Smart sellers know that pricing your home correctly is one of the most important decisions when selling. It’s not an exact science and can be tricky. Nothing is trickier than pricing a home that sits on a busy street.
Given the choice between the exact same home with the exact same amenities, acreage and price; the only difference being one is on a busy street and one is not, buyers will take the not busy street hands down. And why not? Less noise, less danger from traffic and less worries about all of that. But you bought your home on that same busy street…why? What was it about your home that drew you in and enticed you to buy? Think about those things when you start to prepare your home to sell.
One thing is price. The reality is that you will need to hit the right price on the head right away. No overpricing to give you room to move that price. For homes on busy streets that probably means a lower price than comparables on less busy streets. Seriously, the typical difference between those exact same homes above is anywhere from 5 or 5 percent to 15 or 16 percent. That was probably the case when you purchased it as well. A bargain – something you couldn’t afford in another location but in your price range at the location it sits.
So what do you do to make sure it sells? Think about making the inside a quiet retreat. If you haven’t already done so, install new windows to dull any noise. Triple pane or noise reducing windows will do the trick. Make sure the weather stripping and caulk around the windows and doors facing the busy street are in good shape.
Always emphasize the plusses, even more so than with a home in a different location. Making sure the listing has all of the new updates front and center is a big help. Have your Realtor put an extra on the sign highlighting that it is fantastic inside to entice buyers to look. Add or spruce up your landscaping. First, trees or shrubs along the road can block sound and give some added privacy. If you can fence the front, that will block out sound too, although it will keep that gorgeous landscaping from view. That fencing will also make the worries about privacy and safety go away.
Most importantly, don’t bring up noise, loudness or anything like that. Loud or busy are words that will change with perspective. For someone who lived near an airport, a little traffic noise will be negligible! Should the subject come up, however, point out the things you’ve done to mitigate the noise or share your experience with how great it was living there.
