The slowdown in the real estate market has a lot of sellers
pretty darn discouraged. I can't blame them.
Fact is, the slowdown has a lot of real estate agents pretty darn discouraged too!
While surfing the internet recently, I ran across some ideas that may help sell your house in this slow market. First, let me give credit to Aimee Blanchette of the Star-Trubine who wrote the original article. She had a conversation with a professional home stager named Lori Matzke in Minneapolis which is where these ideas came from. These are some proactive ideas that home sellers can do right away -- and most are pretty easy and inexpensive.
1. Spruce up the outside. Paint the trim, columns, and your entrance door.
2. Clean the window screens.
3. Put fresh mulch in your flowerbeds and maybe a potted plant or two by the front door.
4. If you have a mirror or painting over a fireplace, remove it. Let buyers concentrate their attention on the fireplace.
5. Move furniture about 18 to 24 inches away from the walls. Believe it or not, this creates the illusion of added space.
6. Take all the magnets and other clutter off your refrigerator.
7. Use colorful spreads to liven-up bedrooms.
8. Clean or re-grout bathroom tiles.
9. If your bathroom vanity is outdated, replace it with a trendy pedestal sink. It will make your bathroom look larger and more up-to-date.
10. Since first impressions mean a lot in real estate, replace your old storm door with a new full-view door.
Here's another idea for selling property in a slow market. This comes from Sue McAllister writing in the San Jose Mercury News. Throw a party!
Apparently real estate agents and property owners in California have decided that a great way to get people into homes in a slow market is to throw a party. Invite the neighbors. Invite local real estate agents. You can even arrange for a "progressive party" in which several houses participate from 5:00 PM until 8:30 PM. Serve some wine and cheese at one house, light snacks at another, something more substantial at a third and perhaps some desert at a fourth. If people go see all houses on the progressive party, give them a gift certificate to a local restaurant or business as a way of saying thanks.
Real estate agents have been doing this kind of thing every Thursday for years; it's called a Broker's Open. It gets agents -- hopefully agents who represent buyers -- into the house so they can preview it and see if they think their buyers would be interested in it. This has proven to be a great idea, and it might work as a late afternoon concept for the general public as well.
Why not give these ideas a try if you're selling? They won't hurt and may help you sell your house this coming weekend!
Fact is, the slowdown has a lot of real estate agents pretty darn discouraged too!
While surfing the internet recently, I ran across some ideas that may help sell your house in this slow market. First, let me give credit to Aimee Blanchette of the Star-Trubine who wrote the original article. She had a conversation with a professional home stager named Lori Matzke in Minneapolis which is where these ideas came from. These are some proactive ideas that home sellers can do right away -- and most are pretty easy and inexpensive.
1. Spruce up the outside. Paint the trim, columns, and your entrance door.
2. Clean the window screens.
3. Put fresh mulch in your flowerbeds and maybe a potted plant or two by the front door.
4. If you have a mirror or painting over a fireplace, remove it. Let buyers concentrate their attention on the fireplace.
5. Move furniture about 18 to 24 inches away from the walls. Believe it or not, this creates the illusion of added space.
6. Take all the magnets and other clutter off your refrigerator.
7. Use colorful spreads to liven-up bedrooms.
8. Clean or re-grout bathroom tiles.
9. If your bathroom vanity is outdated, replace it with a trendy pedestal sink. It will make your bathroom look larger and more up-to-date.
10. Since first impressions mean a lot in real estate, replace your old storm door with a new full-view door.
Here's another idea for selling property in a slow market. This comes from Sue McAllister writing in the San Jose Mercury News. Throw a party!
Apparently real estate agents and property owners in California have decided that a great way to get people into homes in a slow market is to throw a party. Invite the neighbors. Invite local real estate agents. You can even arrange for a "progressive party" in which several houses participate from 5:00 PM until 8:30 PM. Serve some wine and cheese at one house, light snacks at another, something more substantial at a third and perhaps some desert at a fourth. If people go see all houses on the progressive party, give them a gift certificate to a local restaurant or business as a way of saying thanks.
Real estate agents have been doing this kind of thing every Thursday for years; it's called a Broker's Open. It gets agents -- hopefully agents who represent buyers -- into the house so they can preview it and see if they think their buyers would be interested in it. This has proven to be a great idea, and it might work as a late afternoon concept for the general public as well.
Why not give these ideas a try if you're selling? They won't hurt and may help you sell your house this coming weekend!
