Selling In the Spring

Spring might be an even livelier home-selling season this year because buyers want to act before interest rates or home prices rise.

Even so, buyers insist on good deals. Even in seller’s markets, where the supply of homes for sale can’t meet demand from buyers, the overpriced homes are at a disadvantage. Spring time often means fewer days on the market and even multiple offers but houses with too-high asking prices aren’t selling at all.

Three things sell a home in any season: location, condition and price. If one of those three isn’t good, your home may not sell, but you can always compensate for a less-than-perfect location with a better price.

Buyers decide within 60 seconds of seeing a home whether they will consider buying it. You need to make sure you don’t turn them off before they get in the door. Here are some tips to sell your home this spring:

Curb Appeal :
Curb appeal can be your best friend. Trim trees and bushes so buyers can see the house and pressure-wash the driveway, front walk, house and patio. Clean and paint the front door because buyers will drive by and linger staring at the facade.

Pair down and pack
Sellers need to go through all of their furniture and closets with a discerning eye to eliminate clutter and then do it again.

Pack up anything you want to keep, and put it off-site in a pod or a storage unit. You want your home to look like it always has plenty of space in all the closets.

Be mindful of your senses, especially sight and smell. If there are dark corners in the house, get rid of clutter in those areas, paint them a light colour and reflect the colour with lighting. If you have a pet, clean the carpets and open the windows to air out the house. Clean or get rid of your drapes if they carry a pet odour.

Know and fix as much as you can pre inspection:
If you know a home inspector is going to find something wrong with your house, fix it. If you don’t have the means to do so, declare the issue and factor it into your price. You can even go as far as getting an estimate done so you can show buyers you did your homework.

If you haven’t maintained your home, you may want to hire your own inspector before your home goes on the market so that you can make the appropriate repairs. It usually costs less to fix things before a home inspection, so bring in an electrician to make sure the electrical panel has been updated beforehand.

Most sellers know if something is broken. It makes more sense to do the repairs ahead of time rather than wait for a buyer to request it. Buyers may end up asking you to spend $300 on what should cost $100 just to make sure it’s done right.

Price it RIGHT:
Even though prices are rising in some areas , sellers need to be reasonable and compare their homes to similar properties that have recently sold.

Buyers today are savvy shoppers. If you price your house too high and have to lower it, it will hurt you more than if you price it right the first time. Overpriced homes that stay on the market for 90 to 120 days are extremely difficult to sell.

The other danger of overpricing is that appraisers are cautious and they may not value your home as high as the sales price, even if you find a buyer willing to pay that much.