Feb. 24, 2006: You'll like the Phoenix real estate market better in April...
A longtime investor client sent an e-mail asking about the value of one of his properties.
"I like it at $225,000," I wrote back. "But I like it even better in April."
It's not a great time to sell a house right now. There are plenty of listings in every type of floor plan in every neighborhood, so buyers have no shortage of homes to choose from. Still worse, many of those homes have been listed for months, so some sellers can be desperate to make a deal.
Not only does your home have to stand out from the crowd, it has to hold its appeal against other, comparable homes that may be much lower in price.
So, although I might really like your house, I like it even better in April.
If you have to sell right now, then you have to. Do everything you can to make your home more attractive to buyers. The house should be kid-glove clean, with the landscaping trimmed, groomed and coifed. Patch and paint inside, and unclutter ruthlessly. Attend to any needed repairs and leave copies of the receipts out for buyers to see.
Price your home to the competition, as painful as that might be. That doesn't mean you have to match a neighbor's fire-sale pricing, but you may have to wait for that home to sell before yours will.
But if you can wait to sell, wait. We're just now coming into the buying season, when people's thoughts lightly turn to thoughts of moving. This should soak up all that excess inventory in just a few months, and you'll be in a much better position to sell your home.
On the other hand, it's an excellent time to buy a house. If you have the resources, either from savings or by taking a line of credit against your current home, you'll find some amazing bargains.
Think of it: You can buy your next home at a discount now and sell your current home for full price later.
It may turn out that you'll like everything better in April.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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Am I link-baiting? You bet. The quid pro quo is free content for your site that pulls eyeballs and excites interest.<a href="http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/" target="_blank"> Phoenix Realtor Greg Swann</a> suggested I share this with you:
