September 01, 2009

What Two Factors Sell a Home

For the past several weeks we have been running about Northern Utah showing properties to those who want to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit. The rules are that you need to be in your home by November 30, 2009 to qualify. This is free money to incent the purchase of real estate. As a result we are busy trying to find just the right home.

One of our clients is looking for herself, her mother, and her aunt and we have looked at homes in Weber and Davis Counties in the $150,000 range. Several of these homes we have liked have already gone under contract because there are other buyers out there as well. Lesson learned is that if you like it make an offer now and not come back in five days after looking at other homes.

As we have looked at many homes I have watched my buyer carefully review each home with an open mind thinking to herself how this home might meet her family’s needs. We have been to some very good homes and a couple that we wonder will ever find a buyer. One home we visited was in such bad condition that we opened the door… were hit with smells that made us turn right around and leave. As we backed out of the driveway and pulled away an officer turned on his squad car lights and pulled us over. He wanted to make sure we weren’t the owners… or dealing drugs as some of the neighbors had complained about after hour visitors. We assured him that we were upstanding citizens and he let us move on to our next house! What drew our buyer’s attention to this house? It was the price. What turned her to another home? It was the condition of the home.

This may be an extreme example, but the two factors that attract buyers in this market are price and condition. If it is not priced to sell and the condition is not good… buyers move on to the next property. The best advice to give our Sellers is to price it right and see that the condition of the house is the best it can be.

Later we visited a home that was priced right and in very good condition and that is the house she made the offer on! Now you know… Price and Condition!

Posted By: Steve Randall