How To Sell Your Home Quickly (& For The Highest Price)
By JD Esajian on December 7, 2018
The payoff of a successful flip is the sale. You can do all the right work, stretch your budget to the fullest and finish in your timeframe but unless you get your anticipated sales price, you may be disappointed in the results. Furthermore, not only do you want to sell but you want to do it quickly and for the highest price. In most cases, simply putting your home on the market and hoping for the best does not always work. Without defining your goals, knowing the market and listening to your real estate agent your home will sit on the market while you wonder what went wrong. Here are five important tips to sell your home quickly while still getting the price you desire.
- Identify goals. Every seller wants to sell for the highest price. If given the choice between an easy transaction and a significantly higher price, most sellers would choose price. The first tip in achieving this is by identifying your sales goals. Simply put: what do you want from the transaction? Start by evaluating the best-case scenario as well as what you would take in a fire sale. Write down the three most important goals in the transaction for you. If there is money tied up in the property that is needed to purchase something else you may be willing to take something off the price for a quick, secure closing. Perhaps you added to your budget to make the home more appealing to high end buyers and you are willing to wait the market out and get your price. Whatever your goals are they will drive almost every future decision you make with the property. Don’t wait until you get an offer to figure out which way you want to go. Prior to listing identify your goals and let them act as a guide.
- Know the market. Knowledge of the market should impact and drive everything you do with the property. It should directly influence the work you put in, the changes you make and your prospective buyer pool. When it comes time to figure out a list price it is critical to research the data available for your market. Sit down with your real estate agent and go over local sales history, price changes, 90-day sales stats and current inventory. Even though you may not agree with the data, the numbers don’t lie. This is the same information that buyers will reference when they decide to view your listing. If you think your home is far superior and you list 10-15% above the fair market value your home will quickly go stale. Without activity you will be forced to decide whether to adjust your price or hope an unexpected buyer miraculously comes out of nowhere. Not only it is important to know the market, you need to trust the data and use it to your advantage.
- Listen to your real estate agent. As well as you may think you know the market there is a good chance your real estate agent knows it better. If you are going to enlist the services of a real estate agent, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you don’t listen to them. You may truly think that your home is worth $50,000 over the highest comp, but a good realtor will give you the straight truth and urge you to reconsider. They also know the best ways to market the property and generate maximum interest. Something that worked for you on a previous transaction may not work in the current market or at the current time. Why not listen to someone who is a professional in the industry and knows the business inside and out? If you are going to work with a realtor, you should be all in and trust their advice.
- Be open house ready. The typical starting point in most home sales is the open house. This is the first time you home will be showcased to the masses for public consumption. As a seller it is your job to make sure your property is open house ready. Buyers will notice even the most minor flaws in the home. Take the extra time and spend the extra money to make sure your home is perfect. Depending on the property and the market you may want to consider staging. Staging generally is more effective on higher end homes where the return justifies the expense. You also need to back off and let the realtor run the open house free of you hanging over their shoulder, monitoring their every move. Right from the first day of listing your house needs to be ready to sell.
- Never dismiss any offer. Real estate sales are often a game of cat and mouse. You never know where or when your buyer will come from. What is essential is never dismissing any offer that comes in. Just like you did when you bought the property, buyers are looking to negotiate the best possible deal. If a low initial offer comes in don’t take it personally. The buyer is just playing the game and wants to see where they stand. Even if you counter back at full price, or just off, always engage all offers and never dismiss any. It may take several rounds of back and forth, but a low first offer may be the one that ends up closing.
The speed at which you sell your property can be as important as the price you get for it. Use these five tips to help sell quickly and for a price you are comfortable with.