July 9, 2006 Tampa Tribune
Ask
someone in the real estate industry how business has been lately and
they're likely to tell you it has slowed down compared to last year.
With mortgage rates rising, fewer people are in a hurry to move, and
houses are staying on the market longer.
As
a result of the increase in inventory, sellers are losing their ability
to get top dollar. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says
pending home sales are already showing signs of leveling out,
indicating the housing market is entering a period of stabilization.
Existing home sales are projected to drop 6 percent to 6.65 million
this year from a record of 7.08 million in 2005.
But
if you have to sell anyway because of a move, job relocation or for
some other reason, there are steps you can take to make your property
stand out from the rest.
Mark
Fortune is a Re/Max Realtor whose territory covers most of Southern
California. He says first impressions are critical. "When you walk up
the driveway with a potential buyer, they want to see pride of
ownership. If they don't feel good about the looks on the outside,
they'll find flaws on the inside too. It's critical that your home have
curb appeal if you want it to sell," he says.
That
means trimming the trees, resurfacing the driveway, keeping the lawn
mowed and the plants well manicured. Whatever it takes to make it look
nicer than the neighboring homes on your street.
Inside,
Fortune recommends sellers paint any rooms that need it, replace broken
tiles and dirty carpet and remove the clutter. "You want a potential
buyer to feel like they can just move in and take up residence. Not
like they'll have to do a lot of work to get the home up to their
standards," says Fortune.
Once
you're ready to list your home, seek out an agent who is up on the
latest trends. "Agents used to just put a sign out front, take out an
ad in the local paper and wait for people to come. But the real estate
industry has evolved a lot in the past few years and the old ways of
doing things no longer suffice," says Brendan King, chief operating
officer at Point2 Technologies, a software technology company
specializing in online marketing tools for real estate professionals.
"Online is where people are beginning their search for their new home,
and they're going to a number of different sites for this information.
If you want your home to sell, your listing needs to show up on as many
sites as possible."
Realizing
the importance of the Internet, Fortune signed on for the Point2 Agent
software about 18 months ago to drive his marketing efforts in that
area. He says he really appreciates having the ability to instantly
gain widespread exposure for his listings.
Here's
how the program works. First the agent's listings are captured from his
or her Point2 Agent website and featured on www.point2homes.com. Then
they are automatically syndicated to the most popular real estate
search sites, including Google Base, Yahoo! Classifieds, Trulia and
Oodle.
Fortune says he
also appreciates the feature that allows him to easily put up multiple
photos with each listing. According to a survey done by the National
Association of Realtors, photos are critical. Eighty-four percent of
consumers surveyed ranked them as the most useful feature in the online
home shopping experience. "Agents who use our software can put up to 25
photos with each of their listings, so potential buyers can get a real
good idea of what the house looks like before ever setting foot
inside," says King.
"I've
had people call me up from half way across the world to make
appointments to see houses they found online. Multiple photos and solid
exposure on the Internet really do a good job of helping sell the
property," says Fortune.
So
do the sellers themselves. When working with a Realtor who uses the
Point2 Agent software, homeowners have the unique ability to log in and
add personal comments to the listing. They can tell potential buyers
such things as what makes the property unique, how great the neighbors
are, information about the schools, etc.
To
find a Point2 agent in the region you're shopping in, or to see what
your listing should look like online, log on to www.point2homes.com.