Sell Without a Realtor in This Market?

The real estate market began its downward slide (in some areas, plunge would be more accurate) in the second half of 2006. It's now four years later, and things are no better. Four years is enough time to be discouraging to even the Pollyanna's among us.

Given the state of the market, is it really sensible to sell your home (or other real property) yourself?

Yes, but with a caveat. It makes sense to sell your house yourself if it would make sense in a good market. That is to say, if you have some knowledge of the sales process, have bought and sold real estate before, have some business sense, take responsibility for your decisions, have some time and money to devote to the project, and aren't earning so much money that you'd be better off working at what you normally do and paying a realtor.

The principals of selling are the same whether the market is hot or cold. The property needs to look good, be priced right, and get enough exposure that the person for whom it's right notices that it's FOR SALE and comes to look at it. Very simple really. The difference is that in a hot market, a buyer is likely to come along at a very early point in the process, and in a slow market, you may think you've done everything humanly possible and be ready to pull your hair out before a buyer shows up.

Sellers need to have patience. That's true whether you're working with a realtor or on your own. You need to constantly monitor to be sure that the property looks good, that's it's priced appropriately, and that it's getting exposure in as many places as possible. Signage, an internet presence, classified newspaper ads, newsletter ads, flyers, bulletin board postings, brochures, and anything else you can think of and afford should be done persistently to get the word out.

Perhaps a word of caution is needed about price. Being appropriately priced is important in a good market; it's absolutely critical in a slow market. What people sometimes do in a declining market is to slowly reduce the price they are asking in a pattern that's just behind what the market is doing. The result of following market price down this way is that the property lingers on the market for a very long time. This is painful.

How do you avoid "following the market" down?

Again, it's simple really, but hard on the nerves. Do your best job of figuring out market price initially, and remember, we're talking about what similar houses nearby have actually sold for, not asking prices (that just tells you what the competition currently is), and not what you'd like to get or need to get (that tells you nothing about what a buyer will be willing to pay). Then put all your marketing tools to work - signs, ads, etc. Give it two to three weeks. If you don't get calls and showings (and you really are doing a good job of marketing), your price is too high. Reduce it.

Then get info about the new price out everywhere the old one was. Add more marketing outlets if possible. If this gets the calls and showings started, great. If not, repeat the process. Remember, don't wait months with nothing happening. Get the word out, monitor results, and take corrective action if needed.

Yes, selling without a realtor makes sense, but it does take work, thought, and some money. In essence, either you "earn" the commission, or a realtor does. If you're equipped to handle it, why not do the job yourself?