In this article we will provide you with the 9 best home selling tips to make sure that you sell your property at the maximum price possible.
Are you getting your house ready to sell? While the US housing market is currently a seller’s market, you still need to prepare your home to attract qualified real estate investors or home buyers and get a good price. Location, staging, and partnering with the right realtor can all affect the outcome of your property sale. The last thing you want is to have to drop your asking price due to minor details that could have been addressed before your property for sale hit the market.
It has been projected that there will be a national increase in house sales by at least 6.6%. This means that there is a higher demand for properties at the moment, boosting your chances of selling your house rather quickly. However, the current seller’s market is still a competitive one depending on your location, so you will still need to make small repairs and changes to make your home stand out to potential buyers. While this may require a bit of work upfront, it will pay off tenfold down the line.
Related: Buyers Market vs Sellers Market in Real Estate: Everything That You Need to Know
To ensure that you are on the right path, here are a few home selling tips that you should be aware of when listing and real estate tips for sellers that will surely get your property sold in no time.
Home Selling Tips: What Do Buyers Look for in a Home?
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of specifics of the best home selling tips and how to fix up your house, you should be aware of what potential buyers are looking for in your home or income property for sale. Though each buyer will have a different set of needs and wants when looking into investing in real estate, these are the common things that everyone will be considering when looking at your property:
1. Property Price
Before buying a home or an investment property, most people will have a budget on what they can afford to spend on prospective properties. This may be out of pocket or based on a pre-approved loan, but regardless of their payment methods, if your house is listed too high, they may not even consider viewing it, much less buying it.
Additionally, you have to match your price to the value of your home while still making a return on investment. Potential buyers want to feel like they got a good deal when buying your property. This means that while you would like to sell your house for double the price to get good real estate appreciation, you will have to consider the median property price in your local housing market, the structure of your home, the location, and other factors that can play into pricing to justify your asking price. Having a high asking price with little to show for it will scare potential buyers off and prolong the selling period on your home.
2. House Age
A common question for potential buyers is how old the home is or when it was built. While some real estate investors are looking for fixer-uppers, newer houses provide a sense of security to buyers that the property will have the technologies and features that have become necessary in modern-day life as is. Additionally, older houses will need more repairs that the buyer will have to shoulder out of pocket, while newer houses will require fewer renovations though will usually yield a higher sticker price upfront.
3. Home Appliances
Similar to the actual age of the property structure, potential buyers will look into the appliances included in the home. While you may not need to include the newest trendy appliances in your home, the staples like a stove, dishwasher, laundry machine, heaters, and others would definitely benefit the selling process of your home. Aside from simply having these things in your home, buyers will assess its condition as appliances are expensive to replace and will most likely try to negotiate a lower price if any major appliances are older or barely functional.
If you choose to forgo including appliances when selling your home, buyers will most likely look that you at least have the provisions like an outlet or existing water line to install other appliances down the road.
4. Lot Size and Shape
While you may be looking at the property structure only, potential buyers will be taking note of the lot it’s built on as well. The lot shape, size, and distance from other houses will all come into play when potential buyers are considering placing an offer on your home. If your home is built on a bigger lot, this may be seen as a key selling point as it offers more privacy and even the option to expand the home later on with a mother in law house, for example.
5. Number of Bedrooms and Bathrooms
Each potential buyer will have a different number for the number of bedrooms and bathrooms that their family would need in an ideal home. While this may be a bit hard to adjust to, most buyers will look for at least 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on average. Depending on the family’s size, this number may increase or decrease. It would also be beneficial if there were spare rooms that could later be transformed into a bedroom as this provides the buyer with the possibility of expansion in the home.
Meanwhile, selling a duplex or a triplex – or another multi family property – might attract investors who are looking for house hacking options.
Top Home Selling Tips: How to Prepare Your Property
While things like lot size and the number of rooms may be harder to alter when selling your home, the following house selling tips will address the main concerns of potential buyers and what they commonly look for in a home. Here are the top home selling tips:
1. Price at a Reasonable Market Value
As mentioned earlier, price is one of the things potential buyers look at when investing in real estate. While making money in real estate is your primary goal in selling your home, you cannot just price your property at any rate you want. You should look at local listings, scout other properties for sale in your area and gauge the current selling prices of homes with similar features to yours. This could be a similar number of rooms, lot size, amenities, furnishings, and other factors. In the real estate industry, this is known as comparative market analysis, or CMA for short. The important thing is that you don’t overprice your home for sale as it won’t sell or underprice your property as it will lead to a smaller return on investment.
Related: How to Do Comparative Market Analysis Step by Step
The only time you should aim for a slightly lower asking price is if you need the cash from the sale immediately. This will more likely make your listing more competitive compared to other listings at market value.
