Though your friends and family may offer advice about selling your home, their well-intentioned tips may actually send you down the wrong path in your home selling journey. Even if it worked for them in the past, it doesn’t necessarily mean that same advice will work today.
Here are five outdated tips of advice that no longer work in our real estate market:
1. You need to wait until spring to list your home. This season is when the most buyers are out, but you’ll also be competing with many other sellers. By listing in the spring, you’re positioning yourself to be in a direct competition with several other homes, so you’ll need to price and market yours flawlessly if you want to get a good deal. Because buyers have more to choose from, they have more power to negotiate.
2. You should price your home high. In the past, competition among buyers was so fierce that you were essentially guaranteed the ability to sell above market price. Nowadays, though, homes fetch the best prices when they’re priced competitively for their market.
3. Leave room to negotiate. Sellers used to price high in order to leave room for negotiation, but today’s buyers don’t want to deal with it. Now that inventory is higher, you’ll get more people interested when you price your home correctly from the outset.
4. You can sell your home as is. Sellers were often told not to invest much into remodeling or renovating—buyers wanted to customize the home themselves. That’s not the case anymore, as buyers today don’t want to worry about making any changes after they move in. However, they’re still willing to pay a premium for homes that look the part, so put in some elbow grease and make improvements to your home before you list.
“Homes fetch the best prices when they’re priced competitively for their market.”
5. Any photos will do. Using a phone camera to snap a few quick pictures will no longer do the trick. Your online listing is basically a virtual home showing for potential buyers—you want to make a great first impression with professional photography and maybe even a 3D scan of your home.
If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to help you, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
