The Offical Open Houses Blog by OnlyOpenHouses.com

Home sellers are seeing their properties languish on the market for years, in some cases. It is beginning to seem normal to see properties that have been listed for more than 360 days

As we end this year, the news isn’t going to look a lot better for home sellers.

Unemployment is extremely high and companies are still laying off workers in many areas. Where unemployment is high, foreclosures are spiking.

Speaking of foreclosures, the number of homes receiving a foreclosure notice hit an all-time high in 2009, but the number is expected to rise further next year (perhaps as high as 4 million).

While the number of homes on the market (known as the housing inventory) has shrunk a bit, there is a shadow inventory of as many as 2.5 million homes that hasn’t even been listed. This includes properties where homeowners are delinquent on their mortgage and bank-owned properties (also known as REO properties).

The only pieces of good news: mortgage interest rates hit a 50-year low twice in 2009, falling all the way to 4.71 for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and 4.25 percent for a 15-year loan, and the federal government offered the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and in November introduced the $6,500 trade-up tax credit.

Unfortunately, home sellers are going to find tougher conditions all around next year, as the tax credits end, mortgage interest rates rise, and the number of foreclosures increases.

More economists and industry observers are saying that the housing industry will make an extremely slow recovery due to the lack of jobs and the tightening of credit.

Still, if you have to sell in 2010, keep the following New Year’s Resolutions for Home Sellers in mind:

• Overcome any possible objections a buyer would have.

Sellers don’t often understand that their primary job is to not only eliminate any potential objections that would stand in the way for a buyer to make an offer, but to exceed their expectations as well. If your home is competitively priced, and your home’s condition exceeds a buyer’s expectations, you’ll get an offer – even if it isn’t the offer you want.

• Get your home into selling shape.

Cleaning your home is a must. After that, you should consider hiring a stager to give your home the television-worthy polish so many buyers expect today. Assess what other sort of work needs to be done, such as fixing things that don’t work, touching up paint, or cleaning or replacing your carpets.

Decide if you need to update your landscaping, and paint, clean or tuck point your home’s exterior.

• Invite at least three agents to create a comparative marketing analysis.

Often, sellers simply call the agent who sold them their home to list it. While you may wind up hiring that person, you’ll be doing yourself a favor if you invite a couple of other agents in from different firms. That’s because each will bring different ideas to the table about how much your house is worth and what kind of marketing plan will work.

• Understand what it will take to sell your home.

If you live in an area littered with foreclosures, you may have to meet that price point in order to sell. Is it worth it? Probably not, but you’ll have to really evaluate price and timing in order to get the most for your property.

• Be realistic about the market.

Find out what is selling, and what the average number of days on the market it for homes that are selling. Accept the reality of your local market and make sure you price your home realistically. Don’t blame your broker if you don’t get 3 offers over your list price within 24 hours of putting your home on the market. Sellers who set sky-high prices could wait months for an offer and may wind up with the same price they would have had if they’d priced their home correctly the first time – or a lot less. In this real estate market, one of the worst things you can do is over price your home from the onset. If you price it below where it should sell, you may start a bidding war and will sell your home faster and for more money.

• Know where you’re going.

I don’t recommend putting in an offer on another house until you have some serious interest in your current property. It’s fine to start researching other neighborhoods, but if you’re not sure what you want to do, consider renting on a short-term or month-to-month lease. These days, landlords are hurting and they may be perfectly happy to accept a 6-month lease.

• Read all documents thoroughly before I sign them.

Why would someone sign a legal document he or she hasn’t read? I’m not sure, but home sellers do it every day. If you’re going to sell (or buy) in the coming year, promise yourself that you’ll take the time to read and understand the listing contract, offer to purchase, and loan documents for your next purchase. (If you’re taking back a loan for the home buyer, have an attorney prepare the documents so you are sure to be protected.) Unless you’ve got cash to spare, a mistake in these documents and the warranties they contain, could seriously affect your finances.

• Not be driven by greed.

One big mistake many sellers make is to get a little greedy, particularly if the first offer is above the minimum acceptable price you’ve set. Then, the negotiation becomes a game of how much you can get.

Remember, a successful sale means everyone walks away feeling happy. If you get so greedy that the buyer walks away, you’ve let the deal get the best of you. Resolve to be reasonable and you’ll end up shaking hands with the buyer at the closing. You should also know that there are fewer buyers out there and if you lose a buyer it might take you quite some time to find another one.

Selling a house is a lot like romance. It really pays to set the mood.

