Have you ever driven through your neighborhood and seen a “For Sale” sign sit in front of a home for entirely too long? Ever wondered “What is wrong with that house” as it continues to sit on the market? Ever wondered why some homes don’t sell, while others seem to be Under Contract on Day One?
With low-interest rates and low supply, now is the best time in years to sell. While home selling is not an exact science, there are a number of factors that can help ensure that your home is ready when it hits the market.
The Price is Right
As a homeowner, you have an emotional investment in your home. You’ve spent holidays there, raised your children there, and invested time and effort into maintaining and improving it.
In addition, you may have heard of other homes in your neighborhood selling for more than you thought possible, leading you to assume that your home will also sell for that price. However, many factors go into determining market value, and your home value will be determined by a variety of measures including what upgrades you’ve made, their quality, and even the time of year.
And while you may have heard of that one comparable home that sold for far over market value, there may be others that sold much lower. Those comps will also be taken into account when Buyers are determining fair market value for your home.
If you are priced at the top of the market, buyers may choose not to make an offer at all. Want to float a higher price at first, “Just to test the market”? This could end up backfiring, causing you to chase the market down and end up below the floor you anticipated.
The Right Upgrades
Saw a spectacular light up shower wall in your Vegas hotel suite? Thinking of building a huge Great Room addition onto your bungalow? Choosing a retro theme for your kitchen?
All of these real-life upgrades can turn into “downgrades” when it comes time to sell.
If your upgrade prices you out of the neighborhood or doesn’t keep with the style of the area’s homes (and the expectations of potential homebuyers) they might end up doing more harm than good.
If you are in your forever home, indulge your design whims to your heart’s content. But if you know you’ll be selling soon, make upgrades that will have potential Buyers saying “Wow” instead of “What?”
The Right Timing
Timing can make a big difference in your home sale, especially in maximizing your exposure to homebuyers.
Factors like an early spring snowstorm can mean that your listing goes stale before people are out looking. The school calendar can also have a big impact on when people are starting to look in order to get to the closing table in time for the start of the school year.
If the timing is out of your control, like with a job change, pricing strategies, staging, and marketing become even more important in order to offset a slower market.
The Right Marketing
Gone are the days when a Realtor stuck a sign in the yard and called that a marketing plan. Now, more than 90% of home buyers search online during their home buying process.
That means that photography, virtual tours, and other online tools have become even more vital in successfully positioning your home in the marketplace. An extensive online and social media presence along with mobile optimization is also vital for reaching all of those potential Buyers.
The Right Agent
The right agent understands all of these factors and, more importantly, can communicate effectively with you in order to help you navigate the many elements that go into a great home sale experience.
From price to smart updates to marketing, your Eng Garcia agent has the experience and client focus to ensure that you have the latest insights and strategies to create a home sale experience that is second-to-none.
Create an account on our website to keep up with the latest market news and stats and to have your home valuation performed by one of our real estate pros. We can’t wait to get to work for you!
If you or anyone you know is thinking about selling and would like some advice from one of our Real Estate professionals, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 202.290.1313 or email us at info@enggarcia.com.
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I appreciate your explanation about how your home value is determined by the upgrades and quality of your home. My wife and I want to get a house so we figured what better way to look for a good home than to see how to sell a home. This way we can learn what truly goes into a home’s price and what we should look out for.
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Nice way to increase the value of a house and it is proven that when you prepare your house for sale, you get a good deal, but some dealers and agents are here who only buy your house without worrying much about the condition of the house.
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This is an outstanding post that’s filled with so many useful nuggets. Thank you for being so detailed on Preparing to Sell Your Home.
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It’s awesome that you talked about how it’s important when you put your condo for sale. Recently, my sister mentioned she wants to sell her property to purchase a house down the suburbs. She’s eager to start her family in her own house, so I think this article could help my sister. I appreciate your tips about how to sell your property.
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Thank you, for putting together everything in preparing to sell your home? do it right. I think you have covered all the major points in this article, I will share this with my network as well. keep it up! I really appreciate your explanation.
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This article is great, I’m also planning to sell my house and it helps me to think on how to sell it. I must find the right agent, which is a good idea.
Well done.
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I subscribe to every word because it is an absolute verity that preparation and presentation of your home play a global and even key role for selling it in a profitable way. I am so glad that I came across this article because I am going to sell my accommodation and it is so important to take all details into account because any aspect can turn out to be the key one. I really like these practical recommendations because they are so laconic and effective at the same time. I think that you need to heed each of them in order to make the best deal. In my opinion, primarily any owner needs to make a deep clean because it is the initial and one of the most essential stages. This will help update your home and will give it a new fresh look. Thank you loads!
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I like how you mentioned that you can upgrade or maintain parts of your home to be more valuable. My uncle mentioned to me last night that he is planning to sell his home and asked if I have any idea what is the best option to prepare a home for selling. Thanks to this informative article and I’ll be sure to tell him that he can consult a well-known home sale preparation service in town as they can help him with all his concerns.