Selling your home is stressful, especially if you decide to list it in the fall or winter. The first step to getting the most money for your house is partnering up with an awesome real estate agent to market the house. However, if your agent isn’t truly great you might want some tricks up your sleeve to make sure you’re well ahead of the competition.
The real estate market is the buyers’ ground, so it means that you should put in some effort to ensure that your property stands out. Below are a few tips that will help your house stand out from the competition even in the off-season or over-saturated market. The tips are not fun nor are they easy. But they will get you the most money for your house in the shortest time.
Research the Local Market
If a neighborhood has more homes on sale than buyers, prices usually drop as the home sellers compete for fewer selling opportunities – the buyer’s market. On the other end, a market with more buyers than homes for sale, prices rise as the homebuyers compete for fewer units – a seller’s market.
One way to determine whether yours is a sellers’ or buyers’ market is by researching the average Days on Market (DoM) of similar houses in your neighborhood. In real estate speak, DoM is a statistic of how homes are actively listed on the market. When houses like yours sell faster than your area’s DoM, it’s a good indicator that you are in a market with strong demand.
Your Realtor should already understand all of this but if you’re going it alone, you may also look at the price appreciation for homes within your market. This figure indicates how fast house prices rise – a steep increase signals potential buyers are willing to buy. The trends impact your home’s worth and ability to negotiate items such as repairs. You can use the patterns to determine how long it would take to sell your property, which impacts costs.
Get Rid of Clutter
If you have been living in the house for many years, it is hard not to accumulate a few things – or a lot. Unfortunately, most people you meet do not see beyond the ill-matched furniture and clutter, making rooms in your home much smaller than they are. And nobody would want to step into, or even purchase, a messy and disorganized house.
If you wish to sell the house fast, it is time you do yourself a favor and start clearing out the space to improve the perception of space for every room in your house. This also enhances flow! Go further and get rid of photos and any valuable items since buyers would like to envision themselves living their lives in the house.
While cleaning, get to the attic, and basement, and get your pantries and closets organized. If something cannot go to a storage service, donate it or throw it in the trash. This exercise also offers you a chance to bring order to your life, making it easy as you move on.
The Right Price
Another tip to sell your house like a pro includes not overpricing your property as it places you in a position where you would have to drop the price. Dropping the price reminds people your home hasn’t sold. Buyers are skeptical of properties that have been on the market for a long time. They think, “Maybe something is wrong with this one?”
If you drop the price too far then you are limiting negotiating strength. Setting the wrong price from the start is one of the biggest mistakes that owners make. Taking too long to sell means there are additional, unforeseen costs like paying double storage fees, a mortgage, and even temporary renting.
Conclusion
To sell your house quickly for the most money, you need to understand the local real estate market trends, how much it will cost to sell your home, and the best way to meet your selling goals. At the same time, keep in mind that the highest offer will not always leave you with the most money nor will you be able to recoup the costs that went into major renovations.
