Selling Strategies for Summer 2007 - What Sellers Need to Know When Marketing Their Property

The Incline Village Real Estate market at North Lake Tahoe is looking very similar to 2006 based on unit sales and median prices for the transactions that have taken place this year. Having analyzed last year's market and understanding what it takes to find a buyer in a relatively slow time period, you can gain some insight into the strategies needed to sell Incline Village properties and other high end resort market properties this summer.

Accurate pricing and creative marketing will be critical for anyone selling in 2007. Inventory levels in your neighborhood or condo complex will have a huge impact on how you price your property. There will only be 250 to 300 transactions at most the entire year. There are already over 370 properties on the market, and we've had 79 deals close escrow as of April 25th. You will have to compete in a buyer's market unless you own a lakefront or quality lake view home.

Condo owners in complexes with excess inventory will need to be especially sensitive and price their properties accordingly! 2007 is very different from the boom year of 2005 and when you look forward at the increasing inventory for this coming summer, there will be nearly 2 properties on the market for every 1 that sells this year.

A customized marketing plan for each listing will be necessary to differentiate your property from the competition. Every property in Incline Village has some unique attributes and selling features. You have to create a marketing program using the Internet, print media, direct mail and other ways that get buyers excited and interested about your property.

I'm a big believer in holding open houses at low elevation properties during months when lots of buyers are present from June through September. With all of the people walking up and down Lakeshore Drive and Village Blvd. in the summertime it's a great tactic to have a bunch of signs out on a regular basis directing potential buyers to come in and see your property. This tactic works well in any high end resort market where you get a lot of foot traffic. Don't limit your open houses to the usual Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Evenings from 4 to 8 are a great time, especially in beach communities where people stroll around before and after dinner.

Properties that are located more than 1.5 miles from the beach at Lake Tahoe or higher than 6800 feet in elevation are generally not good candidates for doing open house. There are several reasons for this. You will not have very much foot traffic, it is more difficult to entice people to make several turns off the main roads and frankly there is not nearly as much demand for higher elevation properties as there is for homes and condos within a short walk to the beach, casinos, restaurants and shops. Higher elevation homes require a strategy that involves a combination of direct mail, Internet marketing, some print ads and a great deal of word of mouth promotion with agents and others.

All real estate firms maintain some type of print advertising presence each week in the local paper. But those ads do more to satisfy the desire of sellers to see their homes and condos advertised than actually bring in qualified buyers. With over 70% of all buyers beginning their search on the Internet, it's important to build a separate web site for every property and register the address as the domain name, do virtual tours and promote your property with electrons more than ink!

Don Kanare is a real estate agent with Lakeshore Realty located in Incline Village, NV at the northeast corner of Lake Tahoe. Don writes a daily column about the new listings, price changes and general market commentary on Incline Village Real Estate.