Colorado is leading the nation in residential foreclosures per capita. This is leading to a strong buyer’s market due to the high amount of home inventory, especially in the greater Denver area. However, despite this discouraging information there is hope for sellers. First, find the right real estate agent, second, price the home correctly and third offer incentives that help the home stand out from the competition.

When first deciding on how to best sell a home, finding the right agent is the key. Some things to consider when finding an agent to sell a home include checking out their track record, how much experience they have, what neighborhoods they are most knowledgeable about and how they plan to price and market the home. An agent with a successful track record shows that they are aggressive and accurate in pricing of homes and marketing to the right buyers. An agent with at least 10 years of experience will have been through a slow market will have strategies to successfully sell properties in any market as opposed to a newer agent. A local agent will be able to promote the area and be available to the seller however the “neighborhood agent” who farms a subdivision, for example, will likely have properties listed that are in direct competition with the seller’s home. Selecting an agent that prices the home above market value in order for the seller to receive a better profit may seem appealing but is not good practice and months and months down the line with continued price reductions will be frustrating and counterproductive to selling the home. Find an agent who offers a comparative market analysis (CMA) on similar properties in the area and provides documentation as to the price they recommend to sell. Also, ask to see their list price vs. sales price percentage against the market average to see how successful they are at gauging the market. Finally, see what type of marketing they plan on doing to attract buyer’s to the home, Internet, newspapers, signage, etc and ask to see their listings' average days on the market compared to the market average. Seller’s can also “Google” a prospective real estate agent to see how well they market themselves as well as how they market their listings.

Finding the right agent who truly understands and studies the market to work with, will then enable the home to be priced properly. If a home is priced appropriately when first put on the market it will often receive multiple offers and sell more quickly, without price reductions or too many gimmicks or incentives. New home builders are tough competition for sellers with the incentives that they offer on top of their homes never being lived in or being built to suit. There are buyers who are only persuaded to purchase new due to the great deals when if they came across a home for sale that suit their needs and was priced correctly they would choose the latter. In fact, price is the best way to separate a home from the rest of the competition.

Incentives are an additional way to attract buyers to a home, however if the home is not priced appropriately to begin with, the incentives are not enough to seal the deal. Incentives on a well-priced home will sweeten the deal when it comes to standing out amongst comparable homes on the market. Successful incentives include paying closing costs and paying property taxes. Desperate sellers have even gone so far as to including a free car.

On the bright side, Denver and its surrounding areas continues to grow in population which should help with the increased inventory. And being that it is a buyer’s market indicates that people are still purchasing homes, they just have more to choose from. People are also buying now instead of waiting to avoid the risk of higher interest rates and the increasing home prices.