So what do I know? I thought "staging" a home was something new (we've never done it), but based on the comments, it seems like many people have been doing it for quite some time.
But here is something that, while not new, is certainly increasing in popularity due to the slow-down in home sales, the home auction. Here are the details from MSNBC:
Other motivated sellers are resorting to similar non-traditional techniques now that the real estate market is losing steam. Real estate auctions are gaining traction again, with revenues increasing 39 percent over the past three years, according to the National Auctioneers Association.
Despite their past reputation of selling distressed and foreclosed homes at dirt-cheap prices, auctioneers say they are now selling homes at all price ranges to multiple bidders who sometimes raise the final price to above market value. Auctions also allow the seller to control the timing of a sale and avoid the contingencies common in conventional sales, such as stipulations that a buyer can pull out if he is unable to sell his current home or obtain financing.
Let's put it this way, if I was trying to sell my house now, I'd be pulling out every trick in the book: staging, auctions, buy the house get a kid free -- ok, maybe not that last one, but it is getting pretty desperate out there. And why not? After all, the median home price dipped in August for first time since 1995.
This said, there is good news in the housing decline for some potential investors.
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