Regardless of the current state of the real estate market, the quick sale of your home is always a primary concern. You have destinations to reach, people to meet, and new careers to embark on. However, what’s even more crucial is maximizing the profit from your property sale. The longer a property lingers on the market, the higher the odds of receiving a lower bid or being compelled to slash your asking price to entice potential buyers.
There’s an abundance of suggestions available on expediting your home-selling journey, yet caution is advised, as some advice can be downright absurd. We’ll provide you with the most effective strategies for selling your house swiftly and at a favorable price.
Tidy Up, Remove Clutter, and Make Impersonal
Prospective buyers should be able to envision themselves living in your home, a task that becomes challenging if the house is untidy. Ensure a comprehensive cleaning of your home from ceiling to floor, declutter, and stow away personal items like family photographs. It’s quite typical in the industry to engage professional cleaning services, especially before a significant open house.
Efficiently arrange the furniture to make your home appear warm and welcoming, while also ensuring that visitors can navigate through your home without stumbling into things. If required, relocate bulky items to a storage facility. A room filled with too many items tends to appear smaller.
You might want to contemplate engaging a professional home stager to accentuate your home’s most appealing features, captivate potential buyers, and expedite the selling process at the best possible price. Although staging might be expensive, statistics show that staged homes, on average, sell 88% quicker and for 20% more than homes that are not staged.
Establish a Competitive Pricing Strategy
Investigate the recent selling prices of similar homes in your area by browsing online real estate portals. Next, figure out the price per square foot for these comparable sales by dividing the selling price by the total square footage. Apply this rate to your home’s square footage to get a sensible initial asking price.
Should your property have specific advantages (like being located in a peaceful cul-de-sac), you may want to increase this figure. Conversely, if there are disadvantages (such as needing a new roof), you may need to decrease the price. Here are some reasons why setting a lower asking price for your property when listing it might be beneficial:
- More visibility in searches: Buyers usually set a maximum price when searching for properties online. By pricing your property at $499,000 instead of $505,000, for example, you could appear in more search results, potentially attracting more buyers. If they find a house they truly like, buyers might even be willing to push their budget slightly.
- Potential for bidding wars: If your property is priced below its market value, it could attract multiple offers. This could result in a final selling price accurately reflecting your home’s worth, while the lower initial price could help speed up the sale.
Get Ready for the Closing
Selling a house without a realtor is important when you want to reduce the closing cost. Your property needs to undergo an appraisal and inspection. If the purchase offer depends on a positive home inspection, any arising issues could result in negotiations and possibly additional repairs.
Market conditions influence contingencies. Typically, the greater the demand for housing, the less conditions are attached to a sale. In a particularly competitive real estate market, a buyer may propose to forgo contingencies such as the home inspection.
Be prepared to cover some of the closing costs. The seller’s responsibilities for these costs can vary based on state and local laws and your agreement with the buyers. To know what to anticipate, it’s crucial to thoroughly review the purchase contract.
Sell to Someone Familiar
Selling your property to someone within your circle, like a friend or relative, can simplify the home-selling process, removing the uncertainty usually associated with it. Moreover, you can avoid agent’s commission by opting for a ‘for sale by owner’ (FSBO) approach.
In 2020, about 75% of FSBO properties were sold in less than two weeks. However, they typically sold for approximately 10% less than homes listed by agents, as per the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Despite saving on commissions, you might just break even. Remember that selling to a familiar face could strain your relationship if things don’t go as planned.
Acquire Understanding of the Market
Timing is paramount in every aspect of life, especially in the real estate industry. To ensure a quick sale of your house, monitor the market closely. If the market is experiencing a downturn, you might find it challenging to expedite your home sale.
Historically, spring presents the best selling opportunities, whereas the Fall market tends to be less favorable for property sales. Observing real estate trends can also help determine if the market is robust enough for a swift property transaction.
An influx of properties hitting the market or existing properties remaining unsold for extended periods indicate that the market may not be optimal for real estate deals. Make sure to leverage the conventional market surge during the spring season.
Depersonalize
When potential buyers tour a home, they usually envision their own lives unfolding within its walls. Personal items like your cherished horse painting or a wall full of family photographs might obstruct their ability to visualize themselves in the space. To increase the chances of prospective buyers picturing themselves in your home, it’s advisable to make the house as neutral and impersonal as possible before listing it for sale. Take down any personal photographs or artwork. Consider giving the walls a fresh coat of neutral paint. These steps can potentially facilitate a quicker sale of your property.
Capture the Appropriate Smells
Unpleasant odors are a major deterrent for potential buyers. Instead of merely masking these odors, address the root cause. This might involve cleaning drains, washing trash bins, airing out rooms, eliminating old cooking smells in the kitchen, removing furniture that has absorbed cigarette smoke, and laundering dirty bed linens.
If you’re a smoker, try setting out bowls of vinegar around your home and leaving them for three days. While the vinegar may initially have a strong scent, it will quickly dissipate when you open your windows, taking much of the stale cigarette smell with it.
On the other hand, appealing scents can make a property feel more inviting and homely. Baking fresh bread, cakes, or brownies for each potential buyer may not be feasible, but brewing fresh coffee could be a practical alternative.
Endnote
Selling a home can be anxiety-inducing, especially when pressed for time. However, don’t worry. There are strategies to expedite the sale, whether it’s due to a new career opportunity, a significant life change such as a separation, or monetary concerns. If you don’t have substantial funds to prepare your home for the market, concentrate on making a striking initial impression on potential buyers when they first lay eyes on your property.