Over the last five weeks I have provided info for buyers (read these at http://www.summitdaily.com and search for “market insights”), so now the focus flip-flops to give sellers a hand. In a nut shell, here is what every seller in Summit County needs to know.

Smart property sellers don’t even think about placing their property on the market unless it is sparkling.

My favorite analogy is selling an old sterling silver trophy. You won the trophy a couple of decades ago. You find it sitting and the closet and you say to yourself, “I no longer have a need for this I will sell it for the highest possible price and move on.” What’s the first thing you do? I know what I would do; get to work with the silver polish so that when I photographed it sparkles. Based on my experience in real estate, I would pay a professional to take the photo.

Why? When I put that trophy on the market, I want the best chance of getting the highest price. And crummy photos don’t achieve that result.

Sellers who know what they are doing select a Realtor who believes in using a rifle rather than a shot gun in their marketing. That means the Realtor has a marketing strategy that focuses on reaching the most likely buyers for the property. For example, if a property is likely to attract buyers who want great rental income, such as the Breckenridge condo in this photo with the lowest asking priced in the complex in 10 years, the marketing is geared around the superb income.

Another connotation to the word aim is the sellers that place a big fat sold sticker on the sign out front are most often the ones that have a timeframe for the sale. What they say sounds like this, “Our aim is to have this property sold in three months, six at the most.”

And why is this the only word in all capitals? There is no point having a property on the market unless the plan is to get it sold. And in the current Summit County market it is in your best interest to get it sold quickly. The reason is simple. Since 2008, prices have declined a bunch. At best, prices are stable right now. A very detailed multiple regression analysis I was provided by the Summit County Assessor’s Office indicates this could continue. Of course nobody knows what the future holds. However, if you are on the market your aim must be to sell.

For both sellers and buyers, one of the most valuable things you can do is to stay right on top of the market each week. To receive my weekly ‘pulse of the market,’ drop me a line at the email address below.

Daniel Webster Johnson has earned the national Quality Service Certified Platinum award in recognition of earning 100 percent client service satisfaction, as measured by Leading Research Corporation. He is a broker associate at Resort Brokers Real Estate in Breckenridge. Contact him at (970) 393-3300 and/or Daniel@YourMountainBroker.com.