Selling a house is an art. If you just stick it on the market and take what you get you’re missing out on all sorts of potential profits and ways to make more from the sale. Here’s a guide for how to sell your house for more.
Timing Is Key
You can get everything else right about selling your house but if you get timing wrong you will likely get much less money for the sale. Each real estate market and area is different, but the market generally waxes and wanes significantly season to season.
Studying the market to see when homes sell for more or less will help you decide when to put your home on the market and it can make a major difference. In some cases life circumstances like having to move to a new location for a job will outweigh the benefits of waiting for a peak selling period, but it is often worth timing your sale right to make more.¹
Get the Price Right
There can be a temptation when pricing your home to ask for as much as possible. This is the wrong move and can lead to your home sinking down the listings and getting a very small amount of interested buyers. Instead of matching it with the surrounding market prices, lower the price by 10 to 15 percent.
Work together with a real estate agent to receive expert input and make sure they agree that the risk is worth taking in your current market. You’ll be swarmed with interested buyers who will often start a bidding war and put you up over the top of what you would have wanted to ask initially in any case.²
How to Stage Your Home
When getting your home ready for viewers there can be a tendency to overdo it. Completely clearing out your décor and everyday items to make it like a showroom is not the best move. Instead what you want to do is give the home a thorough cleaning but leave your personal touches in place.
Potential buyers like to see the cozy, home atmosphere. Even if your design is not their cup of tea they will tend to be more interested in a home that still looks lived in and has a friendly, family atmosphere.³
Details Matter
Little details like a leaky sink or damaged floor can make a big impression on potential buyers. The same goes for a broken piece of furniture or a ripped curtain. These small issues are easy and cheap to fix, but they can seriously bring down the positive impression your home will make and lower the kind of offers you’ll receive, so it’s worth putting some time into repairing small details around the home before putting it on the market.⁴
Make the Kitchen a Priority
Real estate agents and experts unanimously agree that the kitchen should be the prime spotlight of your home when you’re selling. Putting money into upgrading your counters, cabinets, appliances and more can help you make a lot more on the sale in the long run and drive competitive price bidding, as can a fresh coat of paint. If your kitchen is rundown it can be a big drag on the offers you’ll receive and drive away potential buyers.²
Power to the People
Having great photographs of your home, listing it on prominent websites at a reasonable price and having it in top condition will draw potential buyers. Your goal should be to get as many potential buyers through the front door to look around as possible. The more people who see your home the more offers you will get and the more profit you’ll make in the end.⁴
[1] https://www.opendoor.com/w/blog/how-to-sell-your-house-for-the-most-money
[2] https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/10-best-kept-secrets-for-selling-your-home
[3] https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-selling/top-tips-how-to-make-your-home-more-saleable-and-valuable/
[4] https://www.insider.com/easy-tricks-make-more-money-when-selling-your-home-2019-2