As natural as the impulse might seem, try not to panic. You’re still in control of your house-selling destiny. You have options that will promote interest in your home and preserve your sanity.
The three most important factors when selling your home are marketing, presentation, and price. Let’s start with the last one, because that’s where the majority of people make the most mistakes in a hot market like ours.
Positive stats might tempt you to shoot for the moon, but you must keep your list price in line with your comparable market analysis recommendation. Those comparables — similar homes that have sold recently, in your neighbourhood — don’t lie. They’re the most accurate bellwether for what the market will bear.
If you haven’t had more than a couple of showings over a two-week stretch, you might want to consider lowering your list price.
(Keep in mind that the average time to sell in Edmonton is about 49 days, according to the Edmonton Real Estate Board; if your home has been on the market for less than a month-and-a-half, you can afford to be patient before moving to a price cut.)
Perhaps you factored in some top-line renovations into your list price — a granite countertop here, stainless steel appliances there. Proceed carefully. Buyers aren’t necessarily itching to honour the complete cost of that work, let alone eat up additional costs just so that you can pocket a profit. Sellers CAN make money fixing and flipping, but it’s not as easy as HGTV leads you to believe (more on that next month).
If you feel your price is solid and you’re still not getting any action, move on to marketing.
Too many A-list homes squander potential viewings and exposure because the photos are strictly B-list. Fuzzy, cluttered, poorly composed shots don’t make your home jump off the page. You’re in a competitive marketplace, with customers who have a lot of options and not a lot of time to consider them. Get professional photos.
Then, move on to the balance between open houses and private showings. Open houses can be very effective at generating interest, particularly after a price reduction, but they can also be a time-waster.
The key is to treat open houses like a business project: maximize efficiency and get the most bang for your time. Don’t spend all day smiling in your foyer. Two hours on a Sunday? Perfect. Too many people let their open houses rule their weekends.
The opposite holds for the private-viewing appointment. Within reason, you have to be willing to move heaven and Earth to make these happen. Buyers can be fickle; if they’re on a six-house viewing binge and they can’t fit yours in, there’s a good chance they’re gone forever. Unless there’s a can’t-miss element in your home that you’ve managed to convey in the listing, busy buyers are going to err on the side of convenience.
0 comments :
Post a Comment