Tips for Selling Your Home in a Booming Market

The housing market goes through its ups and downs – this is a natural cycle that real estate professionals carefully watch. Often, it follows the overall state of the economy. When the economy is down, fewer people are buying homes. When it's doing well, more people are looking to invest in properties.

When the market is booming, there are many people looking to buy a house. This means that as a seller, you have the advantage. This is especially true if your property is located in a neighborhood that has been revitalized or is seen as the trendy place to live. Unfortunately, some sellers see that the market and is booming and believe they can do very little to their home while still setting a high asking price. This is not the case. While buyers may be competing for the best properties, they do still have options available, and few are going to pay a large sum of money for a home that doesn't meet their needs.

That said, here are a few things to keep in mind when you're selling your home during a booming real estate phase.

Don't Wait Too Long

While you will certainly want to take the time to make minor repairs, paint the walls, clean the carpets, and do some maintenance work to the exterior, you don't want to take too much time in getting your home on the market. If you have a quick remodel project you'd like to do that won't take more than a few weeks, it may be worth completing in order to bump up your asking price. However, if you're considering a major remodel that will take a month or more, look at the market. If it looks like home prices are on the decline and the boom is ending, don't wait.

While the market is booming, you have the advantage. There are more buyers than there are homes on the market, so you may see a bidding war over your home. If it's in the right neighborhood and doesn't have any major defects, you don't need to pour additional money into it. Simply complete repairs do a few quick, minor updates, and list it. Otherwise, the market may settle into a balanced market.

Consider Your Asking Price

Another mistake sellers often make in a booming market is to set their selling price high above the fair market value of the home. They're under the misconception that buyers have so few choices that they will pay much more than the property is actually worth. In very few cases is this true. If you are going to ask for more than the fair market value, don't go much more than four percent above that amount. Otherwise, you may find buyers move on to other options.

Alternatively, you could set your asking price a little under the fair market value and hope to spark a bidding war. If that happens, you'll find that buyers naturally bid up to three or four percent over the fair market value, resulting in about the same amount of profit. Talk to your real estate professional about which strategy tends to work best in your area.

Don't Keep Waiting for the Better Offer

Some sellers keep waiting for someone to offer them much more than a little over asking. They want to see a bidding war that gives them ten percent or more over the asking price, but even in a seller's market, that's not something that commonly occurs. It certainly could in the right neighborhood with the right house, but don't expect it to. If you get an offer that's four or five percent over asking, don't turn it down or wait to act on it because you think someone will offer more. It's likely the buyer will find another property in the meantime and withdraw their bid.

Seek Assistance from a Real Estate Professional

A real estate professional has sold properties when the market is up and when it's down. They know how to maximize your home's potential for both a seller's market and a buyer's market. They will know how to get your home in from of potential buyers quickly so you can take advantage of the booming market.

If you're a part of the LGBTQ community, you may feel more comfortable working with a gay or lesbian real estate agent. These agents often understand what you want in a house and have experience in selling homes in historically gay neighborhoods. You can find many of the top LGBTQ real estate professionals at www.GayRealEstate.com, a website that has been assisting the LGBTQ community with home buying and selling since 1991.