Selling a home can be a challenging and time-consuming affair, especially if it’s your first time doing it. You’ll have to take strangers in and around your home and hear them criticize the place you’ve probably called home for years. To add to that, they may offer you lower prices than you’d appreciate hearing. However, there are things you can do to ensure that you attract the right buyers and prices for your home.
If you want to get the most favorable deal for your home, the secret is to make it stand out. Selling a house starts even before listing and showing take place. You’ll need to seek advice and spend some time and money preparing it for sale. Your preparation lays the ground for your success in selling a home at its most value, which you can accomplish by trying these tips:
1. Have A Preferred Method Of Sale
After you decide to sell your home, you need to know how you want to sell it. There’s a standard and well-known way of selling a home: hire an agent, list the property, show it, negotiate, and close. But this method will cost you a 6% agent commission on the price of the house. Fortunately, there are other options for selling your home that don’t involve an agent. They include the following:
• Selling To An Investor: Investors are popularly known as cash buyers, and they buy homes in any condition. This means you don't need to make any renovations before the sale, although this may reduce the amount you receive for the house. You can research within your area for reputable investors like Element Homebuyers. With this option, you don’t need to use a real estate agent to complete the sale.
• For Sale By Owner (FSBO): This doesn’t involve enlisting the services of a real estate agent, either. The benefit of selling a home yourself is that you save on agent commission and fees. However, the process requires good market research so you can set the right price, market the property, show the house, and handle the transaction to completion.
• Selling To iBuyers: Instant buyers, or iBuyers, are investor companies that rely entirely on provided online data to approximate the value of your home and buy it directly from you.
2. Understand The Local Housing Market
When selling a house in a market where the demand for residential properties is lower than the supply, prices tend to be lower. This is because no buyer will buy a home at a higher price than similar homes within the same area. But when the homes are fewer than the buyers, prices go up as buyers compete over the few houses available.
To measure how favorable the market is, you need to find statistics on how much time homes are taking to sell after being listed. If you notice that houses similar to yours are selling more quickly, this indicates high demand. Another thing to keep a close eye on is the home appreciation rates. They show how fast house prices are rising, with a sharp increase indicating that buyers are paying more.
Those two trends will help you in pricing your home and level of negotiation. You’ll also have a rough idea of how long it’ll take you to sell your property. If you aren’t quite conversant with these matters, a reputable realtor within your area can provide you with assistance.
3. Price The Home Right
After researching the current housing market trends, your pricing plays a significant role in attracting the right buyers to the house. If you’re using an estate agent, ensure that you agree on the price. Therefore, you need to set the price right from the start. If you overprice your home, you might be forced to reduce the amount at some point, making your listing fall below where it’s easily discoverable.
4. Make The First Impression Count
Alongside pricing, a large part of selling your house successfully is curb appeal. It doesn’t matter how well you’ve maintained the interior of your home—potential buyers will judge it from the outside first. There’s never a second chance to make first impressions. This is not to say that the interior shouldn't be in good condition; it only means that the exterior is equally important.
When the time for viewing the house comes, it’s crucial that buyers feel like they’re at the right place when they approach the house. Clean all exterior spaces, and add some flowers and plants. Creating a good impression is essential to make the buyers see the home’s worth from the start. However, take note that it’s best to focus on minor fixes since huge improvements might cost you. Consider doing tasks such as painting the walls and fixing leaking faucets and creaky doors.
Selling Your Home For Its Best Value
If you want to discover more ways to sell your home for the best value, it's advisable to talk to a local real estate agent even if you’re already doing research on your own. This will help you leverage all the tools available to make the best sale. The most important things to remember are to avoid massive renovations that’ll cost you too much right before listing and to always set your price right the first time.
