How to Sell A House Without Putting it on the Market

Here in the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati area the real estate market has taken quite the change. The mounds of foreclosures, short sales and overpriced houses has dramatically decreased. Inventory is so low that buyers are waiting to pounce on anything decent that becomes available. This has created a cool effect for sellers who are brave enough to price their homes aggressively. They are getting multiple offers and are selling extraordinarily fast. Like, 2, 3 or 4 days fast!

Ever hear of a pocket listing? Probably not unless your Mama is a Real Estate agent. Pocket listings are houses that us Realtors have the inside scoop on. Homes that are being prepared for the market but aren't yet ready. We share these pocket listings with each other and in this type of market where inventory is so low... these pocket listings can sell before they even hit the internet! Now it makes sense... those homes that take zero days on the market to sell. They were pocket listings!

So, if you know you want to sell but you are waiting on the husband to finally fix that squeaky door. Or you are waiting for your college aged children to go back to college... let your Realtor know about it! Invite them over to take a look and ask them to share the word with their co-workers. How sweet would it be to sell your house without having to deal with showings and keeping it squeaky clean 24/7? Pretty sweet.

And, of course, if you don't have a Realtor to share this info with...feel free to let me know. I have connections across the country. And a big mouth!

The Calm Before the Storm

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know the housing market is improving. Brian Williams says so every couple of weeks on the evening news and I see it on the MSNBC home page before I head over to Facebook.

But seriously, people. It is no joke.

Typically January is one of the slower months for those of us in my profession. There are always buyers and sellers who need to buy and sell in January. They don't care how cold or snowy it is, it is necessary for them to take care of business. "wait for the Spring".  Here is where things get interesting. My phone has been ringing off the hook. Multiple daily inquiries on my listings, buyers who must get into listings that just hit the market. Questions about when there will be more listings because inventory is so low. I have several buyers who are watching online like hawks and call me the minute a new listing pops up. This is wild! I had a buyer make an offer on a house that wasn't even on the market this week.

Here is the point to my story. The economy has improved, folks aren't as nervous about job loss or obtaining a mortgage and they are fired up. For those of you who want to sell your house this Spring, I advise you to try and get a jump on the craziness. List as soon as possible so that you aren't swimming in the pool with hundreds of others who plan on listing this Spring. Get your act together now and get ready for lots of showings!