CondoAdvisory Blog

Well this is something that most people have not had to worry about for a number of years so I thought it may be useful to refresh our memories. In any market conditions properties are always bought and sold, the key is to make sure your property is one of the ones that sell. There are a couple of key principles that make sure you are in this category. Both of these principles work in a rising market as well, but as many of you may have seen in the last number of years, they are not nearly as important in a rising market.

1. Price your property ahead of the market: It is better to lead a market down than to follow it down. If prices are declining and your are always priced right at market value or just above it as most people are (especially if coming off an increasing market) your property will likely not sell, and you will have to continue to lower your price as the market falls to keep at market value or just above. If you price ahead of the market you will be priced slightly less than the current market value which will give you a much better chance of selling. At first people resist this idea as they feel they are selling for less that the market value which they should be able to get, but after months of declines they soon realize that they are now in a situation where the market value is less than they would have achieved if they just been ahead of the market
2. Your property must stand out:  In a declining market there are usually many options for Buyers to choose from, as a result if your property is one of them, it better stand out as being special otherwise it will just blend in the long list that a Buyer looks at and will almost certainly not be the one they remember and ultimately purchase. This is where staging your home becomes almost essential; especially in the condo market where there are almost always many similar products on the market. I know this seems like common sense, but again when you are used to an increasing market this becomes much less important. 

With these 2 principles in mind, it will be much easier to put yourself in the category of the properties that sell, and remember, properties do sell in all market conditions.

If you have any other suggestions or comments, we would love to hear them!