Here are four great ways to ensure success when selling during a market shift.

 

• Professional Photography

 

This is the first impression a home buyer sees of your home, so it’s critical that the photography is professionally done and demonstrates a cohesive tour of the property. This should always be a priority, but too often during covid when the housing market was on fire, we noticed some agents putting up listings with unedited, distorted iPhone shots. Sometimes those properties would still fly off the market due to such limited supply, but now, as we see rates and supply levels increase, homes must be marketed effectively and the best way to start is with excellent photos.

 

• Appropriate Staging

 

Great staging is an art, and it can really make your home stand out. The reason it’s an art is because different homes require different levels of staging. Maybe you already have great furniture that you want to keep for your next home, and your sale is contingent on you finding a replacement property. So, your plan is to sell and buy at the same time. It might not make sense for you to put all your furniture in storage, and the furniture looks great because you bought it specifically for the house you are now selling, so to keep things simple we can stage to complement what’s there rather than starting from scratch. Accents, decor, and small pieces might be all your home needs, and we know staging companies who can work with what you already have!

 

• Due Diligence Strategy

 

Selling is not just about pretty photos and furniture. Buyers want to know what’s under the hood, so rather than waiting for them to get into escrow on the property, the proactive and strategic approach to due diligence is to present your home with inspection reports. An even more strategic way to do this is to conduct inspections specific to your property. If you have a septic tank, you might want to pump and certify it. If you live in a fire hazard area, you might want to get a new insurance quote to share with your next buyer. If you live in an area where the sewer lateral needs to be inspected and repaired, you might want to have that done before getting into contract to mitigate risk of surprises. Making the sale as easy as possible for your buyer helps your listing stand out from the competition in a big way because it gives buyers confidence and reduces the likelihood of a difficult escrow because of due diligence. This strategy saves our clients thousands!

 

• Quick Landscape Spruce

 

There’s no need to spend tens of thousands on a new backyard, but if you want to really wow a buyer, a quick landscape spruce is really all you need. Pull the weeds, trim the trees and shrubs, lay inexpensive bark or gravel in those areas you’ve always wanted to make pretty, stain the deck, and plant some fresh flowers to stand out from the competition.