Buyer Incentives: How to Use them to go from For-Sale to Sold

As we get closer and closer to Christmas, most people assume that the housing market comes to a standstill. Although it’s true that things have a tendency to slow down until after the New Year, it would be a mistake to operate under the assumption that nothing is happening. Plain and simple, serious buyers are still looking to buy, while earnest sellers are still hoping to sell.

For homeowners, operating within the holiday market requires a bit of give-and-take, especially when making the decision to keep interested buyers on the hook. While it’s important to work with an experienced Realtor who can help you establish a plan of action during the winter months, if you’re not too excited about the prospect of lowering your asking price, you may want to consider throwing in a few “extras.”

The purpose of buyer incentives is to not only attract attention, but to keep interested buyers from looking elsewhere. It’s not entirely unusual to hear about sellers who are offering things such as all-expenses-paid vacations or things of the like; however, if you’re going to pay for a trip, you might as well just put that extra money towards lowering your price. At the end of the day, that’s what most buyers care about anyway, so make shopping during the holidays worth their while.

With that being said, two of the most realistic ways to maintain buyer interest is to:

1. Offer to pay some closing costs, and

2. Offer to leave some furniture in which the buyers have shown an interest.

CLOSING COSTS

For buyers, especially first-time home buyers, the process of looking over all of the expenses that accompany the closing process can be overwhelming. Therefore, you may want to consider offering to defray some of the title insurance and title search fees, escrow fees, and inspection fees. With that, buyers are generally expected to prepay a year’s worth of the homeowner’s insurance premium, so offering to assist with these expectations can be a big help.

Another option to consider is offering to cover the cost of a home warranty, which often provides buyers with added peace of mind, as well as potentially saving them some unexpected expenses.

FURNITURE

While sellers are already required to leave any fixtures that are affixed to the property—i.e. light fixtures, door knobs, etc.—anything that doesn’t fall into this category is technically yours. However, chances are good that you may have selected certain pieces of furniture expressly because they fit with the house, such as an energy-efficient stackable washer and dryer, a patio set, or wall-to-wall bookcases.

For the prospective buyer who has shown an interest in these types of items, you may want to consider offering them as part of the package, especially when doing so will make the difference between selling and remaining on the market.

If you’d like to learn more or are looking to get your home sold as soon as possible, I can help. With an extensive background in corporate marketing, I know how to not only get your home seen by the right people, but to successfully negotiate a final sale in all types of market conditions.

Please call me to learn more.

Pam Evans | Hello Pam Evans Real Estate | www.HelloPamEvans.com | 678-778-6551