I'd like to take a moment to comment on the flip side of this buyer's market.  What if your in the process of selling property in Jacksonville?  There are still ways to do this to help attract buyers.  Just the other day I passed by a home for sale in my neighborhood which had an additional rider sign in the lawn;  "Free Cruise With The Purchase Of This Home."  How dumb I thought.  What a bad listing agent for even suggesting or agreeing with the seller on that idea.  A cruise with an upgraded cabin will probably run you say $3,000 for the week on average, give or take.  With that said, I think even the least experienced buyer's agent just out of real estate school could negotiate that amount off the home in today's market!  Here's a secret...psst...the sellers are already expecting a lower offer.  Meanwhile, the home inside (although I haven't been in it, but enough of them) probably needs new carpeting (or professional cleaning), paint, powerwashing and any other maintenance item one could think of doing.  Only the listing agent is too fearful to mention these things at the chance of upsetting the seller's and losing the listing.  It certainly needed fresh mulch in the beds outside I know that.  The gimmicks don't work...stop offering them!  People want a home, not a cruise.  A cruise is something to give away on Wheel of Fortune.  There's an old saying that only two things effect the sale of real estate...price and location...nothing else.  And you can't change the location so what should we work with?  Everything you do to sell property leads back to one or the other.  If something else does effect the sale, please let me know. 

Offer a listing price that's near the bottom of the related comps in the area to attract buyers and their agents.  It's now a buyer's market and your going to have to bite the bullet unfortunately.  Your home isn't worth what it was a few years ago.  Face it, accept it and move forward with that.  Fix and clean up the home up and make it look like you want to sell it and buyers will appreciate that.  If you currently have a listing with an agent who isn't blunt with you about these issues, get a new listing agent.  In today's market you don't have time to be entertained with the sugar coating or bubbling personalities many agents try to sell you during their listing appointment.  It's just going to cost you more money in the form of another mortgage payment as your home sits another month.  Ask them for realistic numbers and what you can expect.  Some listing agents are scared to tell you that your home will sit four to eight months in the fear they won't get the listing.  They try to tell you what you want to hear.  My philosophy is that I would rather disappoint you now, then disappoint you later.

What I also tell sellers is that no matter what you personally believe, your view of "clean" is never someone else's.  Don't lose a potential chance to sell your home.  Make sure your home is in tip top condition for all showings as there are too many sellers your competing against.  I work with many buyers and I can't tell you how many homes we walk into, turn around and leave in less than 30 seconds because of unpleasant odors, dirty carpets and frankly it shows (and excuse the expression) like a "monkey cage."  I came across this article earlier today that only reassured me of my opinions that I'd like to share.

http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/103345/Top-Tips:-Moving-Your-Home-in-a-Bad-Market