If you are thinking about selling your Ann Arbor home here are a few new concepts to consider when marketing your property in 2009:

  1. Home values in Washtenaw County have slipped from 4th quarter 2006 to 4th quarter 2008. Here are the numbers:
    • Declined 38% per square foot
    • Average sales price has declined 31%
    • Square footage of homes has increased 2.1%

    So homes in Ann Arbor are getting larger and prices are getting lower. Based on this market data, I believe the price per square foot is really the best gauge or indicator of what home values are doing in our area. Be sure you keep this data in mind when it’s time to place your home on the Ann Arbor real estate market. Remember, overpricing your Ann Arbor home when it first debuts on the market (and the Ann Arbor MLS) is a terrible mistake and should be avoided. Initial overpricing leads to a tale spin of consecutive price reductions which ultimately delays selling your home.

  2. The overall condition of your Ann Arbor home is extremely important especially in our current highly competitive market. Minor details like a broken light fixture, worn carpet and non-functioning doorbell send strong signals to buyers and these obstacles to selling you home are often difficult to overcome.
  3. Make sure the Realtor you select to list your Ann Arbor home ranks high in the search engines like Google and Yahoo. Most Ann Arbor home buyers start their property search online, so make sure you select an Ann Arbor real estate team who has an easy to find website where your home will be prominently featured.
  4. Along these same lines, I recommend your Ann Arbor real estate agent “syndicate” your Ann Arbor home all over the web. This includes high-traffic national websites like Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, Google Base, Craiglist, and many more.
  5. In addition, more agents are tapping into old fashion word of mouth marketing using many online social media networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.). This concept of “marketing by permission” is critical to your home selling success as well. Social media marketing is exploding and your next Ann Arbor real estate agent must participate in online social media and possess a strong web presence too!
  6. Make sure your next real estate agent in Ann Arbor is utilizing their connections with the local media. These connections serve as a powerful “endorsement” for the agent and means more buyers will seek their listings.
  7. Selecting an Ann Arbor real estate agent who blogs is a smart move. Sorry for the gratuitous plug :) . Why you ask? Ann Arbor agents who blog tend to be better informed. How so you ask? Because a real estate blogger invest their time by staying current with their knowledge of the market. Plus, utilizing technology tools helps streamline your real estate transaction making the agent more productive. In any Ann Arbor real estate market KNOWLEDGE and TECHNOLOGY are POWERFUL TOOLS for you the consumer.
  8. The last suggestion offered is based more on chemistry between you and your next agent. My Trulia buddy Rudy Bachraty calls it “your gut feeling”. If you are looking for more tips to selecting your next Ann Arbor Realtor and listing partner to sell your Washtenaw County home, now would be a great time to read Rudy’s words of wisdom on “How to Pick a Real Estate Agent for You“.

What other characteristics would you say are the new realities of marketing your Ann Arbor home in 2009?

On behalf of the entire team here at the Bouma Group, we wish you the very best for 2009!

Martin