Here at Venterra Real Estate, we sell at all price points and high or low, we see consistent patterns that change how quickly homes sell and for how much. Naturally, most homeowners prefer to see their homes sell faster and for more money, so we wanted to share 4 tips that are easy to implement and will make your home stand out from the competition.
4 Tips For Selling Your Home Faster and For More Money
#1 Presentation
Declutter. Clean out. Purge. Go “Marie Kondo” on your space. Presentation of your home is critical for ensuring buyers see themselves in your home. When buyers are coming into your home while it is active on the market, it is also very important to highlight the space you have. Counter-tops, floors and walls should all be clean and cleared of excess. You are going to have to do it any ways, why not start packing away the extras before you list your home? Plus, any of those prized possessions that you may want to ensure stay protected may be best kept in storage during showings, open houses, and inspections.
In addition to clearing out extra items, we will often recommend professional staging to rearrange or even add items that are designed to either draw attention to or away from certain aspects of the home. It could be that an awkwardly shaped room needs the eye of an interior designer to make the best use of the space or an otherwise dark room is spruced up by colorful and vibrant decor.
NAR (National Association of Realtors) has some very interesting stats about a staged house.
“Forty percent of buyers’ agents cited that home staging had an effect on most buyers’ view of the home.”
“Eighty-three percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.”
“83% of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.”
The importance here is to prep your home for market. Take some time to prepare, declutter and stage the home. Not only will it sell faster, but in our current market it will sell for more.
#2 Pre-Home Inspection
One of the biggest hurdles in many transactions is the home inspection. In Colorado, the buyers will have the option to request repairs to be made by the seller. These repairs should only be for health and safety reasons, but they can get expensive if not prepared for.
Our recommendation is to hire a professional home inspector to review all the major components in your home. Really, we believe this is beneficial in two major ways. First, there shouldn’t be any surprises once you secure a buyer and the buyer hires a professional home inspector. In this way, you have the upper hand on negotiations as you have already had a set of eyes on the important things before an inspector who is acting solely in the interest of the buyer comes up with a list of repairs. Secondly, if the recommended repairs from the pre-inspection are easy enough for you to do on your own, you could save money by not paying someone else to do them. Once repairs are made and you have decluttered and staged, only two more things to consider.
#3 Price Strategy
This is arguably the most important component of timing and, obviously, how much you end up getting for your home. Just about anything will sell for the right price. In our experience, there is a direct correlation between how high or low in relation to market value a home is listed and how long a home sits on the market. Because of this, we strongly recommend to most of our sellers to avoid overpricing your home as it can reduce market exposure, cause serious buyers to disregard, or, even worse, throw in “low-ball” offers after the home has sat for weeks or months.
The first two weeks of a listing’s timeline are the most critical in determining how well the home is priced. Of course this is not to say that a home will not sell after two weeks, but this time frame is generally when the most buyer attention is given to it. The feedback provided during this period will typically be a good indicator for whether or not a price reduction is in order. We know sellers that want to list their home above fair market value, thinking, “Why not just try?” But if you are over priced, the first 10 to 15 showings will be comprised of buyers that think your price is too high. So we take a different approach in advising our sellers…
We say underprice your home slightly. In doing so, rather than the first set of buyers thinking your price is too high, you have them thinking, “This is a good deal!” That might cause concern at first glance, but consider the likely scenario that several buyers are thinking the same thing and now find themselves competing for your property, ultimately now finding ways to beat out the other buyers by possibly offering more or making accommodations that otherwise would not have been on the table, such as waiving inspection or offering to pay certain seller closing costs. This counterintuitive process is the most reliable way to get top dollar.
#4 Property Access
We understand if you still live at home, it can be a challenge to constantly have buyers walking through. However, maximum exposure is necessary to find the right buyer for your home. In other words, we want to make it as easy as possible to show your home to all approved buyers. So where is the balance? This is where we can set the rules for showings and pre-determine the times that your home is available. One of the ways our team of seasoned agents aims to allow for maximum exposure is by conducting mega open houses. These are open house events that are marketed broadly through the MLS, across all major real estate portals, emails to our database, and social media platforms, in addition to good old fashioned word of mouth. Our goal here is to get as many agents and buyers into the 2-3 hour window we ask you to let us hold your home open. Furthermore, through the scheduling software we use, you have ultimate control over times and days for showings. We simply ask that you allow as many showings to take place as possible so long as it isn’t turning your world upside down. After all, this period of time is relatively short if you take our advice on pricing.
That’s it! Our top 4 tips for selling your home faster and for more money. A lot goes into selling homes, but these are not to be overlooked. If you want to sell your house in the least amount of time at the best price with as little hassle as possible, a local Venterra Real Estate professional can guide you through the process. Contact us today to find out where to get started to sell your home.
P.S. A lot of homeowners start here