If you’re not a real estate expert and don’t want to spend weeks collecting all the data and analytics you need to price your property right, you can use the Mashvisor real estate app to search for similar properties in your area. Comparing them to your home for sale and checking their listing prices will help you price your property at the best rate.
To sign up for a 7-day free trial of Mashvisor, click here.
2. Know Where to List Your Property
Now that you have an idea of how to calculate your asking price, you will need to gather some more real estate data and list it accordingly. While there are many real estate websites, not all of them are created equal, so you will need to find out the best places to list your property to attract the kind of investors you want. The Mashvisor Property Marketplace offers a great option for people who want to gain access to real estate data while attracting an array of different investors. The best part is that whether you are having an agent list your home for sale or doing it yourself, putting your property up for sale on Mashvisor gives you exposure to thousands of investors across the US market.
Related: The 10 Best House Hunting Apps for Investors
3. Hire a Top Realtor in Your Market
Even if you renovate your entire home and include the latest appliances, working with a bad realtor real estate agent may cause you to lose out on a potential sale. Realtors will heavily affect the buying experience of potential investors when they enter your home. If they are ill-informed about your property and the area, it may turn buyers off from your property and direct them to other properties with better-equipped agents.
It is also important to note that a good realtor does not just show the house to potential buyers. A good real estate agent is key in upselling your home and guiding you through the selling process. Having additional services like marketing, negotiation mediation, contract signing, and others all contribute to a good realtor and can save you quite a bit of stress, time, and money.
Related: Selling Your Home? How to Find a Real Estate Agent
4. Have Good Quality Photos of Your Home
Before potential buyers even consider physically looking at your home, they will be looking at the pictures you provide in the listing. This is why it is quite important that you have high quality – if not professional – photos of your property. No matter how great your home for sale is, if that is not translated into photos, rarely will you spark enough interest online for people to view your house.
In addition to drawing more interest, listings with good pictures can actually command higher selling prices as well. According to the Washington Post, house listings with professional photos not only have 47% higher price tags but are also sell 32% faster than the average house listing. So, while professional photos may cost around $100 per hour on average, they could significantly boost the selling price of your home.
5. Clean Your Property Thoroughly Before Open Houses
You should clean your home thoroughly before a showing to sell fast and at a good price.
This may be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many people do not tidy up before showing their property to potential investors. Having a clean house gives a better first impression and will draw potential buyers in more as compared to a cluttered home. Additionally, if your home is on the smaller side, cleaning it and removing clutter could make it appear bigger to potential buyers. While this may be a very small detail, with each show you want to create the most inviting and alluring environment in your home, and that starts with it being clean.
6. Keep Decorations Neutral
One of the best home selling tips is to keep your home decorations neutral, especially when it comes to showing political stances. Political beliefs and preconceived notions run deep, and while it may seem unlikely, potential buyers may automatically disregard your home in their decision process because of your beliefs. Removing all objects that support any political, religious, or social issue can help remove possible prejudice or personal beliefs from being a factor in the selling process of your home.
7. Make Minor Updates to the Main Parts of Your Home
You do not need to renovate the whole property before listing it, but adding a few repairs and updates to the main living areas may boost the price you can list it for. Focus on areas like the kitchen, bathroom, and living room, as these are the places people will be spending the most time in. It also does not have to be the entire room, you can make small upgrades to cabinets, faucets, or tiles and still reap the benefits of an upgraded room during the selling process. It has been shown that remodeled kitchens could actually yield a return of investment of as much as 85 %.
8. Don’t Still Be Living in the Home If Possible
While it may not be possible for everyone, if you can vacate the premises, it could make a world of difference when potential buyers view your home. No longer living on the property and removing personal items around you gives investors the opportunity to freely inspect the home from rooms to cabinets without feeling like they are invading someone else’s privacy. If you cannot completely vacate the property, the next best thing is to not be there during the showing to give potential buyers the same freedom to inspect as they please.
9. Know When to Sell
Perhaps one of the most underrated home selling tips is knowing when to sell. As the saying goes, timing is everything. While there is demand for homes at the moment, when you sell can be a major factor in the selling price. According to Zillow, if you are trying to make a quick sale, then you should probably list your home sometime around March. However, if you are looking to sell your home for the highest possible price, July may be a better time for you to list your home.
Follow These Home Selling Tips and Sell Your Property Like a Seasoned Pro!
While these home selling tips do’s and don’t are surely going to help you property sell, a little extra help never hurt anyone. At Mashvisor, we believe that there is no need for selling your investment property or primary home to be difficult. By listing on the Mashvisor Property Marketplace, you will have access to accurate real estate data within your area and attract the best investors ensuring that you sell your property for the right price. For access to all of Mashvisor real estate investment tools, sign up for our website today!