home sellers

Should You “Test The Market” With A High Price To Start

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

It sounds like a good strategy, “test the market” by asking a high price for your home. I mean, what harm could it do and you could even luck out and get asking right? Well, not so fast. It’s not a good strategy and here’s why.

Who will and won’t see your home?

For one thing, when you “test the market” the people who can actually afford your home at the right price won’t even see it. Most people start searches online but even if they start with a Realtor, the searches the Realtor does won’t include your home. Those that do see it won’t be interested. Your home will be too small or not what their price range usually offers. Of course, that means you won’t be getting any offers. Unfortunately, your neighbor who is also selling will. Your overpriced home makes their correctly priced one look good. Not to mention that the first few days your home will be on the market are the golden ones. Most deals are made then.

Remember today’s buyers are very savvy

People know what a home is generally worth. They do their homework. They also will be less likely to want to try and negotiate a deal. If they even see the listing. That means your home is sitting and a stale house doesn’t sell for asking, or even for less than the true market price. It’s true. When you lower a price because you asked too much to begin with, those who are interested will demand a bigger discount and more concessions.

What if you do get an offer?

So let’s say you actually get a bite at your first price. Guess what? The house won’t appraise at the high price and the buyer won’t get a mortgage. No mortgage, no sale.

Oh, and if you find a Realtor who thinks it’s a good idea, find a different one!

How To Market Your Small House For Sale

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

You live in the cutest house. It’s not big, in fact it’s rather small, but it fit you perfectly, until now. Now you need to move, either to upsize or for a job, and sell your adorably small home. We aren’t talking tiny home, but smaller than most of the other homes in the area. So how do you market your home to sell?

Well, just like any other home! Do the same things the owners of those bigger homes are doing. Just on a smaller scale.

Decluttering your home before sale is actually a hugely important thing with a smaller house. Clutter will make it look ever smaller than it is. Making rooms light, bright and bigger is important. Clean it thoroughly and update wherever you can.

When repainting, go for lighter hues to give an airy and bigger feel. Remember, dark colors make a room feel smaller. Move bigger furniture out to storage and keep smaller, cozier pieces in place. You may love your king size bed, but if it takes up the whole room, it’s not a plus!

Is your small house a cape cod? Dress up those window nooks to be cozy spaces to sit and read or escape from the world. Make all available space livable. Finish the attic or basement (or both!). That bonus space will really help. Make everything as maintenance free as possible.

Target your updates to your target buyer. That would be a first time buyer or a downsizing buyer. A first time buyer usually can’t afford a bigger home, so a smaller first home is their usual go to.

Your downsizing crowd has had the big, costly and time consuming home and wants to lighten that load. Your smaller home, will less rooms to clean, lower utility bills and taxes is just what they are looking for.

A small home isn’t a liability when selling, just know how to market it to the right buyer and it will sell in no time!

Fun Facts About Real Estate Home Sellers

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

Did you know that knowing demographic information about whose home you are buying can help you get the best deal for the home you want? According to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 2021 white paper entitled “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” spells out the characteristics of home sellers from June 2020 through June 2021.

So what are those statistics?

Well how about that the typical home seller was 47 years old in 2021, or that sellers typically lived in their home for 10 years before selling.

Want more? How about that recently sold homes were on the market for a median of 3 weeks,

Let’s also not forget that 88% of home sellers worked with a real estate agent to sell their homes, The smart ones anyway!

Common reasons for selling

The report also talks about the most common reasons for selling. The first most commonly cited reason is the desire to move closer to friends and family and the house to small is the second commonly reason.

Some cool fun facts about price

The median final sales price for recently sold homes was 99% of the final listing price and those homes were on the market for an average of 3 weeks.

You know what else? 33% of all sellers offered incentives to attract you, the buyer and one more… the home sellers sold their homes for a median of $66,000 more than they purchased it! One of the better reasons to own a home! It nearly always makes you money in the long run.

Survival Tips For House Selling With Kids | Selling Your Home

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

For one reason or another it’s time to pack up the family and move. That means selling your home with kids around. It doesn’t have to be the nightmare that it sounds. Here are some survival tips for parents.

Clear out the clutter

Before you put the house on the market go through and seriously clear out the clutter. That means all those boxes of keepsakes stored in the attic or garage as well as the clutter in the kids rooms and rest of your home. If you can’t part with some, put them in storage temporarily. Whatever can go should go and if that means multiple trips to Goodwill, good! Then put away in storage the bigger toys from the yard, bedrooms and toy room, artwork on the fridge and most of the things that personalize your home. You can leave a few family pictures up, but thin them out.

