While most people think of property investment only in terms of purchasing properties the fact is that it can also involve selling developed properties in order to continue to make a profit. In today’s market, that can be a challenge. Property values have declined sharply in many areas and the number of purchasers has declined. How, then, is it possible to sell a property in a down market and avoid taking a massive loss?

When a market is down or sluggish the first impulse is generally to lower the asking price of a property in order to move it but this can be quite costly. Therefore, you may want to look at one or more of the following options to see whether or not they may be of interest to you.

Consider alternatives to conventional selling practices

The traditional method of selling a property was to list it with a real estate agent. They would often hold an agent’s caravan, determine a listing price and promote the property in different publications. This worked well especially in a seller’s market. When the market conditions change, however, it becomes necessary to find alternate ways of selling properties that may or may not involve the use of a real estate agent.

If you are trying to sell a property you may want to consider a marketing package that gives you different types of exposure. These are becoming more widely used in Great Britain but are beginning to be used in North America as well. They utilize the internet and web-based marketing to increase a property’s visibility and therefore, its chances of being sold as well.

Consider property exchanges instead of sales

These may not be appropriate for every real estate situation but they may be just what you need to move from a property that is not financially viable to one that has the chance of turning a profit if it were properly developed. The idea of a property exchange is a simple one. Two buyers or investors with properties agree to exchange them.

This may save quite a bit of money on agent fees and legal costs. Of course, it is important to make sure that any exchange is approved by financial institutions but if it is a good move and will not harm either lending institution in any way a bank or mortgage broker may well be quite happy to allow the deal to go through.