2021 is predicted to be a good year for the housing market and, in particular, sellers. Inventory is low, demand is high, and people are buying. Now is a great time to price your home to sell fast.
Last fall, 7 out of every 10 homes for sale were on the market for less than one month.
Needless to say, it’s a sellers’ market.
The good news is that the odds are in your favor. The first thing that comes to every sellers’ mind is the price. How much is too much? Am I not asking enough? You don’t want to give your house away, but when you’re short on time, you want to price it to sell quickly.
Keep scrolling for more tips on how to price your house to sell fast.
1. Get an Online Estimate
Much like the rest of the world, the real estate market has evolved with the challenges of the past year, and it’s easier than ever to get an estimate on your house without leaving the couch and meeting with a real estate agent.
iBuyer.com offers a free service called iValuation, an online home value estimator. All you need to do is plug in your address and the site uses industry insights, big data, iBuyers, and market trends to give you a fair market value assessment for your home.
After you plug in your address, it will ask you whether your home is a single-family, condominium, or townhouse. Next, it will ask you if you’re working with a realtor and how fast you’d like to sell your home. After a few basic questions about the condition of the interior, you’ll receive an estimate in your email.
This is a great jumping-off point to get the ball rolling on pricing your home to sell fast!
2. Do a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
Don’t let these big words scare you. You can do this on your own, and it’s really not too difficult.
A comparative market analysis takes a look at how similar homes are selling in your area.
When you’re considering selling your home, you’re probably thinking of factors such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, etc. However, there are other things that come into play such as the condition of the property, lot size, indoor and outdoor features, and the overall national market.
Realtors tend to use the rule of three in a CMA—they look at three similar homes that have sold in the last three months in the same area. They have software at their disposal for this. If you’re doing it yourself, here are some tips for where to get the information on your own online.
The CMA is more in-depth than just getting the prices of recently sold homes and comparing them. Here are some factors to take into consideration:
- Look at the neighborhood in depth. How close are public offices (police, fire) and grocery stores? What’s the school district like? Is there a Homeowner’s Association?
- How big is the home you’re comparing? How old is it, and what’s the curb appeal like? What year was it built?
- Does the home have a unique location, i.e. on the water?
Once you’ve got this information on at least three homes, you’ll want to look for adjustments. This includes amenities that your home has that the comparable homes do not, or vice-versa. An example would be if the comparable house has an extra bathroom, bedroom, etc.
Finally, you’ll want to calculate the average price of each comparable house per square foot. To get this price, you’ll want to divide the adjusted price of the comparable homes by their square footage. Then, add the sold price per square foot and divide by the number of comparable homes to get the average. price. After that, multiply the average by the square feet of your property. This will give you the current market value.
3. Learn From the Mistakes of Other Sellers
Other sellers’ mistakes are your bread and butter. You can either learn from them or repeat them.
For instance, if a house in your neighborhood was on the market for a year and it just sold, look at the stats, were they asking too much in the beginning? Did they have to drop the price to sell it? All of this information is public, and it’s in your best interest to search it out.
4. Don’t List for an Obscure Price
If you own a home, it means that you’ve been on the buyer’s side in the past. Think back to what you were looking for.
Let’s say that you knew that you could only afford a home for under $300,000. Did you still peruse listings for homes that were listed at $299K? Probably.
Also, think about the metrics that realtors use on their sites when you’re searching for your next home. While the jump between $199,000 and $200,000 is relatively small, it can be the difference between which price bracket your home falls into.
Finally, make it an even number. If you list your home for $248,570, potential buyers will likely scroll right past it. And speaking of being on the buyers’ side…
5. Reverse Your Perspective
We all have an emotional attachment to our homes, regardless of how long we’ve been living in them. Maybe you’ve watched your children grow up in this house, maybe it was your first house, or maybe it was passed down to you by a family member.
However, you have to put these feelings aside to assess the true value of the home.
Use your Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to assess whether or not surrounding homes are worth more (or less) than your own without the personal feelings attached.
The bottom line is, the higher you price your home, the longer it could possibly take to sell it.
6. Don’t Be Afraid to Change the Price After Listing
We all want to be “right” the first time, even when it comes to selling our homes. However, don’t be afraid to lower the price after listing to sell faster. It’s recommended that you don’t make small, frequent price changes, either. Lower the price once and stick to it.
