Relist if necessary
Listings for houses that have been on the market for three to five weeks are sometimes terminated, only to mysteriously reappear at a lower price. Agents often do this with houses that aren’t selling quickly in order to “breathe new air into the process,” points out Argentino. “It may also fool the buyers who were not in the market a few weeks ago, because they see it as a new listing and they get excited about it.”

Dealing for dollars
“Studies have shown that only one in 21 offers come in and are accepted as written,” says Bergg. “So 20 times out of 21 there’s negotiation involved.” Those negotiations may concern price, timing, conditions of sale and what is or is not included in the sale. “If there’s something you’re really attached to, like the chandelier your grandmother left you, take it down and get it out of the house,” advises Bergg. “Especially in a buyer’s market, people will ask for pieces of furniture that look good in the house.”

If you are willing to part with some furnishings, he suggests leaving them out of the deal and then using them as bargaining chips (“We weren’t going to give you the hot tub, but if you pay an extra $5,000 we’ll throw it in.”). Ditto if the buyer wants a particularly quick closing or an especially long one.

If you get an offer for your home that includes clauses or conditions, consider them carefully with your agent. One fairly common clause is that the offer is conditional on the buyer selling his or her own home. “Generally with conditional sales, the buyer offers slightly more than the market value of the home to make the final bid more attractive,” says Diane Williamson, a real estate broker with Groupe Sutton-Distinction Inc. in St. Lazur, Que.

But despite the extra cash, says Williamson, if you’ve got two fairly close offers and one is conditional, you should accept the firm offer, even if it’s worth slightly less. After all, if the buyer doesn’t sell his own home—something you can’t control—the whole deal could fall through.

If the sale of your house is conditional on an inspection, as it almost always is, Williamson often suggests that the seller be present when the inspector checks out the house. Sometimes there’s a question that the home owner could easily answer, she says. For example, the owner might be able to explain that some minor water damage was caused by a leaky pipe that has since been fixed.

In the end, says Williamson, if you get an offer at the right sale price and with minimal conditions, you’ve probably found the future owner of your home. Break out the champagne!