I found an interesting article at the Forbes.com website that was written by two gentleman who have also written a book about selling in slow markets.

Forbes has an interesting habit of publishing an article that contains some information, then they provide an “In Depth” option which takes you to a slide show that has additional information.  Since I found some good information in this article, I’ll summarize both the article and the “In Depth” information for you.

Tips for a Quick Sale

1.  Price the Home to Sell – You’ve heard this many times, and it’s true that you need to do the homework to make sure you’re setting a realistic price.

2.   Price the Home in Standard Price Ranges – Since so much of home searches are done on MLS search sites, price the home to be easily found by the most likely buyers.  You may want to set the price at $330,000 and plan to sell for $300-$325,000. 

But, in a tight market, buyers may only search in the $300-325,000 range and never find your listing.  It’s a tough call because it gives you less room to negotiate, but it’s an important issue to consider.

3.  Be Prepared – Yes, just like those trusty Boy Scouts, make sure you have all the information a buyer would need to make a decision, and avoid lengthy delays.  That would include information about schools, taxes, utilities, association fees, etc.

4.  Prepare the Home – Staging is even more critical in a tight market.  Your listing needs to be the one that stands out in people’s minds. 

I saw a horrible online listing the other day for a $2 million house.  There were only about three lines of description, and the photos of the home were definitely lacking.  For one thing, someone should have told them to remove the neon blue table cloth from the beautiful dining room table.   Little things can go a long way.

5.  Make Your Flyers Count – I have a client who markets upscale properties.  We create a 4-page flyer for each of his listings.  The flyers take the reader on a tour of the home, with brief descriptions of the key elements in each room shown. 

My client prints the flyers on 11×17″ paper, then folds them in half to make an 8.5×11″ flyer that looks like a real brochure.  The flyers stand out in the minds of the recipients – and his sellers!

6.  Use Open Houses Wisely - The authors suggest holding an open house every weekend for the first three weeks the home is on the market.  Another good idea is to hold a drawing for a door prize for instant lead generation!

7.  Market the Home to Likely Local Buyers – Often there are neighborhoods close to your listing that are likely places where move up buyers live, or those looking to downsize.  Get a list of all the homes listed in those neighborhoods and market to those sellers directly.

8.  Offer Terms – As the mortgage market is in flux, anything you or your seller can do to offer creative financing alternatives is helpful.

9.  Consider a private Auction – You don’t have to sell if your reserve price isn’t met, and it will ensure a good crowd for open houses.

10.  Remember the First Offer Rule – This is something I’ve not heard of, but the authors consider it a standard real estate marketing principle.

Sellers have a tendency to want to hold out for something better if they get an offer in the first few weeks after the home is listed.  The First Offer Rule states that the “bigggest fish usually bite first”.  Often the first offer is the best.

Oddly enough, I was talking to a mortgage lender the other day who was working with a pre-foreclosure situation.  The seller had received one offer shortly after the home was listed, but didn’t take it.  That was three years ago.

A Tip to Save Your Sanity – and Pocketbook

Don’t Take a Listing if the Sellers Aren’t Realistic About Pricing - This isn’t in the article, but it’s an important issue.

In a slow market, some agents are tempted to take any listing they can get.  If the house is priced unrealistically, the agents spend a lot of money promoting the listing and arguing with the sellers about price reductions.

The smart money in a slow market is on making sure that any listing you take is priced to sell.  Walking away from a listing can be painful, but much less so than trying to market a home when you know it won’t be profitable.