on the market

According to experts, today’s real estate outlook is a seller’s market. What does that mean for you?

› By Laurel Gillum

The housing inventory is scare, making prices skyrocket when a home becomes available on the market, according to Javier Vivas, manager of economic research at one popular real estate website. Because of this epidemic, many prospective buyers are not able to find an a ordable home for purchase and sellers are losing money.

How then with our present economy can we navigate the murky housing market waters? Here are some tips from the experts themselves—read on.

Buying A Home

Find a good agent. A good agent will treat the MLS like their very own social media platform—constantly checking it for updates and new house listings. A great agent will follow up on homes that have dropped in price and check on homes where the owner may be willing to go down in price. The owner will often be willing to lower their asking price the longer their property has been on the market.

Target rental homes. More frequently than not, homeowners are renting their home because they cannot a ord to wait for it to sell. These landlords could be willing to lease the home with an option to buy toward the latter part of the lease.

Pocket listings. One secret of the seller’s market is “o -market” or “pocket listings.”

Brokerage firms sometimes release listings to their agents before they are available to search on the MLS. A wellconnected agent should be familiar with these contacts, allowing you to see new listings weeks before anyone else has the opportunity to look at them.

Selling A Home

Curb appeal. A picture is worth 1,000 words and will determine if potential shoppers schedule an appointment to view your listing. Make sure the yard is mowed, the bathrooms are clean and the paint is not visibly chipped. The buyer should be able to imagine themselves living in the space.

Use the internet. Research what similar houses in your area are listed for and what they are selling for. A six-month analysis should give you an idea of how much to list your home for.

Be flexible. OBO is a buyer’s (and Realtor’s) favorite acronym. If you receive an o er on your home, do not immediately reject it, even if it is slightly o ensive. Make a reasonable countero er that makes the buyer feel as though you are working with them. Most listings are slightly higher than the owner expects to receive anyway.