Perhaps you’ve outgrown your current home, and you’ve decided it’s time for an upgrade. Maybe you’re getting ready to move to another neighborhood in town or even to an entirely different state. No matter what your reason is for selling your home, you’re hopeful that your home will sell quickly and for the best possible price. This list of home selling tips will help you think about how you can best prepare for the selling process to ensure that you aren’t leaving money on the table. Use these tips and tricks to prepare for a fast and profitable home sale.
1. Understand the current state of the market
It’s important to have a basic understanding of what the market is doing when you’re thinking about putting your home up for sale. This will help you adjust your expectations, especially if your home doesn’t generate the initial interest that you think it should. Right now, housing markets across the nation are experiencing a recession to some degree. There are a number of reasons why this is happening, but two critical factors are higher interest rates and rapid inflation. These ongoing issues contribute to a slower market by decreasing buyer demand and stalling any potential increase in average home prices. Homes are still selling right now, but they can often take longer than what sellers are used to experiencing – especially in recent months when the market has been so hot. Don’t be discouraged if things move more slowly than you would like.
2. Price your home effectively
Obviously, you don’t want to price your home too low and risk leaving money on the table. You also don’t want to price your home so high that you won’t effectively generate interest in your home sale. Some people will tell you that it only takes one buyer who has interest at a higher price to make more money than what you would have thought was possible. This sounds good in theory, but it rarely works out this well. You run the risk of having to drop your price if you don’t get any initial traffic, and there’s a good chance that your home won’t appraise even if you get someone to bite on a higher price. It’s important to consider the best possible price point for your home before you officially list your home for sale. Ask your realtor to run a CMA, or Comparative Market Analysis, for you. This will help you consider what your home might appraise for based on sales of other properties in your area in recent months. Your realtor can also help you think about a creative price point where you may have an opportunity to dominate the market.
For example, say a CMA shows that your home is worth around $475,000. Imagine there are several homes currently on the market priced between $460,000 and $480,000 but none priced between $480,000 and $500,000. If you price your home slightly higher, you can take advantage of a gap in the market without running a serious risk that your home doesn’t appraise. Talk with your realtor about if there are any opportunities for you to take advantage of openings like this in your current market.
3. Use creative marketing strategies
Modern-day realtors are experts when it comes to new and cutting-edge marketing strategies. This doesn’t mean that the tried-and-true methodologies, such as putting a “for sale” sign in your front yard, are no longer worth your time. The best approach is a “both-and” approach rather than an “either-or” mentality.
One way to gain a competitive advantage when selling a home is to use social media to your advantage. Billions of people log into social media on a daily basis, and although many of them won’t have an interest in purchasing a home in your area, chances are some of them would. Consider using promoted Facebook ad campaigns to generate greater interest in your home listing. You should also invest in professional pictures that you can include in social media posts that will grab viewers’ attention and cause them to pause their scrolling to look at your home. Another marketing strategy that many realtors are finding success with is using short-form videos to generate greater interest in available homes. Perhaps you film a short video to tease an upcoming open house, or maybe you go a step further and create a full video tour of your home. People enjoy watching short videos these days, and you can use this information to your advantage when selling a home.
4. Stage your home like an interior designer
Even if you have no idea what trends and styles are in right now, you can still stage your home like an expert. One easy tip is to clear clutter from each room or space in your home. Many people falsely believe that pushing furniture all the way up against the wall is the best way to make a room appear larger and more open. The opposite is actually true. Leave at least four feet of space between your furniture and your walls to allow plenty of room for people to flow freely throughout the space. Keep furniture at least eighteen inches away from other pieces at all times.
Another good staging tip is to set each seat at the kitchen table or bar. This gives buyers a chance to imagine what it would feel like to eat a meal or host guests in the space. Lastly, take down all personal pictures before you begin showing your home. Not only will this protect your family’s privacy, but it will also keep visitors from feeling as though they are intruding on your space.
Javier Tello has helped countless buyers shop for The Heights homes for sale. During his time working in the local market, he has learned a great deal about what buyers are looking for. He uses this knowledge to help his clients who are selling position their homes for quick sales at the highest prices. Reach out to Javier if you’re looking for someone who can help your home stand out on the market.