Selling into a buyers market
Every home seller wants to get as much return on their home as possible. And that makes sense: it’s reasonable to want to avoid a loss, especially in a buyer’s market. So how can you improve your chances of selling your home for more money?
A common home pricing strategy is to determine the market value of a home, and price it higher. After all, it’s best to test your chances with a high price, and lower it as needed, right?
Not quite, pricing your home lower than market value actually increases your chances of a profitable sale:
Price it a Little Low
Many homeowners think that pricing their home a little OVER market value will leave them room for negotiation. This actually lessens the demand for your house.
Instead of the seller trying to ‘win’ the negotiation with one buyer, they should price it so that demand for the home is maximized. By doing this, the seller will not be fighting with a buyer over the price, but will instead have multiple buyers fighting with each other over the house.
By prioritizing the number of buyers over the quality, bids can rise considerably.
Pricing a little bit low can potentially maximize your profit!
Attracting more buyers is the goal of any solid home marketing strategy. Along with keeping the price lower, curb appeal is also critical The first step to an attractive home comes from repairs and cleaning jobs performed before listing:
Improve the Curb Appeal
You’ve only got one chance to make a good first impression on the potential buyers. And it only takes a minute before they decide whether your home is right for them or not. You can vastly improve your chances if you improve the curb appeal of the exterior.
The lawn is mowed
The gutters are clean
The window frames are freshly painted
The yard is decluttered
The street number is clearly visible
All weeds are removed
First impressions are everything when it comes to buyers. A luxury home won’t fare any better than a simple townhouse if the lawn is overgrown and paint is chipping off.
Once attracted, buyers will look over the inside. Sellers stand to increase their sale price by making a few improvements to the interior. Proper home staging will give buyers the feeling of living in a new home:
Make it “home-ready”
Most home buyers are more inclined to purchase a house if there are fewer home improvements to be made. Be prepared and make your home move in ready by making these improvements:
– New carpeting/wood floors
– Fresh paint job
– Replace any damaged screens, faucets, windows, doors, etc.,
– Clean out each room and create more space by organizing any cluttered room, closets, and drawers.
Fixing any small issues will boost your chances over your competition. Home buyers want to envision themselves living in the house, so staging your home is such a big part of the selling strategy
Neglecting to make repairs and improvements to a home is a common mistake. Sellers are under the impression they will save money by doing so, but in reality, since a home buyer will almost always order a home inspection, the repairs will be made anyway. In this scenario the buyer also the advantage in negotiations, assuming they don’t walk away after the inspection. The one caveat to add, is that, with home values changing quite quickly right now, it is generally best to avoid home improvements that will delay the list date.
We may be in a buyer’s market, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good sale. If you’re looking to sell your home, and want to get the best price, give Susan Kramm a call at 306-441-6420
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