Selling your home - in any market - can be an exhausting experience, both emotionally and physically. But selling in today’s market, with lots of standing inventory, has become especially challenging for sellers and Realtors!

According to new Census bureau data, the vacancy rate of homes for sale is at its highest level since the bureau began tracking it forty years ago. This is not good news for property sellers. The prospect of sitting on a house that doesn’t sell for months on end is frightening, and takes an emotional toll on the seller. But here are our top nine ways to avoid emotional turmoil and sell your property for top dollar.

• 1. Establishing the appropriate selling price for your home is critical! Initially setting the price too high inhibits offers and causes a house to sit on the market and become known as a ’stale’ listing. Setting the price too low may give away thousands of dollars in profit. Either way you lose.
• 2. Accessibility is key. In today’s competitive market, buyers who can’t get easy access to view a home will move on and look - and purchase - elsewhere. Remember, the more accessible you make your home, the greater your chances become for finding a qualified buyer who will pay a fair price for it.
• 3. A buyer’s first impression is everything. Many sales are lost because of cluttered rooms that weren’t de-cluttered, unpleasant odors that weren’t addressed, and thorough cleaning inside and out that wasn’t done! If a buyer is able to look beyond these things, and makes an offer on your home, it will almost certainly be for much less than you’d expect.
• 4. Minor repairs and simple maintenance will often yield more than double the repair cost at the time of sale. Buyers buy what they see. They always perceive repair costs to be higher than they usually are, and makes them wonder what else you haven’t fixed. Simple repairs not being taken care of ahead of time can easily lower an offer on your home by thousands of dollars.
• 5. If your home isn’t warm, inviting, and presented in ’showcase condition’ to highlight the homes best features, it will make a huge impact on buyers’ perception of value . . . again resulting in a lower offer on the home.
• 6. You must remember that once you put your home on the market, you can no longer view it as ‘your’ home. You need to depersonalize the space so the buyers can imagine themselves living there. It is a product to be sold, and should be viewed as a dollar and cents business transaction.
• 7. Every market is controlled by supply and demand. Right now our supply is greater than demand. Buyers are taking this opportunity to shop dozens of homes to compare prices and value. It is imperative that you offer them a home that is in ’showcase condition’, generating a greater perceived value.
• 8. Sellers - and Realtors - who continue to rely solely on traditional methods to market their home will be outperformed by those willing to be innovative in this competitive market. Thinking outside the box in order to find new strategies for attracting potential buyers will greatly increase your chances for a more profitable sale. Be creative with your listing. Offer a home warranty (or other ways to help your buyer sleep well at night) in return for their submitting a serious offer (by being preapproved for financing). Remember, time is money, and why waste time, effort and emotion negotiating with a buyer who ultimately can’t buy?
• 9. Signing with the right real estate agent is key to having a pleasant, profitable selling experience. Their knowledge, marketing methods, negotiating strategy and willingness to go the extra mile can have a huge impact on your success and the profitability of your sale. Choose wisely!

Knowledge can make all the difference in the successful sale of your home. A little time spent now on properly preparing your home as a product to be sold – and a coherent marketing strategy - can save countless hours of frustration . . . and thousands of dollars in profit!