Housing

4 New Rules for Home Sellers

Paul Ausick

Published: May 6, 2017 8:45 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:16 pm

There’s not much argument that sellers have an advantage in today’s housing market. That doesn’t mean that all a seller has to do is stick a For Sale sign in the front yard and competing offers above the asking price will begin to roll in. If only …

Today’s sellers’ market is driven by scarcity — in many desirable locations there is very little inventory. Scarcity in the face of demand drives up prices, and demand, especially among older millennials, is beginning to pick up.

Selling a home for the best price in today’s market means you need to look at the differences in the market between now and the time when you bought the house. Daniel Bortz at Realtor.com has done the groundwork and identified four new rules that apply if you want to sell your home.

Price the home correctly from the start. In the old days, homes were often priced at or above market value, expecting one buyer to take the bait of negotiating the price down to a reasonable price. Don’t try this today. If your home is not priced accurately from the outset, you risk having it sit on the market for a long time (30 days), which only makes selling it at all a dicier proposition.

Market the home aggressively. A few photos taken with your smartphone may no longer be enough to compete for buyers. Bortz suggests hiring a videographer to make a walk-through film of the house that is edited and produced with a high level of quality. Then post it on social media as well as the real estate agent’s site.

Spend some money on staging. This means more than just boosting curb appeal or freshening up the paint. Hiring a professional stager to get your home in shape to sell can pay off. On average, staged homes sell 88% faster and for 20% more money.

Figure out in advance how to handle multiple offers. Is a quick sale the most important consideration? Or is it wringing every last penny out of a buyer? Or is it choosing the offer that is the most likely to result in a sale? Deciding in advance how you want to select from possible multiple offers can save you a lot of grief later.

For more discussion and details, visit the Realtor.com website.