PrintWhile it is still true that selling a home in a buyer’s market is still no simple task, here are some tried-and-true tips for turning your home into the most marketable product that it can possibly become.
Set the Stage.
Homes with that “lived-in” feel are going to be a lot less likely to sell in today’s market. The buyer that might have bought a fixer-upper before the crash of 2008 now has the opportunity to purchase a short sale or a foreclosure. This means that sellers of an older, slightly distressed property need to present the look and feel of a property that, while old enough to have acquired a little charm, is still new enough (or in good enough repair) to represent an investment that won’t turn into a money hole.
Home staging is about creating an illusion, about “wowing” the buyer into believing in a dream. It goes beyond decorating and cleaning, clipping the grass and touching up the paint, and into making your home look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer, and more inviting. Most important of all, home staging turns a curious looky-loo into a buyer ready to make an offer. Whether or not you still live in the property as you are selling, you need to get rid of your clutter and make way for a professional home stager. Go to USstoragesearch.com, find a storage facility near to your location, and move the vast majority of your belongings so that buyers can get a real look at the place and imagine living there themselves.
Be Realistic About Price
Economics has always been about supply and demand, and, unfortunately for sellers, though supply is weak demand for real estate is still significantly weakerthan it was ten years ago. If you are not prepared to sell at fair market value, then it is probably best that you wait. Don’t price your house above market value and then expect people to come along and make you an offer, as that is not happening in this market. Rather, if people believe your property is overpriced, they will become intimidated and just move on to the next property on their itinerary. Remember, the one person whose opinion matters when it comes to pricing your home is the buyer.
Access, Access, Access
Ensure that your house is ready to show at all times-make your bed each morning, clean up those dishes, and disappear on Saturday and Sunday, since that is usually when potential buyers have time to check out properties. Limiting the hours for showing the house or requiring an appointment for a showing will only decrease your potential for getting a sale in a reasonable amount of time.
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