Real estate pros call it staging — showcasing the best side of a home to create interest and help you get top dollar.

“Because the market is so strong, the houses that are planning for maximum impact are generating the sales,” says Ron Phipps, a principal broker with Phipps Realty and Relocation Services in Warwick, R.I.

Here are 20 tricks to selling your home from the pros:

1. Make room. Clear out as much furniture as you can. Put it in storage, give it to Goodwill Industries or have a garage sale.

“What you want to do is open the house up so it does not look cluttered — it looks spacious,” says Michael Love, president of Interior Options Inc., a New York interior design firm. “And people can picture their own stuff in it.”

Hallways and doorways, in particular, need to be clear and open.

2. Use counter intelligence. Go through the house and clear off all the horizontal surfaces like kitchen and bathroom countertops. Old magazines? Toss ‘em. Knick-knacks? Pack ‘em. Counters need to be clear and clean.

3. Follow your nose. A home should smell good. That means no noticeable odor — no pet scent, no stale cooking smells and no cigarette smoke. “People just don’t realize how much odor plays into this,” says Scott Griffith, president of ERA Griffith Realty in Brighton, Mich.

“And I find that people who smoke or have pets become so accustomed to the smell, they don’t notice it,” Griffith says. Instead, have a friend whose judgment — and nose — you trust give your home the real sniff test.

Remember the old story about the smell of baking bread or steaming cinnamon potpourri? Today’s real estate pros say it’s a no-no. Ditto the scented candles and air freshener.

“If you just go through with Lysol before a showing, that won’t help,” says Dan Lee, vice president of First Weber Group Inc., in Madison, Wisc. Instead, get rid of scent problems at the source: scrub the house, have the air vents cleaned, replace old, smelly carpeting and smoke outside.

4. Remember, the next buyer is as lazy as you are. If the property needs work — dated wallpaper, ratty carpet — have it replaced now so that all buyers have to picture is moving day. “Most people want it before they move in,” says Myra Zollinger, an owner/partner with Coldwell Banker Realty Center in Chapel Hill.

The more changes buyers calculate they’ll have to make in the home, “the more concerned they get,” says Richard F. Gaylord, Realtor with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif.

5. Do the baby test. Does your potential market include families with young kids? If so, ask yourself, “Would I put my child down on this floor to crawl around the room?” says Dick Koestner, a partner in Koestner McGivern & Associates in Davenport, Iowa. If not, you know what you have to fix. Likewise, if your walls sport grimy smudges or handprints, it might be worth it to paint.

6. Deep-six the cigarettes. Buyers are much more sensitive to cigarette smells, says Zollinger. “If somebody’s a smoker, he doesn’t smell it.”

Having a smoker in the house also eliminates a lot of potential buyers. Many shoppers won’t even want to tour a home if the owner is a smoker.

7. Make your home ageless. There’s a difference between an old house and a classic home. “If the house looks 40 years old with 40-year-old paint, 40-year-old appliances and 40-year-old carpet, that’s a hard sell,” says Phipps. Keep everything fresh and up-to-date (read well-maintained) and you have a solid home in an established neighborhood — a real looker.

8. Let there be light. “People buy space and light, for the most part,” says Zollinger.

One dark room is “cool,” says Phipps. “But if the whole house is dark, that’s a problem.” So open the blinds. Turn on all the lights. Add lights in rooms that are dark.

And if Mother Nature isn’t cooperating with your marketing efforts, “use more flowers and things that suggest sunlight,” says Phipps.

One seller who really understood staging was marketing her home during a spate of bleak weather. Before a showing, she threw a couple of beach towels over the rail of the deck, put up the sun umbrella and set out a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses.

“You want a space that’s crisp and sharp and vibrant,’ Phipps says. “Happy space.”

9. Get a home inspection. Most buyers will have one done anyway, says Zollinger. Do it now — and make any needed repairs before you put the home on the market. Depending on where you live, the service will probably run about $200 to $400, she says, and your real estate professional can recommend several good inspectors.

10. Learn to love white walls. When it comes to walls, color is popular. The problem is that the next buyer might not like the same colors. Paint is a relatively inexpensive way to make a house look clean and fresh. And if you’re going to repaint prior to selling, stick with neutrals. “Despite the fact that it’s more boring to live in, it’s still an easier sale,” says Griffith. And remember that white reflects the light best and makes rooms look their largest.

11. Take a close look at the carpet. Get the carpet shampooed to get out any stains or smells. If that doesn’t work, replace it. “Get rid of carpet that looks dirty, soiled, stained,” says Love. And consider, if you can, wood or laminates as an alternative.

