Listing Your Home – Part 1
As a top-producing Realtor in Las Vegas for 15 years, I immediately came to realize that the most important thing you can do to sell your home for the most amount of money – is to prepare it! I have sold many homes, including my own, in record time by just doing a few easy things. Since then I have steam-lined my strategy.
In this nine part series, I will show you how critical this is and the easy steps to making your home so inviting that people won’t want to leave – except to write an offer. Sometimes they look so good the homeowner finds it difficult to sell it after we are finished!
My approach works on all homes, in any market and any price range. Once you get the home in tip-top selling condition, you should be able to list it at the top of the market for similar properties that have sold in your neighborhood.
Ready to list your home?
If you’ve done your homework, you should have a pretty good idea of what your home is worth compared to your neighborhood sales. Your Realtor will give you their professional opinion however as well as some suggetions. Lets walk through the steps in order:
Use your “comps” – Your Realtor will provide you with the current comparable sales within your neighborhood. You should be looking at the average sold prices for homes that are similar to yours: within 1 mile, same number of beds/baths, same number of stories. Items that that add to value are: corner lot, large lot, pool, additions, bedroom/bath options, big renovations or updates
Find a “Magic” Price –Your asking price should be within 10 % of the average sold price in your neighborhood. Once you have a target in mind, think about a price that motivates people more than others. Its generally better to keep within a $25,000 block, for example, rather than $305,000, go with $299,950. Lenders generally stay within $25,000 lending amounts and Realtors searching homes for their clients in MLS generally do the same. You don’t want to get left out by being the odd ball at $304,900.
The “soft spot” — Also called “price banding,” this is the practice of looking over the inventory in your neighborhood and finding the “soft spot.” For example, look at the sale prices of homes in your neighborhood. Prices tend to get bunched up as inventory moves along. Find an empty spot so your home is separated from the pack. For example, four homes are priced in the $274,000-$276,000 range and the next set of homes start around $290,000 and up. You should take advantage of the $280,000 price band.
Considerations – other factors that play into pricing your home are:
- Time of year – Spring is considered the best season to sell a home since families are trying to get situated before the start of the next school year; however, fall is a close second since it comes right after the quiet days of summer when most people are away on vacation. Winter is usually the worst season — especially in areas where it snows — but also because of the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays when people’s minds are on socializing, not buying or selling a home.
- Interest rates — If rates are reasonable, it seems everyone is in the market for a home. But, if interest rates start to climb or they do not seem reasonable, you’ll see less action on the street.
- Inventory — In Economics 101, we were taught the basics of supply and demand. This theory laid the foundation of what drives costs, and so it goes with real estate. If your home is one of 20 in the neighborhood that’s for sale, you will have a hard time getting your price since the supply is great and the demand may not be so great. However, if it’s a hot market and you have a home in a great neighborhood, chances are you will get your asking price and maybe even more. Scope out the neighborhood to see if inventory is high or low.
Market Report (CMA) — If you’re working with an agent, you will automatically get a Comparative Market Report (CMA), which includes recent sales, days on the market and homes similar to yours that are available, i.e., your competition. Realtors provide these free of charge without having to step foot into your home. Chances are we know your community and floorplan well.
Comparative Shopping – Put yourself in the Buyer’s shoes and see what else you could get for the asking price of your home. Its even a great idea to have your Realtor take you to show you other similar homes that are in the same neighborhood for comparison. Often Sellers are too emotionally attached to their homes to objectively place a value on the property. Once you start looking around to see else is selling for that price, you might have a better idea of how appealing your house is in the current market.
About Stacy Sheeley Homes
Stacy Sheeley facilitates successful connections between Buyers and Sellers of residential homes in Las Vegas and throughout Southern Nevada. She is dedicated to providing each of her clients with an extraordinary quality of service and a wealth of experience in buying and selling real estate.
Stacy has a keen eye for interior design and staging . For sellers, she’s usually able to recommend relatively minor changes that most strategically stage a home to meet market expectations. She also has a degree in marketing. As she’s proven repeatedly, her knowledge and background in how to make a home more attractive and presentable leads directly to the ability to attract offers and sell a home quickly.
Stacy loves her work, her enthusiasm shows. She aims to provide the very best service for her clients when they’re purchasing or selling their homes. She’s determined that you will receive conscientious attention to detail and complete personal attention while you search for the perfect home or pursue selling yours.
We work in the greater Las Vegas area but have a wide network of Realtors across the country. Let us find you a great Realtor in your area.
Happy Home Selling!
Stacy