LIST IF YOU INSIST

It's counter-intuitive for a real estate professional to recommend someone NOT list their home for sale. After all, we're trained to go after listings like hounds to rabbits! But, now is not the time to collect a bushel of listings that sit on the market far too long. It's not good for a Realtor's reputation, and it's not good for an owner's property value.

A home that stays on the market too long is a sitting duck for low ball offers (if it gets any at all). And in case a buyer is not aware, the MLS tells every buyer's Realtor exactly how long a home has been listed, how many times it has been reduced and to what level. So every potential buyer using a Realtor should know just how vulnerable a seller might be.

If a seller doesn't HAVE to sell right now, they would be wise to UN-list their property and wait for a better market. Glynn County has a two-year supply of unsold listings on the market. There have been 169 foreclosures filed so far this year. Buyers are scarce and credit is tight. Do you really need to sell that home right now Mr. & Mrs. Seller? It would help the market if owners would take their homes off the market and Realtors would advise more people to wait before listing.

If someone needs to sell, that's different. But many properties stay listed because blindly optimistic sellers imagine, even in this market, that some under-educated bumpkin from out of town will come along and pay full price for their property. Those transactions are few and far between even in good times. So I recommend NOT listing that property if at all possible.

As an alternative, many owners are offering their property for trade ... an increasingly popular strategy during the slow real estate market. If a seller is planning to buy something else after they sell, there's probably someone out there who wants what they have and has what they want. Finding them is the big challenge.

Classifieds or small display ads are one way to search for a trading partner. Another is by advertising on a real estate trading website like RealEstateExchange.com or PropSwapGlynn.com. These are sites where prospective trading partners can find each other, evaluate each other's property, and initiate contact if there is sufficient interest. PropSwapGlynn.com lets you search within each of Glynn County's 10 geographic areas for a match. Each ad shows what that owner has to offer, and what that owner is looking for in trade.

Here's the big trade advantage: it doesn't matter whether it's a buyer's market or a seller's market. Both parties are buying AND selling, so any built-in market advantage is neutralized. Traders are free to focus on relative values rather than discounts. If one property is worth more than the other, the difference can be made up in cash, additional trade, or even owner financing.

While trading real estate may not be not be the most widely practiced transaction mode, it is an intelligent solution in a difficult market. If there are no other options, by all means list that property. But if at all possible, consider NOT listing until the market gets better.