New Year's 2008 resolutions for home sellers

A year ago, the average price of a home had dropped by 3.5 percent nationwide. As we end 2007, the average price of homes has dipped again ? a small amount in some markets and by more in others.

But the next year (and perhaps the year after that) will be a sellers market that's made for those with strong stomachs. While the National Association of Realtors claims that the housing market is stabilizing, other economists are calling for a turnaround in 2009, 2010 or even 2014.

If you want to sell and move, that's not the kind of news you want to hear. But given that 2008 is a presidential election year, and real estate normally slows during an election cycle, a real estate recovery in 2009 seems plausible.

That doesn't mean folks won't be buying. If you're going to sell next year, the key to a successful closing will be planning.

To get you going, here is my annual list of home seller resolutions you might want to keep. As a home seller, I resolve to:

• Overcome any possible objections a buyer would have.

Sellers don't often understand that their primary job is not only to eliminate any potential objections that would stand in the way for a buyer to make an offer, but to exceed their expectations as well. If your home is competitively priced, and your home's condition exceeds a buyer's expectations, you'll get the offer you want.

• Get my home into shape before I let anyone see it.

Getting a home into "selling shape" is quite different from even having a clean, beautiful home. You need to "stage" your home, which means you have to make it look exactly the way a buyer thinks it should look.

For best results, stage the home before you invite any real estate agents or brokers in to assess how much it is worth. The agents you interview will be your "Wow!" test. If they walk into your home and say "Wow! What a great place you have here," you know you've done it right.