After nearly two years of frenzy where homes were selling above the asking price with multiple offers, the recent decision made by the Federal Reserve to try to curb inflation by influencing the money supply and the credit conditions led to significant hikes in interest rates. As a result, although, the current real estate market is still considered to be a "sellers’ market", it is likely that, in the near future, homeowners selling their homes will receive fewer offers and/or lower purchase prices if they do not use the right strategy when marketing their homes.
To help bridge the gap and beat your competition, here are some proven tips to help you sell your home in no time and for top dollars in today’s real estate market:
1). The Price Must Be Right
Pricing the property for sale at the right level is one of the key topics that you and your real estate agent should talk about thoroughly. The offered price needs to take into account the fact that interest rates are getting higher as well as the condition of the property in comparison with comparable properties that recently sold in your neighborhood.
1.1). Do not price your property for sale too low hoping to attract more potential buyers. A property is considered to be priced too low when the asking price is below the price transparency rule, i.e. 10% under the average selling price for the same type of property in your neighborhood. This strategy is dangerous and somewhat useless as you may have a lot of traffic during the open house and you may receive multiple offers but only a few potential buyers will have enough money to purchase your home at the price you want. Also, if the price is too low it might give the impression that something is wrong with the home.
1.2)When the listing price is too high, i.e. more than 10% above the average selling price for the same type of property in your neighborhood, you will most likely impact the open house “traffic” by scaring away potential able buyers, especially if they recently wrote offers that were not accepted, as they are well aware that for months homes almost always sold over the asking price.
1.3). The way to go: make sure to pick a real estate agent who has the knowledge and the courage to tell you for how much your property should be listed at even if this is no the price you were hoping for. Be aware, that there is an unfortunate practice in real estate, not always known by the public, called ” buying a listing” which can have ravaging effects on the sale of a property.
Some real estate agents to secure a listing instead of determining the sale price based on facts .i.e. the result of the Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) they must prepare, will simply abide by the listing price requested by the sellers. This discrepancy between the reality of what the price should be at a given time for a given dwelling versus the price asked by the sellers will incur the following chain of negative events:
1. The property will sit on the market without being sold;
2. At one point the price will need to be dropped to finally reflect the true current value of the property;
3. In the end, the offers that will be received will be below the new asking price for 2 major reasons:
- Buyers will think there is something wrong with the property because it did not sell yet ;
- Buyers will expect that the sellers now need to sell quickly and, will be tempted to present under asking price offers.
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2). Timeless tricks to make your house shine
2.1). Clean and de-clutter your home to expose every single square inch of your house to potential buyers. Remember to wax and/or repair your hardwood floor in particular and shampoo or replace your carpet where required. Clean and "lean" homes sell 2-3x times faster on average.
2.2). Enhance your home curb appeal. An unappealing front yard will discourage potential home buyers from entering or at worse give them a bad feeling from the start. It will also incentivize them to renege on prices. Minimal landscaping does the job pretty well.
2.3). Complete unfinished renovation and upgrades. Not only your home will command a higher asking price but will alleviate concerns for potential buyers who dream of nothing more than buying move-in-ready homes especially when they will pay a lot of money for it.
2.4). Be open to improvements. For instance, we all know as realtors that kitchens and bathrooms are 2 key factors that sell a house. If any of those areas of your home are outdated, you should consider updating them if you can afford to do so and if the return on investment is worth it. If you cannot afford to do so, a clean place will always attract buyers even if it is old for a simple reason: clean rhymes with well-maintained in the buyers ‘ minds.
2.5). Stage your home. If the home is vacant, unless it is a fixer-upper, staging the house is a must-do. If you still live in your home, your realtor and/ or a professional stager can help you with the staging. In both cases, the aim is to make sure to make your home look bigger, brighter, and cleaner from every angle. Doing so will help create an emotional connection between your home and potential buyers, and make them feel at home at your place.