyers the upper hand. Now that the tax credit has been expanded to move-up buyers, there are even more buyers competing for desirable properties. First-time buyers can take their time finding the right home, but move-up buyers face a balancing act when buying a new home while simultaneously selling their existing one.

Anthony Licciardello blogs about moving-up and selling at the same time:

“Here is what usually happens: Many folks will look at homes for months until they find the home they like, make an offer, and if the homeowners accept it,  decide it’s time to sell.  Usually, that requires getting the absolute highest price for their house in less than 2 weeks.

The reality of this sale coming together are about the same as a herd of buffalo charging down the street, in a hail storm, between the hours of 5 and 7 pm, on the second Tuesday of the month, on an even numbered calendar day. While some might call this a sale on contingency, I wouldn’t. This is a sale on absolute luck.”

Licciardello continues his post with a list of questions that every move-up buyer should ask themselves. Banking on the sale of your current home to help pay for your new home can really put a strain on your timeline. Licciardello recommends using a qualified REALTOR® and an attorney to help you balance these complicated transactions

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Homebuyers and sellers who want to navigate the real estate market on their own may be in for a surprise. Sure, there may be a considerable amount of “for sale by owner” websites where someone can list their home, and they can even  find comparable values online. However, when it comes to negotiating, no amount of internet searching will give a homebuyer or seller the experience that a REALTOR® can offer.

Kaye Cash blogs about the art of negotiating a deal:

“A successful real estate deal is usually the result of skillful negotiations between two parties. Whether you are a buyer or seller, it is important to understand the negotiating process. Your home is usually the most expensive transaction you will make, and it has the greatest economic impact in your life.

It is imperative, then, that you make sure you are represented by a trained professional who has your best interest at heart.”

Cash continues her post by sharing a few principles she believes are important when negotiating a real estate deal.

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In a buyer’s market, sellers need to find ways to set their property apart from the competition. Upgrades, like granite counter tops and new kitchen cabinet doors, are a great way to attract buyers but probably wont raise the value of your home.  A great way to attract buyers and add value to your home is by retrofitting it with “eco friendly” upgrades.  From energy efficient light bulbs to new water systems, these upgrades will save you money and help sell your home.

Collean McLean blogs about green fixes for selling:

“Many of the talks I give center around advising developers, builders, current homeowners and buyers how to build or retrofit homes and what to look for in a new, efficient, ‘eco-friendly’ home. This month, I would like to concentrate on the seller. With more homes on the market and prices at a plateau or dipping, we are currently in a ‘buyer’s’ market.

If your property is priced well and people are showing interest, often it’s the ‘added value’ from environmentally-friendly upgrades that will tip the scale in your favor. These eco-renovations can make your house the better value.”

Energy efficient upgrades will be focused on more and more as energy costs increase. While changes to a home’s appearance can make it more attractive,  making eco-friendly upgrades will truly set your home apart.

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An experienced REALTOR® is an asset to any home buyer or seller. Through years of training and countless transactions, a Realtor has learned to plan ahead and expect the unexpected. Home  buyers and sellers who are thinking of navigating their transaction on their own would be wise to use the expertise of someone who has been down the road before.

Karen Schlosser blogs about being prepared:

“Being prepared can be as simple as listening to the weather report and dressing appropriately, or as complicated as preparing for a week’s hike on the Appalachian Trail without the frills of hotels, restaurants or even running water.

When it comes to real estate, buyers and sellers need to ‘be prepared’ so surprises are minimized. Can you possibly anticipate everything that could happen? No, but there are some things that seem to be happening over and over that are taking people by surprise. To get to the state of readiness of being prepared, one must anticipate (i.e. expect) what might come up (i.e. the unexpected) using their own and others’ life experiences.”

Schlosser’s message is a reminder of how complicated buying or selling a home can be. With the increasing popularity of foreclosures and short sales, this has never been more true. While some may complain about commission, those who have been through a successful transaction understand how priceless a Realtor’s guidance can be.

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