Preparing your home for sale

Written by: D. Malden

I keep hearing from realtors that the spring market is picking up.  More listings are coming on the market and more buyers are surfacing. If you are considering listing your home for sale, DON'T FORGET to invest the time to make sure your home shows well to potential buyers.  Buyers form an initial opinion on your home in under 60-seconds; make every second count.

If you were selling your car, wouldn't you get it detailed? Clean out the trash or at the very least take it to the car wash?  So why not detail your home?  Your home is often the biggest investment you make.  Spend the time to ensure you receive the highest possible return on your home sale.  Prepare your home for sale using the following tips as a guideline.

Tips on staging your home:

1. Clean your home from top to bottom. 
2. Make sure there are no bad odors (pets, smoking, etc)
3. Remove distracting items such as personal picture collections, doll collections, trophies, etc
4. Repair any broken items
5. Do not forget the exterior of your home. Invest in simple landscaping

Arm yourself with information on your market.  Buyers are educating themselves and so should you.  Know the details of recent home sales in your market and take an honest look at how your home compares.  Recent statistics on home sales in PW county are below:

Homes for sale/sold in PW County

Homes in Price William County Sold in December 2006
Average Home Price Sold - ALL Types - $414,638
Average Days on the Market - 103
Average Sale Price as a percentage of Average List Price - 93.97%

ACTIVE Listings of Single Family Homes for Sale in Prince William
County - Jan. 2007 - 1786 Listings
Minimum List Price - $169,900
Maximum List Price - $3,400,000 - Water Front in Woodbridge
Average List Price - $542,204

ACTIVE Listings of Town Homes  for Sale in Prince William County
- Jan. 2007 - 959 - Listings
Minimum List Price - $214,900
Maximum List Price - $1,275,000 - Water Front Town Homes in Woodbridge
Average List Price - $337,094

Invest in preparing your home for sale, as you would your car.  Home staging is a sensible investment when selling your home.  Independent studies prove that staged homes sell faster and for more money.  For more on home staging visit: http://www.interiorconceptdesigns.com/, or call 571-264-1747.

Interior Concept Designs

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