Arizona homes for sale

Gimmicks to attract attention fool few agents and buyers October 29, 2001 It's no fun to have your home on the market, particularly if it's not selling. Some sellers get so fed up with the process that they remove their listing from the market temporarily. Is this an effective marketing strategy? In most cases, the answer is no. If you're truly motivated to sell, you should keep your home on the market until it sells. It's hard to predict exactly when the right buyer will come along. But, it's unlikely that the right buyer will find your home if it's not on the market. A home that can't be shown can't be sold. Sellers with unrealistic expectations about the value of their home are a different story. It's easy to understand how homeowners today might think their homes are worth a lot more than the current market will bear. There are plenty of stories about sellers who sold last year and realized huge unanticipated profits. The market has changed. Buyers are more cautious than they were a year ago. If you only want to sell if someone is willing to pay you more than current market value, you should do yourself and prospective buyers a favor and remove your home from the market. Sellers who temporarily withdraw their homes from the market often do so because they assume, or hope, that the market will improve. It's unlikely, however, that the real estate market will change significantly within a short period of time. In fact, this strategy could backfire. If the market softens, you could end up selling for less later than you would if you had kept your house on the market. FIRST-TIME SELLER TIP: Some sellers take their homes off the market for a while because their agents recommend that they do so. Many agents believe that summer and winter are not the best times to sell a home. Spring is typically thought to be the best season for home sales. A recent study by the National Association of Realtors contradicts this notion by reporting that people buy homes all year long. The study found that there is some seasonality to home buying, but not as much as might be expected. Summer accounts for 30.2 percent of home buying activity. Spring takes second place with 25.9 percent. Autumn is third with 24.8 percent, and the slowest season is Winter with 19 percent. Surprisingly, the differences between Spring, Summer and Fall aren't that big. And Winter is far from dead. The bottom line is that you can sell a home any time of year, if it's available to be shown and priced right for the market. Before you take your home off the market, make sure that you're asking the right price. Have your agent complete a new Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for you. The Comparative Market Analysis that your agent prepared for you before you listed your home for sale may be out of date. Find out what has sold since you came on the market. How were these properties priced in comparison to yours? How long did it take for these listings to sell? If the real estate market is slowing in your area, listings will take longer to sell than was the case last year. Some agents suggest that their sellers remove their listings from the market briefly each time they reduce the price. The agent then brings the listing back on the market as a new listing. THE CLOSING: This gimmick is done to attract attention, but few agents or buyers are fooled by this approach. Dian Hy mer is author of "Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer's Guide," Chronicle Books. Copyright 2001 Dian Hy mer Distributed by In man News Features More - Real Estate Columns   FREE reports on homes sold in your zip code Arizona Homes - All available zip code reports Chandler Homes Gilbert Homes Glendale AZ Homes Goodyear Homes Mesa Homes Phoenix Homes Scottsdale Homes Sun City AZ Homes Tempe Homes   FREE custom-made reports on homes for sale Metro Phoenix Southeast Valley. Homes for sale in Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek and Tempe. Phoenix. Homes for sale in Anthem and Phoenix. Southwest Valley. Homes for sale in Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear and Litchfield Park. Northeast Valley. Homes for sale in Carefree, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills, Paradise Valley, Rio Verde and Scottsdale. Northwest Valley. Homes for sale in Glendale AZ, Peoria AZ, Sun City AZ, Sun City Grand, Sun City West, Surprise and Youngtown. Wickenburg homes for sale. Metro Tucson Tucson area. Homes for sale in Marana, Oro Valley and Tucson. Green Valley area. Homes for sale in Green Valley and Sahaurita. Other Great Arizona Towns • Casa Grande homes for sale • Flagstaff homes for sale • Lake Havasu City homes for sale • Payson homes for sale • Prescott homes for sale • Showlow homes for sale • Yuma homes for sale