Selling your Home: Get to know the real estate market

When you are trying to sell you home, setting a realistic price that reflects the current market values will help facilitate a quick process and ensure you receive top dollar for your property. When you price your home properly, the chances of receiving an offer that is in line with your asking price significantly increase, and can even result in competing offers, getting you more than you expected.

While a knowledgeable realtor will be able to help you price your home accordingly, you should also do some research yourself. By understanding the workings of the current market you will have a much better understanding of how your house should be valued and why. The market will always influence the value of your property, and here are the conditions that may affect you.

Buyer’s Market

If you’re looking to sell when the real estate market is slow, you are walking into what is called a buyer’s market. This happens when the supply is greater than the demand; that is, there are more homes on the market than there are people looking at buying a house.

In this scenario, you should expect properties to stay on the market for a longer period of time. You will see fewer offers with less frequency, so it may seem discouraging. Because buyers have more properties to choose from, they have the upper hand in negotiations,
which may even result in a decline in prices.

Seller’s Market

Ideally, this is when you want to have your property up for sale — it’s what we call a “hot” market. A seller’s market happens when demand is greater than supply; there are more buyers that homes on the market.

In a seller’s market, homes may sell very quickly, often with multiple offers. This is great for a seller because the negotiating power is yours. The best part of this market is that many homes will sell above asking price as buyers get into bidding wars for properties.

Balanced Market

When supply and demand are balanced – that is, when the number of homes on the market is roughly the same as the number of buyers looking to purchase property – you are entering a balanced market.

In a balanced market, prices will tend to be stable with homes selling within a reasonable amount of time (about 7 weeks). As a seller, you will have some competition for your home because buyers have a decent number of homes to choose from, multiple offers isn’t something to count on. You will want to make sure your home is competitively priced to draw interest and offers.

No matter how much research you do, the knowledge and expertise of an experienced realtor will be invaluable in establishing an appropriate asking price. It is the realtor’s job to know the trends of the current market, inside and out, and to be educated in the other properties currently for sale in your area. With the right realtor, your home can be priced to suit the market and get you the highest price possible in the shortest amount of time.