How to Sell Your Home Smart

Jan. 26, 2008— -- In today's sluggish market, the prospect of selling your home can be daunting and extremely stressful.

Gone are the days when a home was sold in two weeks. Gone are the days of selling your home at the asking price. Gone are the days when most any real estate agent could sell a home simply because of a hot market and high demand.

Those have been replaced by days -- no, weeks -- of lowering your asking price and finding the best real estate agent in town. Even then, it could be months before the deal is closed.

Strategy is key to playing this new game, and the best advice anyone will give a potential seller is be prepared.

Dan McGinn, the author of "House Lust: America's Obsession With Our Homes" and Newsweek national correspondent, spoke with ABC News and offered some important tips for anyone getting ready to sell in today's market.

Stage Your Home

Staging a home refers to the way the owner or owners prepare their space to make it more enticing to a potential buyer. The goal, McGinn says, is to create a home in which "anyone can walk in the door and feel comfortable."

As the housing market has sunk, staging has become more and more important in an environment where many people are reluctant to buy. McGinn recommends using neutral color schemes and clearing out all clutter, including some furniture. Cleaning will make rooms appear bigger.

If you're not ready to get rid of all that stuff just to show off your house you can easily rent a storage unit for it until the house is off the market.

McGinn discourages home sellers from having lots of family photos and "anything that is idiosyncratically yours" prominently displayed. You may treasure that collection of ceramic gnomes, but a buyer might see them and be turned off from the whole space.

In short, the decorating needs to be generic, enough that buyers will be able to see themselves living there comfortably with the ability to adjust rooms to their taste and style.

Find the Right Realtor

Again, in a hot market a top-notch real estate agent isn't as necessary, but in 2008 the right agent can help you sell smart. Most important, a good agent will know a lot about the current trends and market prices so he or she can help you get the most for your home.

Real estate can also help you decide which repairs you should make on your home (and subsequently raise the price) and which you should leave for the buyer (allowing him or her to pay less).

Be Realistic

After all, it's possible we're in a recession right now.

Any way you spin it, the housing market is down. According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales in December 2007 were 22 percent lower than in December 2006.

Similarly, the national median existing-home price is down to $208,400 from $221,600 in the same time frame.

Sellers need to be realistic about the price of their home and the time it may take to sell it. Buyers these days need to be persuaded so sellers should expect to negotiate their asking price and keep their homes on the market for months at a time, not weeks.

Be Flexible

Along with being realistic, sellers and real estate agents need to be flexible about every step of the process. From the price to closing day to repairs, the only way to get a good deal these days is to compromise.

Have a Back-Up Plan

If you're not ready to adhere to the above four points but still feel like moving now is the best choice for you, you might want to consider other options for your current home.

Many sellers are wary of participating in such a volatile market and would prefer to wait until conditions are better and more stable. One option is to rent out your home, ideally at the price of the mortgage, and hang on to it without having to live in it.

If you are able to keep your home in any way, you could stand to benefit financially in the future. But, even if you don't, having a back-up plan is essential in today's housing market. Because even after preparing yourself and your home you might find that no offer is worth the money you've put in.

So be prepared to be patient; you may have to go through the process several times.