Part 2: Selling “My Long Beach House is Better Than Your Long Beach Home”
In 2008, we are still in a buyer’s market in Long Beach and Southern California. A buyer’s market means that there is more inventory available for sale than the number of homes. So, you, the home seller have to become more aggressive in your pricing and condition of your home; things that you have control over. that we are in a buyer’s market it becomes very competitive for you the home seller.
My Long Beach House is Better Than Your Long Beach Home
After many properties to our buyers, our agents on the team, kind of feel like home owners are in a contest called “My House is Better Than Your House”. Buyers are comparing everything now including floor plan, how the home is staged
or appears…it’s quite interesting to listen to what they truly want in a home. Of course, you will always find people who want to fix up a home but I find that means the home seller is going to receive less on their offer.
Years ago when I started in real estate, on the average, I noticed that traditional buyers inspect 12 homes before deciding to
write an offer…that means that 11 other homes are competiting against your home. The Internet buyer tends to look at less homes in person. The first factor that you need to think about is “Clean”.
The Clean Factor Plays a Big Role in a Home Sale in Long Beach
Most people are turned off by even the smallest amount of uncleanness or odor when buying a home. Sellers lose thousands of dollars because they do not adequately clean. If your house is adequately clean, you will be able to sell your home faster and net hundreds, if not thousands of dollars more.
Think about how a new model home looks like…every thing is clean, staged and in move-in condition. I would suggest using that as an example.
If you are planning on moving, why not get rid of that old junk now so that your house will appear larger. Make more space. Odors must be eliminated especially if you have dogs, cats or young children in diapers or if you are a smoker. You
may not notice the smell, but buyers do. Most agents have a difficult time communicating to their sellers about the odor.
Read also: Part 1: Setting the price of your Long Beach home or condo