Age-Old Real Estate Selling Tips to Ignore
Age-Old Real Estate Selling Tips to Ignore
Homeowners planning to sell their home tend to get unsolicited advice from every direction.
“Do this,” “don’t do that”; it can be difficult to decipher the good from the bad advice. As
homebuyers become more informed and market-savvy, knowing which age-old advice to
ignore can be important. Here are some real estate selling tips which should be retired immediately.
Real Estate Selling Tips
#1 Season is the best time to sell.
Up north, spring is the best time to sell while here in Naples, season (January-March) is traditionally when we see see home sales come on the market. However did you know that 63% of homes actually sell in the summer in SWFL? Why is that? Because , the real key to selling is inventory levels, which typically occur other times of the year.
#2 Holding out to accept an offer because there is activity
If you price a home correctly in this market, you will get a good amount of showings, HOWEVER, I see it time and time again, there are a ton of showings, but no offers and then when the sellers get an offer, they aren’t sure or unreasonable with the price and terms because they think they might get a better offer. It’s better to negotiate with a willing and able buyer than to hold out hoping someone else will come along and offer full price.
#3 Open houses sell houses
Not anymore. Only 2% of homes sell as the direct result of an open house, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The GOOD news, is that Virtual tours and online photos & videos will attract more interest than foot traffic. In fact, 25% of all sales in the last month in Naples, have been SIGHT UNSEEN! They only saw the home through online marketing or through their agents videos. In fact – after I write this up. I’m heading to a virtual showing for a couple in Chicago. Focus on working with an agent who provides all of these as part of their services.
#4 Pricing your home high so there is room to “negotiate”
Homebuyers are more sophisticated about pricing and will not bother with overpriced homes. Actually, I’ve seen the opposite happening, when a buyer feels a home is overpriced they come in with an even LOWER offer than if the seller just priced it appropriately to begin with.
#5 If you don’t want to make repairs then lower your price
Price alone might not be enough to get an offer. Here is SWFL, most people buying are coming in for a seasonal escape from up north. If they want a home that is a fixer upper, then they are looking for a complete dump (which we have very few of), and they want it for a KILLER deal, so they can flip the home. That’s not our market. Our home buyers want a home completely redone / renovated and move-in ready. Without knowing local vendors or where to start, they don’t want to tackle a project – they want to enjoy their time here in vacation mode, not renovating a home. PLUS you’re competing with new construction homes which buyers gravitate towards so you need to compete in look and price. The coastal, white and gray home scheme is what is the most popular and I don’t see the trend going away anytime soon. We are a beach town, so light and airy will be desirable for a long time. If you’re deciding on which home renovations to add to increase your value, send me a quick text at 230.776.0093 and I’m happy to send you ideas and vendors for quality and good price to help you update your home.
#6 You must update your kitchen to sell
Kitchen renovation doesn’t need to be complicated and you don’t need to overspend. Buyers do love renovated kitchens, but keep in mind that you typically recover only 81% of the cost of a remodel when selling. Having just renovated my own home recently. I have SO many ideas, and all the resources and vendors for you to get quality products and services while also saving money. A lot of contractors over charge here but don’t be a victim to that. I can help you decide where your money is best spent and how you can get the look for less. Selling a home is a major life decision. Before you begin the process of listing your home, do your research and make sure the advice you rely on is valid in today’s changing environment.
Do you need some advice on where to start? I can assist you in discussing what you need to do to get your home ready for being a show stopper on the market.
Interested in seeing what’s on the market from the comfort of your couch? Just send call me or send me a text at 239-776-0093 and I’ll send you some info.