Time to stage and photograph

Once things are clean and decluttered call your realtor to have him or her stage and photograph. If that means that you take the kids to the park or out for a treat, do it. Let the realtor have free rein to make your home look like a showplace for your listing photos. Don’t forget that you need to stage the playroom as something else. You can have a small area that is “kid friendly” that buyers will see, but make sure that kids bedrooms and playrooms are made more neutral. The playroom can be staged as a home office, kid decorated bedrooms should be repainted.

Have a checklist

Now that your home is listed, there are more things to do. One is having your Realtor give you enough notice to tidy up the house and get the kids packed up and out of the way for the showing. That may mean requiring an hour or two notice. Discuss it with your Realtor. In order to make sure you get everything back in tip top shape, have a checklist. List everything! In a rush you don’t want to forget anything.

Write a note detailing your home and neighborhood

So how can you let the prospective buyers know how awesome your home and neighborhood is? Write about it. A quick, one page note will be enough to expound upon the details in your listing. Talk about the neighborhood, schools, shopping and so on.

Last tip?

Keep your truck empty so you can “dump and run” with clutter that you can’t successfully put away.

How To Sell Your Home When You Are The Worst House In The Best Neighborhood

October 27, 2021 By Deborah Ward

I’m sure you’ve heard the adage “buy the worst house in the best neighborhood.” In fact, the HGTV show “Fixer Upper” uses that same idea, and in their opening spiel. So why do that? Why not go for the best house in the best neighborhood? As a seller, should you go ahead and make a lot of really expensive fixes to sell your home, or just let it be? The short answer is probably to inexpensively spruce it up and sell now.

Your strategy to sell is simple, make your home look clean and habitable. Its location will be its biggest selling point. Lots of things can be changed about a home, but where it sits is usually not one of them. It is exceptionally expensive to move an entire house. So buyers who can’t really afford to buy that gem across the street (you know that one – perfect floors, perfect kitchens and baths, most up to date color schemes and perfect landscaping), may just be able to buy yours. So play up your location. Sing the praises of the schools. Talk about how close you are to the best parks or entertainment or whatever it is that makes your neighborhood coveted.

So do all the things that any seller does to prepare to sell. Clean like a crazy person. Declutter so your rooms, as shabby as they may be, look bigger. Paint to help it look a bit less shabby. Mow the lawn and plant some colorful flowers out front and make your porch look welcoming. If you can’t afford to make improvements to the home, don’t worry so much. You may not be able to ask top dollar, but the location and neighborhood will help you get a decent price.

Be prepared for prospective buyers to ask for concessions for repairs they will need to make. If you price the home right, however, this may not be a huge issue. Pricing it right may just mean pricing it so buyers who couldn’t afford the house next door will see your listing and come looking. Hire a Realtor who can help you make the best decisions for your sale, then prepare to move!

How Home Sellers Shoot Themselves in the Foot with Bad Pricing!

October 27, 2021 By Tara Jacobsen

Home sellers in Clearwater, Dunedin or St. Pete, who are selling homes need to make sure they don’t shoot themselves in the foot by pricing their homes wrong!

As a homeowner, going with what you think its worth, versus actually finding out what it is worth can make the difference between selling your home quickly and having it languish on the market. Pricing it even $5,000 to $10,000 too high and it will sit. Pricing it right the first time will assure a sale.

One of the biggest mistakes home sellers make when pricing their home wrong is thinking that the home is worth more than it is. The market has changed much in the last several years including in Clearwater, Dunedin and St. Pete and even if you adjusted your thinking from before the housing bubble burst, you still probably inflate the value. Maybe your neighbor just got a great price for their home and you know yours is just as good, if not better. But is it? Do you have the high end finishes that they do? Is your bath or kitchen showing some wear?

Ok, you’re thinking, I can always come down if I’m pricing it too high. Bad idea, for a few reasons. First, when buyers look for a home they choose a price range from the highest their budget will allow to the lowest price that represents the quality of home they want. No matter if they search the internet first or just contact a Clearwater Dunedin or St. Pete realtor to assist them, if the home is slightly overpriced, it won’t show up in the buyers price range. What that means is the buyers who can buy your home won’t even see it. Second, the market for a newly listed home is the most active in the first 30 days. You won’t be willing to drop your price for at least 90, meaning you miss the hot selling period.

So contact a great realtor, and ask her to come and evaluate your home, list it right the first time and laugh all the way to the bank! Give us a call today to for a free in-home market analysis 727-410-0336