If you're a seller I can tell you exactly what you need to do to sell your home. I can't predict when or for what price it will sell, but I CAN tell you how to get the best price in the shortest amount of time. The market has changed, and it means we have to work a little harder, but it can be done. The sky is not falling. 
Houses ARE selling.
My Story-My husband and I purchased a home last July that needed some extensive remodeling. The list included new electrical, plumbing, furnace, air conditioner, windows, bathroom, and kitchen. I knew the market pendulum was swinging and my goal was to have the house on the market to sell it before the Thanksgiving Holiday. This meant my husband had about 3 months to complete all of the work to have it on the market by October. With some gentle encouragement from his loving wife, my husband worked long hours to meet our goal. We made good choices and didn't cut corners. We used tile not linoleum, upgraded light fixtures, changed all of the door knobs to match, sodded the front yard, and repainted the interior and exterior in warm colors. We did go a little over budget, but we feel great about the finished product and proud of the work we've done. My husband and I arm wrestled a little over the list price. We negotiated and listed it for $5K over where I thought it would sell. This was enough to give my husband the negotiating "padding" he wanted, and not enough to price us out of our competition. We put it on the market on Monday, had 7 showings, had an offer on Thursday, and a signed purchase agreement by Saturday morning. This is not due to luck or the Midas touch.
We have to "WOW" 'em!- In this market there is a recipe that works 99% of the time. This recipe is meant to give your home that "WOW" factor. It isn't a secret. Most Real Estate Agents know it, few sellers choose to follow it. Give your home the "WOW" factor and it will stand out more than any other of your competition. You'll create demand for your home, sell it more quickly and for a higher price than those homes that have been on the market for over 90 days. To achieve that "WOW" factor you need 4 elements. If you don't have all four, you have to compensate to make up for it. Here they are...
- Location
- Condition
- Commission
- Marketing
First, you either have a great location. or you don't. If you don't, we'll have to make up for it. With the stiff competition we have to get people to look at your house even though (it's across from a cemetery, on a busy road, in a neighborhood not appreciating well) and lowering the price will help make up for it. Secondly, your home needs to be in prisitine condition. You don't have to go to the lengths my husband and I did in our remodel, but some investment on your part can really make a difference. In fact, I would encourage you to look at a few homes in your neighborhood in your price range to see what you're up against. Third, let's offer the buyer's agent a pay out above what the others are offering. I'm not suggesting we dip into your retirement account, but let's payout 3% instead of the 2.7% everyone else is offering. If you had a choice of 20 houses to show, and could only show 5 which houses would you show? If 19 of them paid out 2.7% and 1 of them paid out 3%, do you think you might be inclined to include that 3% in the list of houses you'll show your buyers? Finally, if the other three conditions are in place, it makes the marketing plan that much more effective. The pictures of your home look better,and the descriptions of your home are more exciting. Because we've done the necessary work, we have more showings than we would have had we not created the "WOW" factor.
Shhh, did you hear that?- Now all we have to do is listen. Listen to the market and get feedback on the work we've done. We'll get that feedback from other agents, from the number of showings, from the number of hits and detailed pages that are looked at on your website. Perhaps we'll get feedback that we've overlooked something in the house that needs to be addressed. Perhaps we'll get feedback that we haven't made a big enough compensation in the price to acheive the "WOW" factor. We listen to what the market tells us, and make adjustments;either to the house or the price. We follow this process and make adjustments aggressively and with urgency. Because of all the upfront work we've done, we shouldn't need to make any BIG adjustments. It's like fishing. If sitting in a particular area with a particular bait doesn't bring in the fish, it's necessary to make adjustments. If we don't catch anything we don't pack our bags and say "we'll just wait until next spring". We change the bait and recast our line to see if our adjustment will bring us a fish--or in our case--an offer.
Listening is important, but make sure you know WHAT and WHO your listening to. Uncle Bob has sold two houses in the last 30 years and is a self-proclaimed real estate expert, Sister Sally bought her home 5 years ago, is an interior designer and an HGTV junkie and knows how to stage your home, Mom works at the local bank and has mortgage advice for you. These people will all have opinions and some of them will conflict. No matter what this peanut gallery tells you, there is only one person who will set the "market" price of your home and that's your future buyer. You home is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. What that person is willing to pay is postively correlated with the perceived "WOW" factor. The more the "WOW" factor, the higher the price. Does your home have the "WOW"?
Comments(1)