With the spring market approaching, many people are looking to sell their homes. Today, I’ll go over four things you can do now to prepare your house for a quick sale when you do put it on the market.
1. Focus on making your house picture-perfect. These days, 95% of homebuyers start their search online. They are clicking through pictures and trying to decide whether or not they actually want to come out and see the house in person. Before you take your listing photos, make sure that you declutter, depersonalize, and make spaces look open, neutral, and move-in ready.
In our market, there’s a good amount of new construction, so there’s a good chance that your prospective buyers are also out looking at model homes. These builders spent a lot of money on staging and preparing those model homes, and that’s the bar we have to hit.
We have a professional stager on our staff who will come in and consult with you. The stager will give you advice room by room. There are specific things they can do to prepare the house for a quick sale by looking at the house through the eyes of the buyer.
If you want to get started now, focus on getting your house picture-ready so that you have less to do when you actually list your house.
2. Start packing. In the process of decluttering, you’ll have to put a lot of things away. Right now, the average days on market is 54. That’s under two months, so that’s pretty quick. In certain parts of the market, homes can sell a lot faster than that. Some homes even sell within a couple days. The more packing you do now, the less you will have to do later. Organize things into boxes and store them in the garage or attic. You can also rent a storage unit if need be so you don’t have to pack things in a hurry when you do sell.
3. Pay attention to curb appeal.Curb appeal is so important. When a buyer does look through your pictures online, there is a good chance that the next they’ll do is drive through the neighborhood and look at your house. Make sure that you trim the bushes, get rid of dead hedges, and plant some flowers. All of those things will make someone want to actually check out the inside of your house.
When a buyer comes to a showing, they will spend some time on the front porch while the agent is messing with the lockbox, so stand on your front porch and pay attention to the details. Could your front door use a fresh coat of paint? Are there any cobwebs? Get any unnecessary items off the front porch. Power-washing might be a good idea as well.
4. Try to create an outdoor living area in your backyard. If you don’t already have one, it may be a good idea to invest in an umbrella table. Get some patio chairs and an affordable, portable fire pit. In North Carolina, people spend a lot of time outdoors, so the backyard is going to be a big part of their decision. Create an environment that’s more than just a yard and buyers will be more interested in your house. We can help guide you through that process.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the top 10 days to list your home are in April, May, and June. If you are looking to sell your home, now is the time to start getting ready.
If you have any questions about selling your home this spring, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!
