Spring and summer are the busiest times for real estate: buyers are out and about and homes are selling! Statistically speaking, you’re more likely to sell your home for more money during this busy season… but since a lot of sellers and their agents know this, you’re also more likely to face some steeper competition.
Here are six tips to get your home ready to beat out the competition.
Prep First, List Second
Don’t even think about listing your home in a competitive market until it’s ready. Instead, pick a date in the future at which you’d like to list your home and make a plan to prep and ready your home to list on that date.
Be ready to clean (and clean and clean), repaint and redecorate, make some fixes and repairs, and stage your home before listing.
Look at Your Home Objectively
You might love your home with all its personality, your family photos, and its unique decor. But try and see it from the eyes of a stranger stepping into your house for the first time. Will they be as charmed as you are by your bright paint and quirky decor? Maybe not. Will they notice the squeaky floorboard, the dripping faucet, the handprints on the doorframe? Most likely, they will.
Go through your home with an objective eye and make note of all the things in need of minor fixes, repairs, or improvements. Need help? Ask your real estate agent.
Clean Out the Clutter
Taking some time to pare down your belongings can be beneficial on many levels. First and foremost, it makes your home look neater and cleaner to incoming buyers. Secondly, removing clothes from closets and boxes or larger items from storage spaces can actually make them look larger. And thirdly, the more you remove now, the less you’ll have to pack later!
Price It Right
One of the most appealing things you can do to your home is price it correctly! You might be tempted to price it high in a fast-paced market, but if there are a lot of similar homes in your area that are priced more competitively, guess what? Your home will be overlooked or ignored. And dropping the price after it’s been on the market just leads buyers to question what’s wrong with it.
Do yourself and your home a favor and price it right the first time. Need help. Ask your real estate agent for neighborhood sold reports (or “comps”).
Worry About the First Impression
First impressions are EVERYTHING in real estate. No, really. If a buyer doesn’t like what they see driving by, they likely aren’t going to look at the inside with much interest—if they even come inside at all! Spend some time making sure your curb appeal is at its best: spruce up your front porch with a potted plant, mow your lawn (if you’ve got one), clear your walkways, and even paint your front door.
Find Yourself a GREAT Local Agent
One of the most important things you can do when selling a home is to find an experienced and successful local agent. A good agent will know the market, will be able to price your home correctly, and will have the resources to market your home to the greatest number of potential buyers.
Looking for a stupendous Bayonne real estate agent? Then it’s time to call Century 21 Viewpoint Realty. We’re here to help you get your home ready, price it right, and list it with ease.