How long does it take to sell a home in Orlando?
The Orlando Real Estate Association reports that in July, 2010 the average time it took for a home to come under contract was 85 days. This is down significantly from July 2009 when it took 101 days for a home to receive a contract.
Orlando homeowners can take steps that will further help speed up the time it takes to receive a contract on their home. Here are a few suggestions that will help you receive an offer on your home before your competition does:
List the home correctly from the start. Testing the market by overpricing your home in the beginning will lengthen the time your home stays on the market. Market conditions in Orlando are not suitable for listing above the suggested market value provided by your agent.
According to a 2009 survey conducted by the National Association of REALTORS® , 4 out of 10 homebuyers purchased a home for the first time. First time homebuyers are budget conscious and are looking for the right house at the right price. Overpricing your home results in 40% of the potential buyers in the market from ever considering or viewing your home. With assistance from their Real Estate agents, first time homebuyers will seek find homes and negotiate with sellers whose homes are reasonably priced.
Making the home hard to show will extend the time your home is for sale. If buyers are forced to work around your tight schedule, they may elect to pass on viewing your home for a similar home that is much easier to see.
From a buyer’s viewpoint the market shelves are full of inventory. Bank owned, short sale, distressed, pre-foreclosure and well priced homes with equity are abundant throughout Central Florida. If your home is not available when the buyer is ready to look they will, in some cases quite literally, walk next door to view your neighbor’s house and forget all about yours.
A hands-on experienced Realtor has shown buyers today that a house priced correctly can receive multiple offers and be sold within days. Waiting around for the seller to be available for showing makes no sense to the buyer or their agent and could result in the seller not reaching a timely sale.
The selling market is extremely competitive right now in Orlando. Sellers who want to reduce the time it takes for them to sell their home should follow the suggestions above and call me to discuss a personalized marketing plan for their home.