My, what a difference a year or two can make, when it comes to selling your home!

If you bought your Anne Arundel County home in the past five years, it's likely that you paid full price - perhaps OVER full price. You might have waived a home inspection, and even an appraisal. Your offer was probably in competition with many others so you resorted to little "tricks" like personal letters to the seller to convince them you were the most worthy buyer for their beloved home.

That was a seller's market, when conditions were highly favorable to home sellers: Fewer houses available than buyers, good interest rates, and an urgency on the part of competing home buyers. Those days are gone, for now. Just when you want or need to sell your home...

No wonder you're frustrated... It's a buyer's market!

Now it is home buyers who find market conditions more favorable to them, not sellers. So, you ask, what EXACTLY does that mean?

There are more homes on the market now in Anne Arundel County than there are buyers. The basic economic law of supply and demand is forcing down home prices, as homes take longer and longer to sell, and homeowners are feeling an increasing sense of urgency about selling their homes . Homes DO still sell, but negotiations now favor home buyers.

FIVE SECRET INGREDIENTS are required for selling your home in Anne Arundel County (or anywhere) in a Buyer's Market:

1. Pricing - Price your home at the low side of the right range, maybe below competing homes for sale with comparable features, condition, size and location.
2. Terms - Offer attractive compensation to selling agents AND buyer incentives such as closing help, pre-paid condo fees, one-year swim membership at Crofton Country Club or Walden.
3. Effective marketing strategy- Decide what one word or phrase best defines your home to consumers, and hammer it in your marketing (Best Value in Davidsonville, Biggest Lot in Shipley's Choice, or Best Landscaping in Crownsville).
4. The "right" agent - Choose an experienced agent who has been successful in previous buyer's markets, one who uses ALL of today's technology in combination with traditional real estate strategies and tactics. This is extremely important because you will rely upon your agent to advise you at each step along the way and to break through the buyer's market barriers on your behalf.
5. Flexibility - This begins with allowing buyers to see your property at THEIR convenience, and not yours. It means that you have a place to move on short notice, if a buyer wants quick occupancy. You are not going to tie up any home sale with a seller's contingency on finding another home. You're willing to settle whenever the buyer is, and you'll negotiate on price and terms.

Market conditions are just one of many factors affecting home sales in Anne Arundel County. We still have single digit interest rates and a relatively strong economy, so the market could be a lot worse. For example, if Governor O'Malley's proposed state tax increases pass in the next legislative session, they are likely to have a negative impact on Maryland housing (20% increase in sales tax, increased corporate taxes that will drive or keep businesses out of Maryland, etc.).

Without a crystal ball, I wouldn't wait to sell, if I were you. Now might be the best time for selling your Anne Arundel County home in spite of the buyer's market.

Facts about the Anne Arundel County real estate market:

• Anne Arundel County Sold Prices
• Anne Arundel County Absorption Rate
• Anne Arundel County Days on Market

Check out this beautiful Anne Arundel County home:

• 3427 Blandford Way, Davidsonville, MD

Photo by Larry J. Puckett, from U.S. Geological Circular 1225--The Quality of Our Nation's Waters--Nutrients and Pesticides