When the buyers market is hot, there are so many homes to choose from. Buyers feel they are in the power seat while sellers are working hard to make their home stand out as the most desirable.
After all, the longer a home sits on the market, the staler the listing gets making it less desirable. So, we created this blog post to help you sell your home faster, for more money and for less hassle. Here is how to separate your house from the competition in Cincinnati.
Set the Right Price
Of course, pricing is critical in setting your home apart from others for sale in the area but this is a balancing act. Setting the price at the top of the market will limit some buyers who find it just above or at the top of their price range.
Setting it below the main marketing listings will generate a lot of interest in the house. This is good but you need to make sure that the price isn’t too low. You want multiple offers to drive the price up to its top market price; setting it too low initially might limit the upward bidding potential.
Always work with an experienced agent who can walk you through the recently sold comps as well as the Active and Pending listings, so you know where to price it vs. your competition.
Professional Photos
Your real estate agent should want professional photos. If he doesn’t take exceptional photos himself, he understands that this is a critical marketing component that gets people in the door to see the property.
Photos should be well lit and capture the home in the best possible angles. Great photos make rooms look bigger and highlight the key selling points of your home. Just because you have three bedrooms doesn’t mean you need to show the third bedroom if it is tiny and painted an off color.
You need a real estate agent who has a good eye and who works with an exceptional photographer. A great idea is to ask the agent for past listing photos, so you know the quality of their photography team.
Get a Stager
Staging is another critical component of marketing. Great staging gives buyers a palette to view their own lives in the home. It minimizes furniture but still sets a purpose for each room. A home office might have one desk in it for staging purposes where a functional home office would have files and bookshelves along with the desk. Staging starts with removing the clutter and making sure the furniture fits the space. Take the time to stage the house.
Staging may cost a bit more up front, but if it can bring $5,000, $10,000, or $20,000 more on the back end, is it worth it? Absolutely! A stager knows how to take your space and make it work great. Make sure you work with someone who is experienced and have stats about homes they sell when staged.
Make Critical Updates
Your real estate agent is your partner on reviewing the home and recommending which updates will make a difference in selling your home. Homeowners willing to put a little elbow grease into a project can do many updates. This might include painting walls or changing out hardware and fixtures in kitchens and bathrooms.
There may be a more serious item on the list that should be fixed before listing. Perhaps the furnace isn’t working or the pool pump has died. These are critical components that buyers will not want to fix as soon as they close escrow. Spend the money to get the house ready to sell. If you spend on the front end, you’ll benefit on the back end in selling the house quicker and for less hassle.