The latest numbers are enough to make owners think twice before putting their residences on the market: According to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors, July housing sales across the country fell by 27.2 percent. July sales represented a 15-year low, and the biggest one month drop in housing sales in history.
Yes, that's pretty depressing.
Try being a real estate agent in this housing market. That's tough, too. But Suzy Frederickson, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Team 2000 in Orland Park, has an idea of how both real estate agents and sellers can best get through this dismal housing market: They have to get back to the basics.
For real estate agents, this means marketing homes aggressively. It means promoting residences to their fellow agents, advertising them in niche publications and posting them on as many appropriate online sites as agents can find.
For sellers? It means setting the right price and making sure a house looks as perfect as possible during a showing.
This is nothing new, of course. These have always been the keys to selling a home quickly and for the best price, no matter the market. But today these basics are more important than ever.
"There are no real secrets," Frederickson said. "You have to clear out the clutter in your home. You have to make sure your home has that curb appeal that will get buyers to stop and look inside. These are the rules of thumb with any home."
And pricing? That's critical. When Federickson looks at the homes that have been on the market the longest in her sales area, she notices one thing: Many of them started out with higher price tags. These homes were not priced properly for a sale in today's economy.
Remember, buyers don't care what you paid for your house in 2004. They only care about what they feel comfortable paying today.
