How to Sell or Rent FAST in a Slow Market

Whether you're a real estate agent trying to move some inert inventory, a homeowner trying to sell your house, or a landlord trying to fill your rental property, it's hard to move real estate right now. Supply (your house and the fifteen others available on your street) is high, demand is low, so you need an edge over the competition. Without further ado, allow me to introduce your edge:

Trick 1: The Kitchen & Bathrooms are King

If you're on a limited budget (HA!), you need to prioritize and spend your limited cash well. If you only have the money to improve two rooms in the house, make sure they're the kitchen and master bathroom, because these are consistently the most important rooms to buyers and tenants. People may ooh and aah over the new carpet in the living room, but the kitchen and bathrooms strike a more primal desire for cleanliness and comfort. Final note: if you don't have any budget for improvement whatsoever, then at least make sure they're spotlessly clean.

Trick 2: Don't Forget the Exterior

What do people see first? The outside of the house, which means making sure the paint isn't cracking, the exterior is in good condition, and the easiest thing to let slide, the landscaping is neat. Make sure the lawn is cut, the bushes are trimmed, and if you can, add additional touches like flowers or gardens. First impressions affect everything prospective tenants or buyers see afterward, so make a good first impression and ride it hard.

Trick 3: Stylish Bribery

Incentives, seller concessions, gimmicks, whatever you want to call them, need to stand out if they're to have any effect whatsoever. Offering a seller concession makes little difference to a buyer; they'll just subtract it from the price of the house and calculate a net price. So if you're going to bribe your buyers or rental applicants, do it with style: a new flat screen TV, a shiny stainless steel appliance set, a Wusthof knife block, or anything that conveys a sense of status. People want to feel classy, so send the message that if they buy your house or move into your rental, they'll suddenly become upper crust.

Trick 4: Sell Them on the Neighborhood

A gorgeous villa on a slum block is still a slum property, period. So if your rental property or home is in an area where people may have a reservation or two about moving, you need to sell them on more than just your house; you need to sell the neighborhood. This is not as hard as it sounds, if you know the neighborhood well. The trick is generate excitement, so tell them all about the quirky little cafý down the street that makes an authentic Italian cafý breve, and the bakery on the corner that fills the block with the smell of chocolate croissants. It's the details that sell neighborhoods, so fill their head with perfect images of neighborhood charm, and they'll be all over your property.

Selling your home or filling your rental is harder than ever before right now, so get aggressive, and with the right combination of attention and finesse you can sell or rent anything.

Brian Davis is a real estate investor who currently lives in Las Cruces, NM and owns several rental properties. For more real estate tips and a database of real estate forms, including a customizable rental agreement, stop by EZ Landlord Forms, and if you have your own tips, tell us about them in our forum!