How to avoid the real estate dead zone

The real estate market in San Antonio (and much of the country) is very active and move in ready homes are selling extremely fast. It is critical to a successful sale that you and your realtor know what the market is doing. Failure could land you in the “dead zone”.

The dead zone

The dead zone is that area where homes sit for months and months with no serious offers. To avoid the dead zone you need to make sure that your home will appeal to one of the two most common types of buyers in today's market, Investors or those looking for a primary residence.

The buyers looking for a primary residence want move in ready, while investors don't want to pay more than 70% of market value. If your home is not move in ready or priced around 70% of the market value, than you may be in for a long wait. 

Houses are flying of the market right now

I hear this a lot, but this does not mean that your house will sell quickly irregardless of condition or price. Some people assume that because the market is so active they can overprice their home or cut corners on the listing. This is simply not the case and will cost you big if you make that mistake. 

Move in ready is not the end all be all but if your home is not move in ready you will need to take the cost of updates/repairs and then some off. Todays buyers are busy and don't want to mess with repairs or updates. To make it worth the buyers time you will have to reduce the price substantially to cover the cost of repairs and the buyers time. 

Factor in the cost of repairs and subtract it from the current market value of the home. Then subtract another 10-15% off the market value (before repairs) and you will have a list price that should get peoples attention. Anything short of that and it is just not worth peoples time. They will keep looking for something that is move in ready.  

What is move in ready?  

Move in ready means just what it sounds like, someone can move in and not have to do repairs. People not only don't want to do repairs they don't want to do updates either. People want the wood floors, granite counter tops and bathrooms that are functional and current. Neutral paint color is a key as well, you are trying to appeal to the broadest group of people so keep it neutral. 

Closing

Closing is the goal of any real estate deal. In closing this post keep in mind that investors are business people and are looking at the bottom line. The most common formula most investors use calls for them to get the house at 70% of market value. They don’t need the home and aren’t going to overpay. 

The up side is that investors can pay cash and they don’t care about condition so you won’t have to make repairs. People looking for a primary residence may be willing to do some work but your going to have to make it worth their while. Take the cost of repairs/updates subtract that plus another 10% and you may catch their attention. If that is too much than I would suggest getting your home move in ready and not risking it.