Tips For Selling your Property.

Selling Your Property

MLS is your most powerful tool for marketing your property.

There are many factors that can determine the sale of your property, regardless of the market conditions the two biggest factors are; exposure and price. Being able to pin point that exposure to a pool of Buyers who are looking, willing, and able to buy, you create the greatest chance of selling your home for the best price and in the shortest time frame.  MLS gives you that exact exposure. As far as property information and compiled data, no service can match MLS. The days of pounding a “For Sale” sign on your lawn and putting an ad in the classified section of your local paper is not enough anymore. The internet has become the primary search tool for most home buyers. The majority of buyers still use real estate agents when buying a home. Over 90% of all buyers today search on public MLS sites themselves and then provide a list of the properties for their agent. Also 99.99% of real estate agents use MLS to search for prospective properties for their clients.  If you also consider that close to an estimated 90% of all homes sold in Canada are sold through MLS it is easy to see how essential it is to market your property on MLS.

Listing your property for the right price! 

To sell your home, the price must be right. Remember that realtors, real estate companies, nor real estate boards determine the value of your property, the market does. Most homes get listed too high and have to go through one or more price drops prior to selling. We don’t recommend “testing” the market by asking for an inflated figure because if you do, your home will probably sit on the market and the DOM (days on market) will continue to tick. Over pricing is one of the worst mistakes a home seller can make. Especially if you want to sell your property in a “buyers’ market”, you must pull out all the stops and make your home stand out among the sea of inventory on the market. Price your home a minimum of 1% or 2% less than the last comparable sale. If this is something you cannot live with, do not put your property on the market and set yourself up for disappointment.  Dated listings don’t generally sell for list price.

As much as you’d like to set the price of your home as high as possible, you have to be realistic. Many owners persist in thinking their home is worth more than the market will offer, or they have already settled on a set amount of money that they want or need and refuse to budge. Sellers should not just rely on the property tax assessment. Many property tax assessments are out of date, and they don’t necessarily reflect the current real estate market. To get the most accurate assessment for your property we recommend having a third-party assessment such as a real estate appraisal done of your property.  A residential appraiser can determine the current fair market value of your home. This will help you get comfortable with a price range and provide you with a solid reference point if a buyer or realtor accuses you of setting the price too high.  In any type of market, a properly priced home will ultimately lead to the highest possible sale price

Condition.

There’s a wealth of value to be found in a well-kept home and a beautifully landscaped yard. Buyers typically hate having to pour time, energy, and money into a purchase just to make it livable. The condition of your home plays into another huge factor when trying to sell your property. Check out the competition. If 90% of the homes in your market are not selling especially in a buyers’ market, your home needs to outshine the top 10%. If you want to know what is happening in the market right now. Look at the pending sales because this will be the most current indicator. Sold comps could be two to three months behind the market movement.

Apart from preparing your home for sale, consider its condition. Perhaps you should consider adding updates or doing repairs before selling. Say if the top 10% of homes on the market have new carpeting and your carpeting is worn and dated, replace the carpet in your home or it is not going to sell. Or if most of the homes on the market have upgraded kitchens, you should concentrate on fixing up the kitchen. This doesn’t mean you need to buy designer appliances and tear out the cabinets. But a minor kitchen remodel might be a good investment. Sometimes, a fresh coat of paint on the cabinets, new hardware or a really nice back splash can give your kitchen an all-new look. If the real estate market is in a hot “sellers market” you might be able to get away with fewer fix-ups before selling; however, a home that is in need of repairs will still deliver a lower price and this is especially true in a slow market.

Also check your homes curb appeal. What is curb appeal? It is the “attractiveness” of your homes’ exterior when viewed from the street.  It is the “first impression” that buyers get from the property. It sets the tone for your entire home. Many buyers associate the condition of the exterior and landscape with the condition of the interior. You want the curb appeal to invite the buyers to view the rest of your property.  And with more and more people shopping for homes online, researchers found by tracking eye movements that more than 95% of users only view photos of the home for a total of 20 seconds. Therefore it is important to perk the interest and give off that good impression to the buyer within that small time frame.  Without an eye-catching primary photo, the battle could be lost even before it begins.

Curb appeal can mean the difference between a home that sells quickly for the asking price and a home that sells after months of sitting on the market for below the asking price.

Follow these tips and you will be slapping that “SOLD” sticker on that “For Sale” sign in no time.