Regardless of whether you decide to sell your house in a buyer’s market or a seller’s market, the reality is that you will always have some level competition; you will never be the only house for sale. There is a way to maximize your sale price in any market, because whether there are 10, or 100 comparable homes to yours, you want to be the home that the majority of buyers consider to be the best. You can turn any amount of competition in your favour.
The house that sells for the most money and in the shortest amount of time is the house that best meets the needs and wants of the buyer. By presenting your house in a way that appeals to buyers, you can obliterate your competition: a large majority of home owners list their homes in an as-is condition without any consideration for a marketing strategy. There are a lot of fine details to presenting and staging your home for sale, but you can’t know what work you need to do until you first understand a few key points.
Know Your Target Market
Step into the shoes of the target buyer and critique your house based on their needs and wants. Your REALTOR® can tell you who your target market it. For example, an empty-nester couple has lived in their large family house for 25 years and is now looking to downsize. It is very likely the target buyer will be a young family, not someone who is of the couple’s generation and lifestyle. Based on who the target buyer is for your house, you must think about what they would need and want from your home so that it is the best option for them.
A Home Must be in Good Condition - the Function of the House
Unless you are willing to price your house at the lower end of fair market value, you need to ensure that your house is in good repair and doesn’t need any serious repairs: roof, windows, furnace, electrical. These are items that buyers expect you to have maintained over the years that you lived in the home. You will have competition that doesn’t need any repairs, and the majority of buyers will pay more for a house that is in good condition.
A Home Must be Updated - the Form of the House
Unless you are willing to price your house at the lower end of fair market value, you need to ensure that your house has all of the modern amenities that buyers want, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. All buyers want a house that will bring an elevated sense of lifestyle and convenience. You will have competition that provides these amenities and the majority of buyers will pay more for a home that is modern and updated.
Everyone is Busy, Including Buyers
We all lead extremely busy lifestyles and every house has a list of little repairs that will hurt you when you want to sell. Items such as peeling exterior paint, holes in screen doors, chipped baseboards, missing switch plates, cracked tile, etc. Try to avoid the mindset that buyers should expect to do some work to their new house; because buyers really don’t want to do any work at all. You will have competition (new construction, etc) that doesn’t have this list of repairs, and the majority of buyers will pay more for a home that is complete to the finest detail.
If you work with your REALTOR® to take a strategic approach to selling your house, you can ensure you get the best results. Everyone wants top dollar for their home, but whether or not that happens depends entirely on you.
Written by:
Stephanie O’Leary, ASP
Owner & Accredited Staging Professional
www.yoursalesadvantage.com