selling and customers buying that neither has an advantage. A variable, such as a major retailer entering or leaving the area, will tip the scale toward sellers to make a “fast” market or toward buyers to create a “slow” one. Th e average time in a fast market might be 30 days, and the average time in a slow market could be a year. Typically, any number below six months is considered a seller’s market. Let’s touch on what the homeowner/seller can do to elicit o ff ers at the listing price, or even above, in a competitive market. As mentioned earlier, the partnership between seller and real estate agent will make an enormous diff erence in results. Th e agent can professionally market a house, bring in a qua lifi ed prospect, and then the deal is blown because the seller didn’t clear his garage of his taxidermy hobby during a critical showing. Or because the snow isn’t cleared, or because the walls are painted kind of “funky.” Th ere’s only so much even the most talented real estate agent can do. Th e seller’s time, e ff ort, and investment are the most important parts of the process. Th e seller’s willingness to adequately prepare the home for presentation by improving, freshening, landscaping, and generally making the home pristine — and to live in that presentation readiness state for the time it takes to sell the property — will greatly a ff ect both the sale period the price at which the home sells.
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