Every buyer’s market has one thing in common: more buyers than sellers. This means that if you are a seller, you need to give yourself an edge over the competition. If your house is priced too high, it will sit on the market for months – or worse yet, be sold at a lower price point because there was nothing wrong with it other than its inflated price tag. To ensure that this doesn’t happen to you, follow these three tips and give yourself an edge.
1) Price your house right
If you think that under-pricing will sell faster, think again. You might end up receiving less than what it’s worth because everyone knows the price is too low, to begin with. While you want to make sure not to overprice it either (you don’t want buyers who won’t even consider negotiating), a good rule of thumb is to offer a lower price than you’d like to get closer to your asking price.
With that said, don’t just ask for the most money possible – do some research on what other homes have sold for recently and try not to stray too far from their numbers. Price it right from the start, so buyers know that you’re serious and will be more inclined to negotiate.
2) Keep your house clean and clutter-free
There’s nothing worse than a messy house. It gives the impression that no one lives there, which means it would be hard to picture yourself in it – especially if you’re looking for an investment property or something temporary while buying another home. You don’t need to go out of your way by spending thousands of dollars on renovations, but make sure that the house is presentable.
If you have a lot of stuff lying around outside or inside your home, consider getting rid of it before buyers come to see the place. You don’t want them thinking about how much work they’ll need to do once they move in because chances are, if they’re in a buyer’s market, they will have to fix it up before putting any money into the house.
3) Be flexible with your arrival time
Don’t be a stickler when it comes to showing the property. If you can, schedule showings after work or on weekends so that people have more flexibility to come by and view the place. Don’t put them out just because you don’t want to change your plans for one afternoon – if they’re serious about the house, they’ll come by when you’re available.
On that note, try to answer your phone no matter what time it is or who’s calling – you never know if it could be a buyer ready to book an appointment for later in the week! If you can’t make it work on your end but want them to see the house, you can always show it on a different day. Not everyone will agree, but if they want the place and are willing to work around your schedule – as well as theirs – this is usually an option worth considering.