1. Presentation
Have professional photos taken and declutter. We shop with our eyes first and photos are the potential buyer’s first impression of your home. Be sure that your agent is using a professional photographer to capture your house in the best positive light (literally and figuratively). Listen to your agent about staging your house. You don’t necessarily need to pay for expensive professional staging, just decluttering your space will make a world of difference.
2. Local Representation
Use a local real estate agent. The expertise and knowledge a local agent has about your market is absolutely crucial in getting your home sold. They understand the market trends down to the micro-level, they know how to prepare a price evaluation (a CMA) by using valid, local comparable homes and they understand the potential obstacles that are unique to your marketplace you may need to overcome.
3. Price
In today’s market, the number 1 reason why a property isn’t selling is price. Not being in a hurry to sell is a great position to be stress-wise, however, pricing high and waiting for an offer at that price is likely going to hurt you in the long run. If you price your property too high, it is going to sit on the market, and you risk receiving less than what you would have been offered if you had initially listed it at market value. Buyers are tired of waiting for interest rates to come down and they are ready to buy now (we are even starting to see multiple offers again). Buyers, however, are not willing to overpay. Talk to a local real estate agent and ask them to prepare a comparative market analysis (CMA) for your home.
-Kerri Jones, Managing Broker