Oct 13, 2008 7:20 pm US/Eastern
Selling Your House In An Economic Downturn
The Right Words In The Listing Can Seal The Deal
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
As the economy continues to decline, home sales have dropped more than 10% over the last year. Still, if you're looking to sell, experts say there are plenty of buyers eager to make a purchase.
Dolf Schmitz is looking to downsize. "It's a large house, 5 bedrooms, 5 baths, and it's not something that I need." But how do you go about selling a house in these tough times?
"Good condition, move-in ready," explained Schmitz's realtor. She says the first and perhaps most important step is describing the property to your advantage.
Two recent studies looked at whether certain sales terms really make a difference. One was done by real estate professor Thomas Thomson. "There seems to be some universal marketing truths," he said.
Buyers like a bargain. Even though it may seem obvious, listing descriptions that say "good buy" and "good condition" will actually catch their eye.
"Houses where it was stated that they were in good condition sold for 3 percent, almost 4 percent, higher than houses that didn't have that comment and they sold about three days faster," said Thomson.
Other terms that work: upgrades and updates. "Houses that indicate they were 'updated' sold for about 5% more than houses that weren't, and they would sell in maybe about a week sooner," said Thomson. But don't confuse "updates" with "new paint." That one actually hurt sales.
"If the only thing a realtor can say about the house is it has 'new paint,' maybe they're covering up that maybe there's not much else good to say about the house," explained Thomson.
Something else that surprised researchers-reaction to the term "motivated seller". As you might expect, those sold for less, but they also took longer.
"The typical house sells in 90-100 days, but once it said 'motivated' it took 2 to 2.5 weeks longer to sell on average," said Thomson.
Interestingly enough, the term "handyman special" actually helped sell a home quicker, but "as is" took longer.
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