“It makes the house look bigger and people love seeing the fact that it has wood floors,” she says. “Plus it’s a lot easier to keep clean.”

12. Avoid controversy. If you have a deer head on the wall, you might want to take it down. It will be a turnoff to some buyers, says Zollinger.

Phipps advises his clients to play it safe with the books and magazines they display while showing a home. Anything provocative could turn off buyers, says Phipps.

13. Replace deteriorating wallpaper. If wallpaper is peeling — especially in bathrooms — remove it and consider replacing it with a coat of paint. Go with a neutral or match the tile, says Love. Likewise, if the kids’ rooms need a fresh look. That way, buyers are looking at the house, not your decorating skills. And it’s easier for them to see their things in the space.

14. Clean your closets. Sellers need to “empty the closets of half the things they have in them,” says Love. Partially empty closets look roomy — and space sells. Do the same thing with kitchen cabinets. (And if you donate your extra clothes and surplus food to a shelter or food bank, you won’t have to worry about moving it to your next home.)

15. Harness flower power. Lee and his wife used this technique and sold their own home in two weeks, he says. “We spent a fortune on flowers, but I really do think it helped,” he says. Their favorite — wild flowers. “It gave the home a nice, softer feel,” says Lee.

Showing your home on a budget? Go for less expensive bouquets, green plants or seasonal flowers from the yard, says Love.

16. Open the windows. “If it’s a cool summer day, have the windows open,” says Meg Werren, owner of It’s About Time, a home sales prepping company in Fitchburg, Wisc.

Conversely, if it’s cold and dreary, light a fire in the fireplace.

17. Take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt. When Gaylord sold his own condo years ago, one real estate expert told him it would sit on the market because of the emerald green carpet in one of the rooms. But the home “was a showplace,” he says, and a buyer quickly snapped it up — green carpet and all.

“Putting colors and tastes aside,” says Gaylord,” if a person drives by and the home is exciting and it’s showy — even if your colors may not be as neutral as they like — they’ll be turned on.”

18. Keep it clean. No dust, cobwebs or trash. “People looking to buy a home are extremely observant and meticulous,” says Werren.

19. Set your house apart. Phipps recalls one real estate study in which potential buyers were shown many different houses in similar neighborhoods, all with similar features and amenities. The one that stood out? A home that had yellow roses on the dining room table. People not only remembered the detail, but they rated the home higher as a result, says Phipps.

“You need to give the home a hook,” he says. “Something that makes it different in a positive way from the other houses.”

20. Keep it real. You don’t have to go to the extreme of one buyer — who before a showing set up the bedroom to look like the night maid had just been through and pulled down the comforter, fluffed the pillow and placed a book open on the bed.

“You don’t want it to look so staged that it’s artificial,” says Phipps. “What you want is for them to walk in there and say ‘I could put myself here.’”

Staging defined – “the preparation of a home to sell by a professional who specializes in this form of decorating.”

Staging can occur on two different levels:

1. Basic Staging
• Removing clutter in the home.
• Placing only attractive, basic furniture in each room.
• Keeping walls, trim, and carpet in neutral colors.
• Removing personal items including pictures, hobby items, etc.
• Taking care of any deferred maintenance items.
• Cutting the grass, trimming the bushes and taking care of the landscaping. etc

2. Emotional Staging
Emotional staging goes a little further trying to get the buyers to picture themselves living in your home by creating a specific ambience. Examples of this are:
• Putting pillows and two wine glasses in front of the fireplace to create a romantic evening in front of the fireplace.

This being said, the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org) conducted a survey in the summer of 2007 of their broker & agent members about the practice of home staging. The survey focused on the impact on home buyers of the practice. The report outlines the results of the survey.

According to a survey by HomeGain of 2,000 real estate agents Nationwide, a small investment by a home seller in cleaning & decluttering, lightening and brightening, and home staging, produced an average increase in sales price of $5,645.

So while staging is supposed to be helping market a home the buyer’s agents have found two interesting outcomes.

• 82% of home buyers are likely to be distracted from important issues when they go through a staged home.
• 51% of the respondents noted that staged homes often cover up real defects including structural damage.

Whether you are a home buyer, selling agent or buyer’s agent there is something to be learned from this. When viewing a “staged” home you need to look beyond the staging. You may love the colors but it is the structure of the house, the layout, how the property fits your needs, etc. that is really important. Don’t get fooled by small furniture making a room look larger. Measure it and make sure your sofa will fit.