In a report by Illinois Association of Realtors, 7,604 existing single-family homes and condos in Illinois got sold in the nine-county Chicago is a month back. That is a whopping 36.2 increase since November 2011 when 5,582 homes were sold in Illinois. That is fantastic information for people for our housing market. In the town of Chicago town, home revenue increased 22.5 percent from a year ago, to 1,750, and the revenue improvements for apartments were even higher.

This very good news for this signifies that the real estate market is recovering from its slouch. This also means that people can finally start buying homes with the difference of 1047 more homes here. So what do you think about buying a home in Illinois? Should you be buying a home or waiting it out.

While this recovery is going at its fast pace, there are chances that if you wait too     long then you might miss out on the opportunity and the inventory might decrease.

As the market recovers another question opens up to us as the rent prices are also going up. Should you buy a home in Illinois or keep renting a home. As it happens you can buy a home and put it up for rent and ride it out till you have paid the mortgage for your home.

 The type of homes that is available at very great rates. There are1 BHK homes with lake views. Imagine what kind of value you would get if you bought such a home and put it up for rent. There are places with walk-in closets, rooftop pools, party rooms and other luxurious amenities. These are very attractive details.

Now that we have the option we need to see if the time is right and we are in a position to buy the home.

Since I have been into the real estate market for time, I thought why not writes a handy guide to help people sell their homes properly. I have seen people sell their homes by themselves quite well. But make no mistake I have seen people fail at it as well. In fact I will go straight and say I have made a few mistakes myself, so why not let that be a warning for you. So let us see the rules that you should follow when you put your house up for sale.

- First thing up always get your expected price right. Buyers are biased towards sellers who offer at the most current market price. If you are offering the right price then you will land yourself a buyer.

- Second thing that is important is to get an experienced broker. If you are doing the marketing for your home yourself, then you need to be prepared to work really hard. If you are not ready for this you can always hire a broker to market it for you. But go for someone with experience and a large track record so that you can verify with their clients.

- Make your home look fantastic. You can hire a home stager to prepare the house for sale.

- Remember to throw in a little extra so that buyers making a decision can swing your way. Do not offer a car or a cruise as it will make you look desperate. Instead offer to pay a good part of the closing costs. You can offer a commission to agents to bring purchasers as well.

-             Lastly if your financial situation is not good and you have a mortgage over the house, you have a few options. You can persuade your employer to complete your loan. You can bide your time by offering the house on rent. Lastly sell your house at any price available (Please refer the first rule).

So you pretty much get the idea here. Stick to the list and you are good.

Having sold my house quite recently, I have come to understand that it can be a really confusing decision. There is a large amount of details you need to go through and there is the constant lingering doubt whether it is a good idea to sell your home anyway. What I have come to understand is that selling your home is quite selling any other sort of commodity. There is a supply and there is a demand, and if the supply does not match the footing of demand at the right moments then there is sometimes a wastage or loss of demand. This means if you do not sell at the right moments you might either have to sell your home for lesser or you might not have enough buyers for your home.

 So here are not a few tips, but rather a few questions that you should ask yourself while making any sort of decision while selling your home:

1.  Is the time right?

As I said this works on the principle of supply and demand. The cost of your property will be high when the demand is high and supply is low. This can be affected by seasons as well. Like in winter, people are looking to buy homes but lesser are ready to sell theirs.

2.  Is your Home ready?

As we have already discussed a bit you need to sell your home at the right time. If it is then you should prepare your home to be put on the market. This means that you have to remove any and all imperfections from the home.

3.  Does the house look spacious?

Remove as much clutter as you can from the house. If you want to interest buyers you must give them room for their imagination to run free. You should allow free movement as much as possible. The area should look open.

4. What is the house worth?

Know the exact worth of your home and how much it would cost exactly. This a most important part as it decides the price you will be listing.

5. Do you have a realtor?

Get someone to help you with selling the home correctly and for the right price. You need to have someone with the right negotiating skills so you can have the best price possible.

If you want to put your property for sale then you must aim to attract potential buyers and organize your property. Real estate experts call this process staging. It means to bring out the positive aspects about a property  when a buyer visits.  The idea behind this is really simple: the more impressive your home looks the more price you will get for it. So here are a few tips that can help you put up your property for sale.

1. Reduce clutter

Clear up as much furniture as you can. Make sure there is ample space to walk through. By opening up your home you give a feeling that the home is spacious.

2. Clear up surfaces

Clear off all horizontal surfaces in the home. Kitchen counter, bathroom countertops, table tops need to completely clean. This provides a feeling of cleanliness to the buyers .

3. Neutralize any kind of smell

This plays a key role in deciding for any buyer. The buyers bolt at an instant they find any funny smells in your home. Specifically get rid of pet scents , stale cooking smells and cigarette smoke. People living in the homes are accustomed to the smells but these are the smells that the buyers pick up first. Do not try cover-up odors like baking bread or steaming cinnamon. The same thing can be said about air fresheners or scented candles. Try it the hard way and you will get much better results. Has the house scrubbed, the air vents cleaned, replace the old and smelly carpeting and smoke outside the home. Just cleaning up with Lysol is not going to help.

Implement these steps neatly and make sure not overdo it. You want things to look natural. If you overdo it could start looking artificial. These few tips will really help you when you put up your property for sale.