Ready to sell your home? From pricing to real estate staging tips, here’s how to secure the best offer for your property.
Work with a real estate agent
There’s no substitute for professional guidance coming from an experienced real estate agent. Getting seller’s representation will help simplify the process, making it more manageable and efficient. An agent will not only provide assistance in getting your home ready to sell and promoting your listing, they will also protect your interests during negotiations, which is especially important when maximizing profits from a home sale.
If you don’t have an agent that you work with, do a quick online search of agents in your area and get referrals from friends and family. Schedule a consultation to get a feel for the agent’s knowledge base and communication style. It’s important to work with someone who is qualified to work as an agent in Pennsylvania, and who has the experience needed to handle complex real estate transactions.
Price your home correctly
Now that you’ve chosen a seller’s representative, you need to price your home accurately to make sure that it sells quickly. Keep in mind that today’s buyers have more access to information than ever – pricing your home too high will put them off your listing and look for better-priced homes in the area. It can also result in costly price reductions if your home languishes in the market.
But take care not to price your home too low, either. Selling for less than market value will cause you to lose out on profits.
Your agent will come up with a price range estimate based on recent sales and active listings of similar properties in the area. While it’s tempting to work with the agent who gives you the highest price estimate, inquire about their data and their basis for their price estimate. A professional agent should be able to produce data to back their claims.
Stage your home
Now that you know how much your home is worth, you need to get it ready to sell. General maintenance, repairs, cleaning, and decluttering should be top of your list when preparing your home for a sale. If you don’t have the time to tidy up, consider paying for professional cleaning services, especially if you’re selling a large home or a luxury property.
Place valuable furniture, art pieces, and collectibles in storage for safekeeping while you show your home, and consider selling or donating items that are still in good condition, but which no longer serve a purpose.
Once your home is neat and tidy, you can start staging it to make it more appealing to a wider audience. Some sellers prefer working with staging companies who can loan furniture and artwork as well as provide access to interior designers. Others prefer to DIY it.
Either way, the goal of home staging is to depersonalize the space and create a specific purpose or function for each staged room so that it becomes easier for prospective buyers to imagine the property as their future home.
Virtual staging has also increased in popularity over the last few years. It’s a more cost-effective alternative to traditional home staging and makes it easier for buyers to view homes while observing physical distancing. A virtual staging company can take photos of empty rooms and render 3D images of furniture, wall paint, and décor to stage each one.
Promote your listing
Once your home is ready to show, you’ll need to get the word out on your listing. One of the main advantages of working with an agent is that they can use their platform to promote your listing. That includes the Multiple Listing Services (MLS), their business network, social media, website, and more. Popular tools like live-streaming can also help agents show properties and drum up interest among buyers on social media.
You can also use your own social media accounts to promote your listing. Make sure that all your friends, family, and colleagues know that your home is for sale – there might just be a qualified buyer within your social and professional circles.
Negotiate with prospective buyers
When the offers start coming in, you’ll have to go through each one with your agent. Engage the prospective buyer with the most favorable terms. When negotiating with buyers, you can sweeten the pot by throwing in some perks, such as including certain pieces of furniture, artwork, or high-end appliances and smart home devices into the deal. If you’ve followed our tips regarding repairs and staging, the buyer should have no reason to negotiate a lower price.
If you’re selling a home in State College, PA and the surrounding communities, you can contact the Heritage Realty Group, Inc. here to get started. You can also call the team at 814.231.0101 or send an email to RLHoman363(at)gmail(dotted)com to schedule a consultation. With more than 100 years of combined experience, our agents have been providing top-notch real estate services since 1987.