Real estate experts say houses will sell with the right strategy

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(Host) Real estate news has not been especially good of late. Sales are down and foreclosures are at an all-time high.

And with many Vermonters worried about their finances, homebuyers are being more cautious.

But as VPR’s Nina Keck reports, real estate brokers say both buyers and sellers can make out well with the right strategy.

(Boardman) "I get it all the time. People say, `Oh, I can’t believe I have to call you now and sell my house now and I should have sold two years ago and I just can’t believe my timing.’"

(Keck) Brian Boardman is a real estate broker in Chittenden County. He says you have to be realistic, but the market is still good.

(Boardman) "There is more competition out there so you have to be more flexible on the terms and conditions. I mean it used to be a seller’s market."

(Keck) But because it is now a buyer’s market, with more supply than demand, Carol McQuate – a long-time Realtor in Rutland – says sellers will have to work harder.

(McQuate) "If you need to sell your property, you’ve got to make it outshine the competition. Whether it’s by price or condition or some perk that you can throw into the deal."

(Keck) People also need to understand that appreciation rates aren’t what they used to be.

For instance, Brian Boardman says in the first six months of this year, the price of a single family home in Chittenden County went up by only 2 percent to 3 percent.

(Boardman) "I think we have some unrealistic sellers out there and this is what I hear all the time: `My next door neighbor’s sold in 2005 for 200 (thousand) so I’ve added 12 percent for two years.’ So we have some overpriced listings on the market. People are adding to an appraisal that is two years old having heard about this 10 percent and 12 percent appreciation. That’s just not happening anymore."

(Keck) The increase in foreclosures has only added to the number of homes on the market. And with economic and war news bleak, buyers are being more cautious and taking their time.

Boardman says that’s okay. It means people have more choices.

If sellers put in the effort, he says they’ll make out all right, as well – it just may take a bit longer to close the deal.

For VPR News, I’m Nina Keck in Rutland.

 

AP Photo/Toby Talbot

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