2 most effective things you can do to sell your home

When it comes to selling your home there are many factors that lead to a successful sale. A few concerns that we hear from sellers are… marketing, open houses, beautiful photographs, etc. While these are indeed important, there are TWO items that you must be 100% accountable for in order to sell regardless of your property type.

1.) Price. This is the single most important element to selling your home. Check out my past blog Overpricing: the chain reaction. The bottom line is simple math: price is ultimately determined by the market, not the seller or an agent with a full bag of tricks. A higher offer price reduces the number of showings and a reduced number of showings equals longer market time. This invaribaly equals price reductions. In short, unless you enjoy all the work, inconvenience, and expense involved in properly preparing your home for showings, price it right. That means according to the market and comparable properties in your neighborhood. In a down market, you’ll likely have to price below market averages. In an up market, you can often get away with asking a little more.

2.) Condition. The way that the home presents itself is absolutely critical. A cheap price can overcome this but lets face it, who wants to leave money on the table? Now let me tell you one other secret. When I prepare a home for sale I’m always concerned about what buyers subcontiously take away from the showing. It’s the feeling they leave with. I’ve sold hundreds of homes and I can tell you right now, no agent can “talk somebody into” a home. The home positively must sell itself. My general advice is to think of your home as open, airy, and clutter free - then make that happen. Here are a few examples of subcontious items: clutter free closets – this tells buyers there is plenty of closet space and storage in the home;  open up the floor plan so that there are no bottle neck areas – tight spaces leave buyers with the impression that the room is too small; or maybe even childrens toys stacked in a corner – besides telling buyers there is no storage, you just told them your not a detail person. Neatly stacked bins with labels immediately shows that you take care of your things. Perfect, now you just told them that you’re neat and everybody wants to buy a house from someone who takes care of their stuff:)  Good luck!!