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Call it easing off the Katrina bump or fears over the “R word” lingering in the national air, but savvy real estate agents are gearing up for some power selling.

The booming seller’s market is becoming a buyer’s market as it normalizes from an estimated 248,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees—a figure cited by economist Loren Scott in his 2008 outlook—that deluged the Baton Rouge area in September 2005, buying just about anything sight unseen with a roof or slab at full price or higher.

It’s a “buyer-seller market” now, says Judy Burkett, president-elect of the Louisiana Realtors Association. While the National Association of Realtors forecasts the area market will be “solid for Louisiana and very healthy relative to most markets around the country,” it also predicts a shift to a buyer’s market.

While parts of the nation suffer with the subprime debacle and bursting housing bubbles, the area market still has buyers and sellers, says Linda Fredericks, president of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors. They are the typical traffic of first-time buyers or people moving up, downsizing or transferring jobs, but competing for them will be this year’s challenge.

While upgrading properties wasn’t an emphasis in the Katrina boom, it’s becoming one again. Fredericks and Burkett say they’re advising sellers to upgrade older properties to good condition for a best first impression with buyers. A major investment isn’t necessary, but they agree a fresh coat of paint, carpet cleaning or replacement and some landscaping to boost curb appeal can do wonders with making a property more appealing.

It made a profitable difference for a couple who intended to sell their house “as is” but then decided to make improvements after they moved out, Fredericks says. They went for fresh paint, new wood and tile floors and new fixtures and countertops. The house sold quickly and netted the seller more money.

“De-cluttering” is another big first step toward “staging” or preparing a house for sale, Burkett and Fredericks say. It can be an eye-opening benefit with buyers, who should be able to see less of a seller’s stuff and more of theirs in a house so they’ll feel more comfortable with the purchase.

Staging is an emerging power-selling strategy. Agents typically provide the service of preparing a house for sale, Frederick says. But now there are professional stagers who tout their services as helping to move a house faster and for a higher price, even in a more competitive market.

Every agent should be knowledgeable about pricing, Burkett says. An overpriced property could sit on the market for months and become one of the most dreaded of all market problems—“stale property.” Instead of drawing motivated buyers, the house draws more questions about what’s wrong with it. When that happens, grit the teeth because lowball offers are coming.

While it’s not an impossible situation to salvage, she says it’s one that will require aggressive repricing and advertising. Fortunately, the area multiple listing service [MLS] online provides e-mail notifications of new listings or price changes to those who request them, which helps get the word out within 24 hours.

“You’ve got to really price that house close to market,” Burkett says. An agent can help with a market analysis to more reliably pinpoint that magical, buyer-luring figure. “We price our houses pretty much what they are going to go for. The prices are not inflated. I don’t think there’s a bubble here.”

As a reference, the metro area’s median house price is $189,913, according to the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors. Last year’s figure was $189,457. It’s also important to know sellers on average are getting 98.1% of list price, compared to 98.5% at this time last year. There were 4,600 houses on the market as of late February compared to last year’s 3,778 houses at the same time, which indicates more inventory on the market. That figure was 2,670 in 2006 and 3,262 in 2005.

When it comes to getting market data, Fredericks says stick to reliable data. “Do not be fooled by the bucketful of Web sites promising you all the data in our market.”

David McKey, owner and broker of Coldwell Banker in Baton Rouge, says today’s market emphasis is returning to marketable pricing and location.

An overpriced property can turn off the best prospects, he says. “People just have to be more competitive now with their pricing.” A well-priced house will attract buyers and, once they’re making offers, it requires careful negotiation because most of the interest in a property happens in the first four weeks of a listing.

Listing a property before the better selling months, like April, May and June, means advising a seller it could take longer to find buyers.

According to Burkett, as of late February, a property averaged 97 days on the market before it sold, although this is a slower selling month compared to busier months like April, May and July. Last year at this time, the figure was 70 days and, in 2005 (pre-Katrina), it was 88 days.

While buyer incentives or enticements can help make a sale, Fredericks says they depend on each location. For example, a seller with a 30-year-old house with original appliances and HVAC systems might want to add a home warranty to the deal. Depending on location and price range, it might be more prudent to offer to cover closing costs.

Burkett says, the agent can advise the seller to pay closing costs for buyers who need help in the sale of a house that costs $200,000 or less.

Offering a termite contract is another good incentive, although a buyer doesn’t typically require one unless the location has a history with termites, she says. A contract isn’t required if the location has been free and clear of termites within 30 days of closing.

Once a property is listed, McKey goes back to the basics in marketing. Advertising for the most exposure means heavy Internet selling, word-of-mouth contacts and lots of showings. But he says industry indicators show as much as 80% of today’s buyers use the Internet as their first source for property.

“The Internet allows us to be in everyone’s home worldwide,” Fredericks says. “This is huge. For instance, we have one client for several years living out of the U.S. who has bought and sold homes using us as their Realtor—all electronically. They have never seen the homes they bought and sold, and we have never met. They are simply looking at the investment potential and, over the years, have done well.”

She says she wouldn’t be doing her job anymore if she only went by the old “three Ps”of advertising: put it in the newspaper, put it in the MLS and put up a sign. While the tried-and-true “for sale” sign still attracts buyers, it also takes an increasingly digital experience to ensure Internet “premier presence” or prominent placement with on-line advertising.

And even that isn’t enough.

“Anyone can create a Web site, but it must be viewed by the public,” Fredericks says. “The site should be found and boot up easily or the buyer will move on with a click of the finger.”