With a shortage of homes for sale, homeowners are enjoying the current seller’s market. Home buyers are giving them multiple offers to choose from, waiving inspections, and providing free rent-backs. Still, it’s important to know that in this market, not all homes are flying off the shelves. Buyers expect, and rightfully so, value for money. What should be straight-forward sales often create stress on the home seller not fully prepared. If you’re thinking of selling your home and want the best possible price with the least amount of trauma, consider these basics. Here’s what you can do to get top dollar for your home without the stress.
Pricing Your Home
The real estate market is settling back to pre-pandemic levels. Gone are the days of selling homes of all prices and conditions selling for 20% above asking price in 2 days. In this market, pricing your home appropriately makes all the difference. Getting this right means alleviating the stress of facing low-ball offers and longer wait times before going under contract. There is a lot that goes into researching a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).
A real estate specialist assists by looking at everything from your home’s location, neighborhood, available sales, present condition, renovations, and knowing the current real estate market statistics. These and more enable your agent to offer advice on a suggested sale price of your home. Once this price is set appropriately at market value, home owners should rest assured that they will have less headaches down the road. Working with skilled and experienced real estate agents is vital to determine price.
The Cost of Over Pricing
Overpricing a home leads to low-ball offers and longer days on the market. This is frustrating to home owners who then have to adjust their expectations and planning. Additionally, when an age t lowers a sale price after going on the market, it sends the message to prospective buyers that it wasn’t priced properly to begin with. And if the home stays on the market for an extended period of time, it may be perceived as either overpriced and/or the condition is questionable. Underpricing also leads to the similar question from buyers, “what’s wrong with it”. By setting a great price for your home based on a professional CMA, you’re bound to end up with top dollar and less stress.
Preparation
In this current market, preparing your home is equally important to ensure top dollar and less chance of unexpected outcomes. Buyers are willing to bid higher and waive contingencies for homes they perceive to be in great condition. To accomplish this, it’s important for sellers to see their homes as potential buyers do. Again, a seasoned real estate agent offers this objective view point. They are also able to suggest repairs and other tips to get your home ready for showing to prospective buyers. By dealing with maintenance problems early, it’s less likely the sale will be delayed due to these issues. This includes making sure major systems are in great working condition, have been recently serviced, and that important repairs have been taken care of. They can also offer the best vendors to get the job done quickly and at a fair price.
Staging
Staging is often a controversial issue, especially for agents unfamiliar or unwilling to go down this path. This part of the home selling process involves making the home look clean, bright, and attractive. The goal is for buyers to be able to envision living in your home. It creates an emotional reaction when entering your home for the first time. It’s all about the “wow” factor. According to the National Association of Realtors, “staging can help increase the sale price by up to 20% on average.” Home owners wanting the best price for their homes should seriously consider the investment.
Marketing
According to National Association of Realtors, 97 percent of home buyers search for homes online. This means it’s important for your home to show well on the internet. The more buyers see your home in a good light, the more interest it will generate. This often leads to more showings and possibly more offers. Important components of marketing begin with professional photography. Choosing the right photos, time of day, and your home’s composition are equally critical. It’s vital that your home shows well. Most other marketing tools will rely on these images to tell your home’s story. Your Realtor will use these in all forms – print media, direct marketing, events, personal networks, media relations, and social media to get the word out about your home coming on the market.
Bottom Line
Even in the current seller’s market, pricing and preparation are essential to obtaining top dollar for your home without the stress. While today’s buyers are anxious for any new available inventory, they’re also aware of value and have abundant amounts of information available to them. Most sellers want to ensure their home stands out and entices buyers.
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