Tips for selling your house in a down market.
If you’re looking to sell your house or rental property sometime soon, you could be asking yourself what you should be or could be doing. Make no mistake – selling a home during a slower real estate cycle can pose some challenges. In times such as those we are experiencing right now, it’s not simply enough to list your home and wait for a buyer, you need to work with a REALTOR® who will really sell your home.
Truth be told, nobody really wants to sell when the market is “bad”, but it’s not impossible. You need to keep up a positive attitude, be patient and may need to approach it with a different plan of attack. Unlike the past two years, the market’s not as favourable to sellers at the moment and it may take months, if not years, for things to shift again, as they had at the beginning of the pandemic.
With this in mind, here are ten great tips to sell your house in a down market.
Make Sure Your Home is Marketable!
Before you list the home and put it on MLS, you need to make sure your home is “buyer ready”. If there is anything in the home that needs to be repaired, replaced or renovated, take care of that in advance. Tips to sell your house in a slower market vary, but one of the most important is making sure it looks its best to attract as many buyers as possible.
Try to look at the home objectively and work with your REALTOR® to determine what needs to be done. From painting and/or flooring to landscaping and curb appeal, there are plenty of ways to make your home more appealing to a prospective buyer. You want them to be able to picture themselves living there rather than focusing on any cosmetic issues they feel could be a sign of bigger problems.
In addition to the fundamentals, another tactic would be professionally staging a home. Selling a home in a down market means you may need all the help you can get. It costs more and it involves more work, but if you want a quicker sale, this could be one way to get there. It’s one way to attract more buyers especially when your home is up against many others. This is super important in terms of tips to sell your house in a down market.
Know Your Market.
This tip falls more in line with what your REALTOR® should know but it could be of value to you ask well. Time and time again, I’ve heard a seller say, “I’m not taking any less than $1,XXX,XXX” without having a true understanding of what’s happening in their local market. A house is really only worth what someone is willing to pay for it so you should know what similar homes in your area have been selling for and are currently listed for. If you price a property too high or too low, it could cost you significantly in the long run.
Pricing the Home Properly!
As noted above, knowing the market is crucial and with that includes the list price. With so many home sales slowing over recent months and prices plunging, the market is tricky right now. You can’t simply look at what a neighbour sold their home for a year ago, or a few months ago, you need to look at what’s happening right now.
Tips to sell your house in a down market wouldn’t be complete without critically analyzing local comps. It’s a good idea to price your home more conservatively than others on the market. It’s also important to look at any homes that haven’t sold. If they are sitting for too long, chances are, they are priced too high.
Marketing Beyond MLS
Although the bulk of traffic for buyers stems from the Multiple Listings Service or realtor.ca, in a down market, simply listing there is not enough. Tips for selling your home in a down market must include other forms of marketing over and above MLS. Connect with other REALTOR®’s in case they could have interested buyers, take ads out in the local paper, send mail outs to the surrounding areas, promote it on social media. It also goes without saying that any and all forms of promotion should include beautiful photos of the home, inside and out, along with video where-ever possible.
Play Up The Positive Features of the Home.
What do you think a buyer would love the most about a home? Does it have a showstopping backyard? Maybe there is a stunning fireplace. Whatever it has, make sure that these elements are highlighted. If you have a fireplace, make sure it’s lit for photos and video. Should you have a great chef’s kitchen, have some freshly baked cookies sitting out along with a scented candle or diffuser releasing delicious aromas. In addition, ensure the home is lit nicely for when buyers are arriving. You want to wow them the same way you would guests for a dinner party. Make sure your home sparkles! You HAVE to make sure it stands out. This is one of the most important tips for selling your house in a down market.
Showings Should Be Flexible for Buyers.
If you’ve staged your home, you may think that you can’t stay there during the listing period. While this may be better for buyers, whose REALTOR®’s can “book on demand” when a home is vacant, it may not be feasible for you to stay somewhere else. If you can’t, it’s imperative that you keep the home “showing ready” at all times and you’re willing to be flexible to accommodate showings, ideally on as little as one hour’s notice.
Price is important but it’s not everything. In some cases, buyers could even be holding out for something more. When it comes to tips for selling a home in a down market, this is where creativity and ingenuity can really come together. Make you can offer a brand new set of kitchen appliances or free grass cutting for a year. There are plenty of incentives you can consider if you feel you need that extra oomph to make your home stand out to get sold.
Flexible Terms.
In addition to price, there are other terms that buyers need to consider when it comes to purchasing a new property. Can you be flexible on the closing date? What about offering to cover the buyer’s closing costs? There are several things you can do to help sell your house in a down market, but the key here is flexibility.
Get Your Neighbours to Help
Depending on your relationship with them, you may or may not feel comfortable letting them know that you plan to sell your house. If you feel you are on good enough terms to do so, you can ask them to promote it among their own network (maybe they’d love to have friends/family live closer to them). In addition, you can invite them to the open house. Neighbours can make a really great impression on potential buyers and help get them excited about the prospect of living in their area. Not only can neighbours potentially help attract interested buyers, they may even help it get sold for a competitive price point.
Offers
Have you ever heard of the first offer rule? When it comes to tips to sell your home in a down market, it’s important to recognize that your first offer may be your only offer or your only offer for awhile. It only takes one buyer to sell your home and if you lose them, it can be hard to find another. There is a great quote, “the biggest fish usually bite first” so it’s a good idea to keep this in mind. In many cases (but not always), your first offer will often turn out to be your best.
When you’re trying to sell your home in a slower market, it can present a unique set of challenges. Above all else, try your best to be patient, stay positive and make sure you choose a great REALTOR® to help you prepare for and see you through the entire process. I hope you’ve found these tips to sell your house in a down market to be helpful.
If you’re looking to sell, let’s talk! I can be reached at 647.896.6584, by email at info@serenaholmesrealtor.com or by filling in this contact form.
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