Residential sales are slow. Want to sell? Stand out from the crowd!

Looking at the land title changes over the past several months, there is one thing that stands out in my mind. Properties selling over $200,000 are few and far between. Two, sometimes three properties within the Town of Vulcan have sold over the $200,000 mark over the past few months. There is still a large inventory of houses on the market, and not many people looking at those houses. Perhaps after harvest, which is almost done, there will be more people looking.

As I have said before, if you have a house for sale in town, make sure that it is priced competitively and that you have it stand out from the others. Curb appeal is a big thing that people are looking at. When potential buyers drive through town, they want to see properties that are well taken care of, that show pride of ownership. Put yourself in their shoes...would you want to look at a house that has a well groomed lawn, trees are trimmed, fence painted, with no clutter in the yard...or would you prefer a house where the grass has not been cut in months, the fence in falling down and/or needs to be painted, and there are all sorts of bikes and junk in the yard? The answer seems simple to me...

Clean up the yard. Get rid of the junk. Paint your fence, the trim around the windows, through a coat on the deck. Simple little things like these could make the difference between me getting a call on your house, or the one down the street.

One more thing...be ready for showings on short notice, especially on the weekends. I know it can be a pain in the butt, but the inconvenience of a quick showing may end up saving you from the stress of having your house on the market for an extended period of time. Be proactive. Be prepared.