An important piece of advice that I give to all of the home sellers that I work with is … Study Your Competition!   Learn as much as you can about the other homes that are for sale in your area that are similar to yours in price, condition, location, amenities, etc. I assure you this will be a very eye-opening experience!  

Studying what your competition has to offer will provide you with a great deal of information.  It will help you prioritize what you need to do to get your own house ready to sell.  It will help you determine your realistic asking price. 

View properties online at websites like Realtor.com.  Drive by these homes.  Visit open realtorhouses.  Ask you agent to arrange private showings if necessary.  Look carefully at your competition with what we call “buyers’ eyes”.  Be brutally honest when you ask yourself:   
 
1)    What did you find positive, negative, attractive or unattractive about each property?  


2)    How does MY house compare to others I've seen? 

Be aware of the emotions you are feeling as you make these comparisons.  Move beyond these comparisons and start thinking about your house OBJECTIVELY.  Give careful consideration to the following question: 

3)    If I didn’t live in my house and love it (and the memories it contains) as much as I do, how would it really compare to each of the other houses on the market? 

You’ll find evaluating other houses much easier than evaluating your own.  Emotional attachment typically prevents us from seeing our homes the way buyers would. 

As you are checking out the competition and writing answers to these questions, be sure to take time to acknowledge the various feelings that are probably creeping in such as happiness, fear and sadness just to name a few.  This is quite common.   

To make the process of preparing your house for market a lot easier, start to become more aware of the negative emotions that you may be feeling.  When they creep in, acknowledge them, then … LET THEM GO.   This might be the MOST difficult part of the entire process, especially if you have particularly strong emotional attachments to your home, neighborhood, community, etc. 

Finally, don’t allow the love you feel for your house to cloud your judgment when pricing it.  The market dictates what your house is worth and does not care how much money you owe or how much you need for a down payment on your next house.  The market determines your home’s value - not you, not your agent.  It is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it – and what a bank is willing to appraise it for.
 

This post brought to you by Karen Bernetti, Realtor & Professional Home Stager on behalf of North Star Real Estate in Soutington, CT.  Call North Star Real Estate for all your real estate needs!  860-302-0333.

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Karen Bernetti is a Real Estate Stager, Former Realtor®, Author, Speaker, and Owner of Staging4Smooth Transitions - specializing in assisting seniors with their downsize moves.  

Karen is also the Co-creator of the Ready2Sellin30Days® System - an innovative, interactive, multi-media educational program designed to teach do-it-yourself homeowners EVERYTHING they need to know about preparing a home for sale during tough economic times.  Visit www.Ready2Sellin30Days.com to learn more. 

Stay up to date on all the latest real estate staging and home decor trends with The Home Sale Success with Karen & Ann Blog!  Sign up here to receive The Home Sale Success with Karen & Ann Newsletter!

Call 860-302-0333 for more information.

 
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34 Comments on Advice for Sellers .... Study Your Competition!

20 Most Recent Comments Displayed Show All

SEP
02
2010
260,977 Points 10 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Karen - this is great advice. When some of my Sellers are having a hard time justifying price reductions or adjustments, one of the first things I recommend is to go out and see what they are competing with. Then, it's easy to see that in order to sell they need to drop the price and it becomes less of a personal battle.
4:37pm • #15
162,619 Points 10 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Another feature!  Good for you!  This blogging challenge of yours has inspired a LOT of feature posts all across the board!!! Hey Karen, this is great advice to sellers...I love the question about "If I didn't live in my house and love it (and the memories it contains) as much as I do, how would it really compare to each of the other houses on the market?"  I usually ask my sellers to step back and really think, if they were going to buy THIS house again right NOW, what would they be willing to PAY for it?  Same idea--just gets them to really look at things from the buyers side of the fence. 
5:32pm • #16
117,611 Points Outside Blog

Karen, you give fantastic advice.  I like the part when you state that:  "The market determines your home's value - not you, not your agent.  It is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it - and what a bank is willing to appraise it for."  How true this is but, how hard this is to make sellers understand. 
6:18pm • #17
1 Featured Post Attended Rain Camp

WooHoo - Gold Star Girl!
6:32pm • #18
379,175 Points 5 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Karen, 

Great advice.  The best suggestion is actually going out to look at a few of the most direct in competition to your prospective home that you will be putting on the market.  Pretend you are a buyer and check out the others and walk into your home again pretending you are a buyer.  

Pricing it right is so critical to getting it sold!

All the best, Michelle
6:40pm • #19

Karen, your advice is "Head On" with what Sellers need to consider & realize.
7:14pm • #20
941,827 Points 94 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Karen: It is important for sellers to be very objective about the home. Sometimes that can prove to be difficult.
7:29pm • #21
504,851 Points 26 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

I totally agree with you, but it's very difficult for sellers to put their feeling aside.
8:16pm • #22
464,155 Points 1 Featured Post

Thank you for the time today to post this blog.

Patricia
8:37pm • #23
219,526 Points 27 Featured Posts Called Shot Master

Thank you to all of you for checking in and for your thoughtful comments!  I agree it IS extremely difficult for sellers to put their feelings aside.  It's difficult but not impossible.   It's been my experience that those who manage to treat the sale of their home like the business transaction that it is - experience the greatest success.  Those who don't very often stand in the way of their own success. 
8:51pm • #24
621,599 Points 11 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Karen this is something that homeowners need to do. Especially homeowners who think they're house is worth half a million dollars but looks like their house hasn't been cleaned in a million years. Was I too harsh? Great post Karen. Congratulations on the Gold Star. Great post.
9:24pm • #25
1,126,046 Points 90 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Yes it always pays to KNOW the competition and to analyze what is better about your house/worse about it. Then be the shiny penny the buyer picks up!
9:43pm • #26
169,025 Points 4 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Great advice, Karen.  Rather then send them to Realtor.com, I'd prefer to supply them with my own neighborhood comps... but then again, this does allow for a neutral position.  
9:48pm • #27
307,045 Points 9 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Karen, I do the exact same thing!
10:12pm • #28
130,575 Points 5 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Excellent post! Sellers need to know what they are up against. It will also help them better understand what they need to do "Above" their competition to be the best on the block!
10:48pm • #29
SEP
03
2010
Called Shot Master

Sellers will always think their house is worth more money & will sell faster than another house on the market...unless they see their competition first hand & view their own place objectively.  It's the only way to get them to price their own place correctly.
12:00am • #30
620,899 Points 8 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Super great advices for sellers. It is hard sometimes for sellers to see their home from buyers' perspective, therefore, studying the competition will help.
12:19am • #31
1,352,557 Points 42 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Karen - This is important advice.  Sellers need to understand that their homes are going to be compared to others on the market.
12:44am • #32
175,549 Points 1 Featured Post Outside Blog

The best thing we can do for sellers is to show them the competition they're up against. They sometimes are in another world about the value of their home and how it stacks up to others.
3:57am • #33
251,423 Points 1 Featured Post Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Everyone should study their competition....all good business folks do this!!  Totally agree that sellers should do same....GREAT advice!!
9:14pm • #34

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Karen Bernetti

Southington, CT

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Staging4Smooth Transitions Connecticut Home Staging

Address: PO Box 564, Southington, CT, 06489

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