This includes raising the price, too. Did you make upgrades to your home after you listed it? Adjust the price to reflect that and include said upgrades in the listing.
It doesn’t have to be a huge increase, either. The difference in pricing brackets for homes can vary by as little as $1,000, and you’ll reach a whole new demographic of potential buyers.
7. Stay Motivated
Buying and/or selling a house can be incredibly stressful, especially if you allow your emotions to get in the way. You might feel offended that somebody made a low offer on your house; on the contrary, you might be super ticked off that the seller rejected your offer on their home.
Try your hardest not to let your feelings get in the way of making a fast sale.
Also, get your listing out to as many platforms and websites as possible. Facebook Marketplace (and Facebook in general) has become a very popular tool for realtors. There’s more than used furniture for sale on there nowadays.
We may live in a digital world, but it never hurts to get your listing out on paper. Post flyers in public places. The more eyes you can attract to your listing, the better. Make it big, eye-catching, and simple—even people who aren’t in the market will take a look.
8. Declutter, Rearrange, Make Small Repairs
Staging your home is just as important as pricing it correctly to move on the market. Curb appeal is the first thing that potential buyers see when they pull up to your home, and that’s relatively easy to fix.
However, the inside is what they’re really looking at.
These three words are super important: stage your home.
Pack up anything personal to you. You want to make your home appear as though the buyer can picture themselves living there, and they can’t do that if you’ve got a wall full of pictures of your extended family.
Keep your furniture and decor basic so that it looks move-in ready to the buyer. You want them to be able to picture their own furniture in your house.
Make small repairs throughout your home. Small things like paint touch-ups, a new toilet seat, or replacing an old light fixture can be the difference between selling your home in a week or selling it in six months.
9. Go to Open Houses in Your Area
If you’re still confused about how to price your house to sell fast, take a Saturday and Sunday afternoon and tour homes for sale in your area. Look at what others are selling their homes for, and what you’d get for that price. Then, make the appropriate comparisons to your home.
10. Get an Appraisal
The old adage is, unfortunately, true. You’ll have to spend money to make money, and paying for an appraisal is a perfect example of this.
An appraiser’s sole job is to determine the market value of a home. This will not be the same as the assessed value that you receive on your property taxes from your local tax assessor’s office as that number is traditionally fairly low.
A professional appraisal can cost anywhere from $300 and up, depending on where you live. The first thing to do is to find an appraiser near you.
Once you’ve got an appraisal, you can decide if you want to price your house higher or lower than the said number. Keep in mind, this is public knowledge so, if you price it higher than the appraised number, potential buyers can find that our and it may affect their offer.
11. Have a Mock Open House
A second set of eyes is always a good thing. While you’re deciding what to list your house for, stage it and have family and friends walkthrough.
Preface their walkthrough by telling them that you want an honest opinion from an outside perspective, and encourage them to echo the possible concerns (and compliments) of potential buyers.
This is also a good time to separate your emotions from your home sale.
Keep in mind that a very small percentage of home purchases are made because of an open house.
This should go without saying, but make sure you find people who will give you an honest opinion. Your mom who still dotes on you, even when you’re a middle-aged adult, may not be the best representative of a potential buyer.
12. Use an iBuyer
The iBuyer model is an up-and-coming way for sellers to value and list their homes in a timely manner. If you’re looking to price your home to sell fast, you have a short timeline. With an iBuyer program, you can sell and close on your house within just a few weeks.
Finally…
Selling your home is daunting and intimidating whether you’ve been planning on it for months or just decided to do it yesterday. Fortunately for you, the resources at your fingertips are more plentiful than ever before.
Use social media to get your listing out. Do your research ahead of time. Know what your house is worth, detach emotionally from it, compare it to other houses for sale in your area, and list it. It’s as simple as that.
Real estate has joined the digital world, and it’s easier than ever to price out your home to sell it online than ever. Don’t be afraid to try it. In 2020, 52% of buyers found their new homes on the internet.
iBuyer.com is an excellent resource for you to use without even leaving your house so if you want to sell your house fast, get in touch today!
The post How to Price Your House to Sell Fast appeared first on iBuyer Blog.
Powered by WPeMatico
