Several seller’s have been asking "What should we do to get our house sold in this buyers market"? There is no silver bullet however there are a few things that can be done to help. Some agents will preach from the old philosophy that a low price is the only way to get results. A low price is not the only way to sell a house, keep in mind that in todays buyer’s market the home should be priced competitively. A seller does not have to be the lowest price in the area in order to get the sale. Let’s look at what you do need to do:
- Curb Appeal – You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Make certain that the grass is cut, edged and looking good.
- Remove Clutter – Guess what, if it doesn’t look like your belongs fit then the buyer’s stuff probably won’t fit either.
- Paint – Painting is a very inexpensive way to change to look of an outdated room. Updating to more of a designer color improves any room.
- Clean – Do you want to purchase a dirty home? I didn’t think so, well neither do most home buyer’s. So Clean, Clean, Clean!
- Carpet – Examine the carpet and have it stretched or cleaned if needed.
- Your REALTOR® – Make certain that your agent can get your home maximum exposure on the internet as over 80% of buyers start there.
The more you do to have your home in a show ready condition the better off you will be. Do you want buyer’s will look at your home and think they can just move right in or do they need to offer a price reduction to get the things done to make the home move in ready. I promise you can get things done for a lot lower cost than the reduction the buyer will be looking for. Think about it, you can buy 2 gallons of paint and do a good sized bedroom for less than $50 painting it yourself. If the paint is in that bad a shape the buyer will probably look at a $500 to $1,000 reduction.
Yes it is a buyer’s market in metro Atlanta but by adapting the suggestions above you can be successful in selling your home.