How to Sell Your Home In a Buyer’s Market

Selling your home in a Buyer’s market can be daunting. If you’ve been following my real estate reports over the last few months you’ll have started to notice that the market in Metro Vancouver is beginning to favour home buyers. With more inventory and the slowdown in sales, prices naturally start to come down. And they’re predicted to keep doing so moving into 2023.

Blame it on inflation or a sluggish neighbourhood—either way, selling your home in a buyer’s market is scary. But it doesn’t have to be. The first step is understanding exactly what makes for a buyer’s market.

WHAT IS A BUYER’S MARKET?

Simply put, the term buyer’s market refers to conditions of supply and demand—there are simply more houses for sale than there are buyers. Available inventory, interest rates and the economic outlook all factor into determining market conditions, which impact your home’s value.

In a buyer’s market, you list your home with the understanding that you could be waiting over a month before you get an offer. That gives you plenty of time to pack and to line up a place to move into—which is a big bonus. After selling, you get to reap the benefits of being a buyer in a buyer’s market, including price relativity. 

Waiting the market out might not be a feasible option. So, if you find yourself needing to list your home in an ever increasing competitive market, there are some things you can do to ensure you sell in a timely manner and for a respectable price.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PREPARING YOUR HOME BEFORE YOU LIST

First impressions matter, especially in a buyer’s market. When selling a property, you will want to do everything you can to make the house look as attractive as possible to your potential buyers. Your home needs to be the best on the block in order to get a chance of receiving a good offer. 

It takes more than luck to make that happen; it requires planning and commitment. These are the first things you should address:

1. De-clutter
2. De-personalize
3. Deep clean; inside and out
4. Make minor and cosmetic repairs

Not only do you want your home to stand out from the competition, you also want to avoid offers that come with a ton of subjects and contingencies. If your home shows at its best, potential buyers may not even ask for things like flooring allowances, closing costs or post-inspection renegotiations—which are typical of buyer’s market offers.

With your home in tip top shape, it’s time to decide on the list price.

PRICING STRATEGY

Proper pricing is key to successfully selling your home in a buyer’s market. The last thing you want to do in a buyer’s market is overprice. Pricing your property too high may make it necessary to drop the price below market value to compete with new, better-priced listings.

• A property generates the most interest when it first hits the market.
• The number of showings is greatest during this time if it is priced at a realistic market value.

• Starting too high and dropping the price later is a risk due to the loss of momentum and excitement.
• Many homes that start high end up selling below market value in the end.

Most Realtors will present you with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to help determine the best list price for your home. But in a buyer’s market, I go one step further. I’ll ask you what’s more important to you; money or time? Your answer will pivot the pricing strategy to be less or more aggressive based on your personal goal.

Proper pricing is only as good as the marketing strategy, beyond putting up a ‘for sale’ sign. How are people going to know about your listing? Let’s get the word out!

MARKETING STRATEGY

With so many houses available and so few house hunters in a buyer’s market, you need a smart marketing strategy to stand out over the competition.

The minute your home is staged and your curb appeal is on point, you need to bring in a professional real estate photographer to photograph your home. These photos will be the foundation of your marketing materials.

Your realtor will use these images in property sheets, the MLS database, on their own website, and social media to support their unique marketing approach. Making sure these photos show your home in the best light possible, are high quality, and consistently edited is essential to stopping potential buyers in their search.

Ok, but how much does this really help? Well, of all the buyers house hunting online, 89% found the photographs to be the most useful feature.

Selling your home in a buyer’s market requires a long game marketing strategy, as it may be months before you get your first offer. Luckily, if you’ve listed with a top notch seller’s agent, they’ll be working to keep your listing active.

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