During the real estate boom from 2000-2006, sellers got a little lazy. Put a sign in the yard, and they will 
come. They weren’t too worried about how the house looked, or fixing minor repairs because they expected multiple offers and could choose from the pile.
When the recession hit, even great houses sold below price and buyers seemed to triple repair estimates demanding price reductions. There was a period in 2008-2010 when every buyer wanted an $80,000 house. Their expectation was that it was worth $250,000, and they wound up buying $160,000 thinking that there was something better was waiting.
Fast forward to 2017, real estate has recovered, and buyers are perched on the edge of their seats waiting for the right listing. They will miss a couple opportunities until they are ready to pounce on a new listing 15 seconds on the market.
In Zillow’s Consumer House Trends report released at the end of October 2016 states, “Sellers’ top regret was that they didn’t take more time to prepare for a sale.” In the time it takes to sell, 66% of sellers change their listing price at least once. The number of homes for sale at the end of 2016 was down 26.3% over 2015, and the end of 2015 was down 14.4% over 2014 in the Twin Cities. Meanwhile Minneapolis area average home prices climbed from $200,000 in 2014 to $228,500 at the end of 2016, a 14% climb in 2 years.
Homeowners waiting for recovery, you have arrived. Now is your time. However, a seller’s market is
not a magic lantern, easy button, or genie at your service. We’re expecting that 46% of all new buyers will be Millennials. Their vision is a lot better than yours, they will see every flaw that you never noticed. They are used to 1 hour HGTV makeovers, Pinterest idea boards, and a galaxy of gorgeous on Instagram. ‘Move in Ready’ gets them moving. Value and affordability are critical because they watched their families crumble through recession.
To get buyers beating a path to your door takes some preparation. How people live in a home is not how they sell. The question is, if you know what a buyer wants, are you ready to make it happen?
Of the top 5 things you need to do to sell your home, the #1 is call me, I’ll take care of the other four.
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