In today's market, even though Edmond homes are selling well, it takes more effort, more time and more money to sell a home than it did just a year ago. Oftentimes, it's difficult for a homeowner to understand why they need to do more than their neighbor or friend had to do last year, so we've decided to provide some resources on this topic. Not only will we share our knowledge, but we'll also provide resources written by some of our top peers from around the country. Our information will be specific to our local market and our peers' information will be directed more at how to prepare your home for listing and what needs to be done to bring you top-dollar.
The first thing to keep in mind when you're getting ready to sell your home is that preparation is key! Many times, homeowners think they should go ahead and get their home on the market ASAP and deal with fixing things later. Many times, they're even encouraged by their agent to hurry and get it on the market, simply because he/she wants to get the listing now, rather than risk not getting it at all. Bad idea! First, after several years selling Edmond real estate, we've seen that the majority of quality buyers will request a showing of your home in the first month (about 70% of your overall buyer traffic). These quality buyers are in the market for the perfect home that's move-in-ready and needs nothing. Most of them have already been approved for a mortgage and are ready to buy without a contingency. They know that perfect move-in-ready homes (only about 5% of the homes that go on the market) sell in the first two weeks, so they're the first ones to get out and see new listings, hoping to find a jewel. They are also usually willing to pay a premium amount for the perfect home of their dreams. If these quality buyers are coming through your home and you still have unfinished projects, cluttered rooms & closets, or outdated paint, wallpaper and fixtures, you've most likely lost those buyers for good because they can't see past the flaws. Remember, they're looking for a perfect, move-in-ready home, not a fixer.
The next wave of buyers to view your home will be the ones that wanted to buy that perfect home but lost out because they weren't ready to act fast enough. They may not be qualified for a mortgage yet or they may have a contingency to sell their existing home. While they're probably still hoping to find that perfect home, they likely have other factors holding them back from paying list price, closing as soon as you'd like or writing a non-contingent offer. They're not as prepared as the first group of quality buyers and will generally expect the seller to give them more help.
Third, after the first couple of months on the market, you'll see the number of showings sharply decrease and the only buyers looking now are the ones looking to get a deal. Many of these buyers are investors. They're assuming that because your home hasn't sold yet, you're desperate to sell and will drop your price dramatically just to get it sold. They're willing to buy a less-than-perfect home because they plan on getting a "great deal."
Taking these scenarios into account, you can see why it's important to have your home market-ready the day you put the sign in the yard. If it's a nice home, with good curb-appeal and it's priced right for the market, you will most likely see immediate traffic and it will be those high-quality buyers that are willing to pay top-dollar for a nice home. So the question really is, which buyers do you want to draw? Are you hoping to sell for the top comps in your area, or are you willing to settle for less? Most sellers I meet with EXPECT top-dollar. If that's your expectation, understand that the buyers will have expectations too. After all, you wouldn't pay high-end NADA value for a used car that needs repairs and doesn't appear to have been taken care of would you? I know I wouldn't. I'd EXPECT it to be flawless, perfect, clean and mechanically sound.
Here are some great resources from some of our national peers to help you with the preparation steps:
** orginally posted April 26, 2007 by Ryan Hukill
as part of a weekly series @ www.youropenhouse.us
;)
;)
