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Prepare Your Home Now For Spring's Selling Season
The holidays are upon us and our thoughts are filled with visions of sugarplums. It's a time for being with friends and family and nestling in our decorated homes. But what happens when the beautiful packages become piles of shredded paper and bows, the candles are puddles of wax and the tree has dropped all of its needles? As we head into the depths of Winter we need to think ahead to Spring, especially if you are thinking of selling your home. Spring will be here before we're ready and just as nature begins life again so the real estate markets springs to life. It's the beginning of the selling season and those with a home to sell must be prepared. Unfortunately, these are tough economic times and we're all finding ways to pinch a penny and stretch a dollar. Homebuyers are no different. