I go to Open House to see how homeowners are preparing their homes for sale. I am so surprise at the way they are "marketing" the listing. Do they really want to sell? Are they really expecting the price they are asking? Many homeowners have the assumption that they can place their home on the market as is and someone will come and buy it for the price they are asking. Well that was the case a few years ago but times have changed and we are now in a buyers market. Buying a home is a big investment and buyers want the best value for their money. With so many homes on the market, buyers can pick and chose.
I am based in Tracy, CA so I enjoy going to Open Houses in this area. One home I went to over the weekend, was in a nice area of Tracy, in a cul-de-sac in a newer neighborhood with Pride of Ownership homes.
The Open House home was a 2 story, 4BR/3BA home, with a nice size lot. I was excited to see the inside. Sadly it was not what I would have expected for the asking price. Not surprisingly the home had been on the market for over 4 months and the price had been reduced around $50,000 from when it was first listed. Was it originally priced too high? Seemed like a good price and I'm sure the agent had done his job and showed the owners the comps when it was listed. To me the home was priced right for the area but not for the home's condition. It wasn't showing well and there were some "problems" or reasons for buyers to ignore this home.
Although the family was still living in the home (very common) it had a lot of furniture in some rooms and other rooms were empty or used as storage. It had some "bad" color choices and a lot of personal clutter. If this home had been staged , I'm sure this house would be at the top of buyers "list".
So what must these homeowners do in order to sell without another drastic price reduction?
- Rearrange the furniture throughout the home so it creates a sense of flow and gives buyers a idea of how each room could look.
- Simplify the home by decluttering and depersonalizing.
- Neutralize the colors in some of the rooms. Touch up paint in other rooms so the home looks "fresh".
- Accessorize rooms so they give buyers a sense of interest and desire. A place where buyers can see themselves living with their belongings.
By just changing a few things here and there, this home could be a great "showplace" that will make buyers offer near or at their asking price. If they keep the house "AS IS", the only way it will sell is with another price reduction and even then buyers may offer them less than that.
I always tell homeowners...Don't lower your asking price; raise your home's condition instead!
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