Looking to sell? 5 Things to do to make your home attractive to buyers
Originally Posted on 1/7/2020
When selling your home, it mustn't be just 'looking good,' it needs to outshine the competition - completely outshine the competitors if possible.
To sell your home quickly and for the most money, you must have a strategy that will set it apart from all other listings competing for the buyers in the area. To help you do that, we have outlined our time-tested five-step plan for winning the listing game.
Use our strategy to get your listing noticed, win over the buyers, and get a higher net sales price than the competition.
First: Dress it up, you want it to look the best
Do you believe that people form an opinion about you within the first few seconds the first time they meet you? It is the same for your home; buyers will make a judgment the minute they walk up to the house, and again when they enter.
Most sellers will do the minimum to ready their home for sale. They will mow the lawn, maybe trim a few bushes, vacuum, sometimes declutter, fix a few broken items. These things are, of course, essential. However, buyers want to see or at least be able to envision a dream home. Your job as a seller is to help them envision that dream, and one way to do that is by staging your home.
Home staging is a hot trend in real estate for a reason: It works! The Real Estate Staging Association estimates that staged homes sell 73% faster than non-staged homes. 1
When the talk turns to staging many homeowners believe that it is a costly process involving renting 'staging furniture' and a staging expert. Generally speaking, staging is just the act of getting your home ready to sell. The aim is to minimize any shortcomings and show off the strengths to help buyers envision themselves living in your home. That may involve rearranging some furniture or repainting a room to make it look bigger and brighter.
Sometimes it makes sense to hire a professional home stager, but often staging can be done by the seller, guided by their agent.
We can help you decide the level of effort and set an adequate budget to place your home ahead of the neighborhood competition. And staging pays off. 85% of staged homes achieved a sale price between 6 and 25% higher than non-staged homes according to a 2018 survey.2
Second: Use High-Quality, Professional Photos
The very first impression 90% or more of potential buyers get of your home is the photos used in the listing. To most buyers, the listing photos are critical when choosing which homes to visit.3 Low quality or cell-phone photos will keep buyers away.
Because photography is such a vital part of the sales strategy, we only use the best local real estate photographers. However, we do not solely rely on their technical skills as photographers when presenting your home.
The photographers we work with know to capture the best selling points of your home. They don't just take snapshots each picture tells a story about your home. Working with the right people pays off. Listings with high-quality photography sell 32% faster than the competition, often for more money!4
Third: Price it right
Probably the single most valuable advise your real estate professional can give you is to price your home right from the start. Even in a strong market, some homes will remain unsold for several months. When that happens, buyers may start thinking that something is wrong with the home, making it even harder to sell.
Often when homes stay on the market for months, there is only one explanation; they were priced too high.
All buyers work within a budget, and most buyers will view homes within a specific price range. When your home is overpriced, it can't properly compete with the other homes buyers are considering in their price range. Eventually, you will have to drop the price, but at this point, it may already have been on the market too long.
On the other hand, aggressively pricing the home could make it one of the best homes the buyers see within their price range. It can even emotionally attach the buyers to the home and making them more willing to pay a premium for the house or ask for fewer seller concessions. It may also lead to a bidding war, eventually putting more money in your pockets.
A well-planned pricing strategy from the start is the optimal way to secure a faster and more profitable sale.
Fourth: Put on a show
Once you get them (the buyers) in the door, give them what they came for; a good show and the house of their dreams.
Availability is key. Your home needs to be readily available for showings, even with short notice. Buyers are excited when they find a home they want to see, and they don't want to wait. A missed showing as a missed opportunity to sell. If you set too many restrictions on showings, buyers may move on to the next listing, because even in the strongest seller's market, there are always other possible choices for the buyer.
Keeping your home in show-condition all the time while it is on the market is crucial. Most homes do not look like homes in magazines. The majority of us live somewhat messy lives, and that reflects in the way our homes look when we are not ready for guests. Putting a little effort into keeping the home clean, tidy, and 'prepared for visitors' could be what ends up selling your home. Because you were ready for that last-minute showing that your competitor couldn't accept.
Fifth: Have a strong promotion plan
A lot has happened in the past 20 years, yet many agents still market homes like it was the year 2000. They put the home in the MLS, stick a sign in the yard, and sit back and pray that a buyer comes by. The only problem with that strategy is that 93% of all buyers start searching for a new home online.
That is the reason we invest in training and the latest technology, so we can ensure that your listing shows where buyers look for their next home. We designed our marketing plan to keep your listing at the top of potential buyer's minds, and it begins even before we list your home.
Using social media platforms and other online marketing strategies, we connect with consumers and real estate professionals to give your home the best possible exposure.
IS IT TIME TO MOVE?
If selling your home is something you consider, get a head start on your competition! Ask us for a copy of our free Home Seller's Guide. The guide is a comprehensive guide to the home selling process. You can also call us to schedule a free - no-commitment - consultation. We can do this in person in your home, or virtually through most platforms. We would be thrilled to create a custom plan for selling your home fast and at the best possible price!
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