What Do Home Buyers Want?
Home sellers spend a lot of time focusing on what THEY want ... They want to sell their house. They want to sell it quickly. Regardless of the market conditions, they want their price. And more than anything they want all of this without having to work too hard or spend very much money getting their house ready for market.
At my staging consultations and during all of my staging workshops, I tell sellers that 
while it's good to be clear on your desired outcome - the key to getting your house sold is knowing what home buyers want. Face it, if you don't give buyers what they want, you're never going to get what you want. This shift in focus is a very important part of the home sale process, and it can be very difficult for many sellers.
Coldwell Banker conducted an interesting survey of 300 first-time home buyers who made a purchase in the last year. 87% of the home buyers surveyed said finding a home that is "move-in ready" is important to them.
And it's important to mention that according to the National Association of Realtors, 50% of home purchases in 2010 were made by first-time home buyers.
What's the real take-away from this survey? The condition of a home matters A LOT to buyers. Diann Patton, consumer real estate specialist at Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC reports, “on top of that, our agents have reported that on average, first-time home buyers now look at more than 11 homes before making decisions, which is higher than in the past. They can be choosy about what appeals to them and are recognizing the benefits of the low prices and wide selection of homes in many areas.”
Sellers, do yourself a favor. Get very clear on what buyers want and do whatever you can to give it to them. If money is an issue there are MANY low-cost and no-cost things you can do to make your house more appealing to buyers. Sure it will take some time and energy but it doesn't have to be expensive. It won't be easy, but it will be well worth the effort.
Remember, money is more than likely going to be an issue for your buyers too. Today's buyers typically put everything they have into the down payment and may not have much left to put toward fix-ups. To get what you want, you must give them what they want. This reminds me of that great quote by Zig Ziglar...."You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
Learn more about the Coldwell Banker First Time-Home Buyer Survey.
Learn more about: What Home Sellers Should Know About Today's Home Buyers.
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