When the market slows down, we see many home and condo sellers in the Edmonton area, particularly those that have been trying to sell for a while, think about renting the home instead.

On the surface, this make lots of sense. You get to opt out of the market for a while and you receive rental income. However, for many home and condo owners this is a BIG mistake.

First, let’s consider why the home is not selling?

Fact is a well-positioned and correctly marketed home or condo, should sell in less than 60 days in ANY market. If you are not meeting with success, it’s likely because:

-          You may need more information about the market, (see our annaul Market Reports here)

-          You may need to do preparation, (see this link on

Situation

Barb and Kevin came to us after being referred by another client. They wanted to sell their condo and move to the south of the province to be near their grown up children. They were experienced home sellers and their first inclination was to call Comfree as they had some good experiences in the past. They have since heard that it’s tougher to sell by owner in a crowded market such as we have now. Neither did they have the time required to handle the marketing of their condo in Leger and they were looking for a professional company to handle the sale. They did NOT want to pay traditional real estate commissions.

Result

We were happy to work with Barb and Kevin and a very successful outcome was achieved. After only 32 days on the

The time has come to reap the rewards of your investment. You have spent years maintaining the property, moving tenants in and out. But now is the time to cash out.

Will this be straightforward? Perhaps you favour listing the house or condo with your tenant in place. On the surface, this makes sense. You will have income during the time that the house is on the market and hopefully someone, perhaps an investor, will just scoop it up. Right?

Unfortunately, usually only multi-family buildings with comprehensive rent rolls sell this way. You should also note that only about 50% of all houses and condos listed on the Edmonton MLS® system actually sell. This includes well prepared homes being sold by their occupants, (see this link for hints on

Situation

Dan and Susan purchased the Comfree program first. After more than 180 days on the market, lots of advertising on Kijji and several open houses they got nowhere. A few showings, but no offers.

Dan and Susan had reached that point in life where the children had left home and they were ready to look at condo life. They had to do something, but they were simply not comfortable paying expensive traditional REALTOR® commissions.

Result

Dan received one of our circulars and called Stuart Neal the broker here at Ambergate Realty Advisors. Stuart came to the house and provided Dan and Susan with a consultation. They made the decision to engage Ambergate Realty Advisors. Was this a wise move? Here is the result. Ambergate Realty Advisors

Selling a home is an emotional roller coaster. If your home sells quickly, then your most likely response will be one of elation and relief. In some cases you may question the value received for the commissions you paid out to your REALTOR®, especially if you chose to work with an expensive traditional REALTOR®.

But what happens if your home does not sell right away?

Providing you chose your REALTOR® and brokerage wisely (go here for tips on selecting a REALTOR®) you are in good hands and your selling success is just a few important decisions away.

However, you will face a series of emotions. After helping hundreds of home sellers along the way, (see our testimonials page) we have watched them go through a ladder of emotions. You may find

The Power of More Than One Buyer

As a home seller, if you miss this miss this crucial step during the marketing process, you risk leaving thousands of dollars on the proverbial negotiating table. What is this step?

Failing to find more than one buyer for your home

The trick is to position the home in the market so that over a reasonably short period of time, perhaps only a week or 10 days, a good number of showings take place – ideally a dozen or more.

How will you position your home for success?

Read this link about the 8 Repairs to Complete Before You Sell Your Home. Did you know the first 5 seconds are crucial to how a buyer perceives your home?

You should also consider home staging.

What to do when an offer comes in?

Rather

Summary:

The month of May 2017 has proven to be very interesting indeed. Values are down, inventory levels are up. Days on market remains stable.

Days on Market

For May 2017, days on market was exactly the same as for 2016. Homes sold, that is those that went under contract and were reported sold to the Edmonton MLS® system, were taking only 52 days to sell.

Sales Values

Buyers were quite successful in negotiating meaningful discounts in May 2017.

Typically, home sellers received 1% LESS than they would have a year ago. This represents an average price drop of around $4500. The average home price in Edmonton for May 2017 was $383,211. This includes all types of homes, for example, single family, condos and mobile homes.