Is it the right time to sell, with the market still soft?

You may sell low, but then you can buy low, too

Let's face it - and if your house is on the market, you no doubt already have - it's not the best time to sell. That said, though, it's not the worst time to sell, either.

"It's a basic real estate concept - try to sell at the peak of the market," said Zur Attias of The Attias Group at Barrett & Co. in Concord. "But the reality is, if you're selling at the peak of the market, you'll also be buying at the peak of the market."

That, it seems, is among the most compelling reason to sell now - if you're going to buy a bigger house or a more expensive house, you'll make out in the end. You may not get as much for your current house as you once expected, but you won't pay nearly as much for the next one, either.

Take, for instance, a house that was worth $500,000, but declined by 10 percent to $450,000 - the seller is out $50,000, at least theoretically, said David W. O'Neil of Century 21 Spindler & O'Neil Associates in North Reading. Many potential sellers would look at that and decide to stay put. But on the other side of the equation, if the house that homeowner covets was once $800,000 and is down the same 10 percent, it can be had for $720,000, a savings of $80,000.

"People are finding houses at prices they thought they'd never see again," said O'Neil.

Meanwhile, prices in some areas are flat, which doesn't sound as good as rising prices, but it also means that prices have stopped dropping. In high-end Boston neighborhoods like Beacon Hill, the North End, South End, and Back Bay, prices have been holding steady for about three years, according to Robert Fortin of Charles River Residential Brokerage.

"Basically, the best neighborhoods are doing fine," he said. "It's not a bad time for people to sell. Demand doesn't dry up - it's replenished each year with a fresh crop of young people."

The lack of good inventory in those areas is another factor to consider. Fortin sees plenty of offerings "that are not very attractive, that have been on the market a long time." Consequently, sellers who have nice properties in desirable downtown areas that are priced right will get close to the asking price, he said.

Across the board, the toughest sell is people who bought about four years ago at the height of the market, Attias said. But even for these people, selling now may make sense as long as they can at least break even.

He argues that almost everyone forgoes something, and probably several things, he or she wanted when buying a house - the home may be in the right school district, but on a busy street. Or it may in a great neighborhood, but it's a Cape, not the Colonial you really wanted. These are things he calls "unchangeables."

"The reason to sell if you can break even is it's the opportune time to get rid of the unchangeable negatives, and replace them with good unchangeables," Attias said. "You can have your money parked in your [current] house, with mediocre returns, or you can see an upward trend due to strong unchangeables." That is, once the market begins to turn around, the growth will be bigger in the better house.

And there are buyers out there. In Dorchester, Mattapan, and Randolph, real estate agent Jason Hargrove of Success! Real Estate in Braintree says he's seeing lots of first-time buyers as well as investors who are buying homes, then renting them out, often to people who lost their own homes to foreclosure.

In addition, says Attias, people up and down the real estate ladder didn't get exactly what they wanted when they bought last time around, not just the person who wanted a Colonial but bought the Cape, but also the person who wanted a Cape and bought a ranch, or the person who wanted a ranch and bought a fixer-up.

But with the pressure of a frenzied market gone, buyers have the luxury of taking their time and looking around. And there's a lot to choose from. Which means that now, more than ever, it's imperative that a house on the market be impeccable. The painting and landscaping have to be done, O'Neil said.

Whether it's a downtown condo or a suburban split-level, don't try to sell it without furniture. "If it's not occupied, if it's empty, you should stage it - don't leave it empty," said Fortin.

Attias believes that in this market, it would be a mistake to go with a part-timer or "some Sally Salesperson." Sellers need brokers who will market the house well, do open houses for buyers and brokers, and, of course, price it right.

"Just because you're on the market, doesn't mean that you're in the market," he said. "If you're not priced correctly, your realtor can be showing up and doing all the right things, but you're not going to sell."