SELLING HOMES IN 2008 - BROKERS AND AGENTS ARE BECOMING MORE INNOVATIVE AND LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED

THE ONE FORCE ON WHICH THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY CAN RELY. . . . . . Real estate agents and brokers will respond to market forces and work hard to help home owners sell and home buyers buy.  However. . . .

• THE REAL ESTATE MARKET IS SLOW!
• THE REAL ESTATE MARKET IS DECLINING!
• HOMES ARE HARD TO SELL!
• HOME BUYERS ARE WAITING FOR LOWER PRICES! 

Is the Market Slow?  Judging from the "Days on the Market", the real estate market is the slowest it has been in about 20 years.  The numbers of homes sold in most communities has declined steadily for about 3 years.  Yet, the disconnect between the average home price and the average home buyer's ability to buy is still significant.  While home prices have declined to meet demand in some areas, home owners are reluctant or unable to continue to lower prices.  Home owners who must sell, often do not have the resources to take a check to the settlement table to cover a deficiency.  This phenomenon has created a huge market for short sales. 

Is the Real Estate Market Declining?  The Federal Government has declared vast areas of our towns, cities and counties a "Declining Market" for financial services, thereby making home loans harder and more expensive than other areas where prices are ostensibly more stable.  This has created a new demand for the FHA and VA loans.  Agents who eschewed FHA and VA loans in the past few years are rediscovering these consumer friendly mortgage loans. 

Are Homes Hard to Sell?  Indeed!  Home buyers are waiting for prices to "hit bottom" before making a commitment.  While many homes listed for sale are priced back to about what the sellers paid 2-3 years ago, many sellers are experiencing extreme difficulty with buyers ignoring all but the most aggressively priced properties. 

Are Home Buyers Waiting for Lower Prices?  Indeed!  In fact, it is clear from conversations with many "prosepctive" home buyers that the possibility of buying at a steeply discounted price is the only thing that will motivate many buyers.  Many home buyers are only in the market today if they can get the "deal of the century". 

Are Agents and Brokers Becoming More Innovative?  Indeed!  Niche marketing has become more routine for experienced listing agents.  Agents are working hard investigating new services to enhance homes for sale such as staging and working hard finding new avenues to advertise their listings. 

SOME OF THE "NEW" MARKETING TECHNIQUES ARE NOT SO NEW, BUT ARE GETTING A NEW LOOK.

AUCTION MARKETING FOR HOMES FOR SALE

AUCTIONS ARE NOT NEW, BUT HAVE A NEW LOOK.  Routinely used by banks, mortgage companies and municipalities to sell foreclosures, Auction Marketing is again a growing segment of the real estate market.  Auction Marketing offers new exposure for sellers to reach buyers.  Buyers seeking auctions are home buyers who insist on getting the lowest possible price.  Auction Marketing promises these home buyers the opportunity to control pricing by limiting the price to, not just the price set by the seller, but by the highest bid which is controlled by the home buyer.  Auction Marketing does not replace the existing real estate listing and the listing remains viable.  Many agents and brokers are recommending Auction Marketing to their seller clients and, indeed, many brokers have offered this marketing technique for years.  However, Auction Marketing has grown lately due to the added publicity offered to sellers and added opportunity offered to buyers.

EVERYTHING IS RIGHT UP FRONT ON SITE.  Auction Marketing eliminates the "back and forth" negotiating between a buyer and seller, through agents.  No waiting for a phone call or counter offer or counter offer to the last counter offer.  When the Auctioneer says "SOLD", it's over. 

AUCTIONS offer a competing pricing method.  Unlike making an offer on a listing where the buyer has no knowedge of the bottom line acceptible to the seller, with Auction Marketing, the bottom line is usually the opening bid.  Rather than the Seller listing at the highest price they believe the market will pay, the auction begins at the lowest price the seller will accept.  Interested and registered home buyers then compete for the property and control the price they will pay.  If the property doesn't sell during the auction, it remains listed for sale, but the house has been exposed to a number of buyers, agents and consumers attracted to the advertisements for the sale.  This system satisfies the buyers wish for the lowest possible price and the sellers need for the least for which they can or will sell.

AUCTIONS PRESENT NEW ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LISTINGS.  Most homes advertised for Auction Marketing are already or can be listed for sale.  The Auction Marketing is in addition to the tradition listing service.  If the property does not sell at auction, the listing is still active. 

In recent months, with the numbers of homes for sale on the market, AUCTION Marketing has become a popular technique used by smart and experienced real estate brokers to move properties that may have otherwise sat on the market. The publicity for the AUCTION generates good publicity in the very areas where buyers look for homes to buy, in the auction section of the publications specializing in auctions and on the Internet on the auctioneer site and on some real estate agents' sites.  In fact, homes scheduled for auction are often in the Multiple List and that generates further interest for the home for sale. 

Today's home buyers are smart and they have access to a wealth of information on the Internet. Buyers know what is for sale and they know that many homes offered for sale in Maryland are overpriced for today's real estate market. Buyers are looking for good buying opportunities and, due to the publicity of short sales and foreclosures, sellers recognize the value of the AUCTION MARKETING to bring buyers to their property.

Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com, 800-711-7988.

Coming soon:  Open Houses, Broker Opens, Rebates, Agent Bonuses, Buyer and Seller Incentives.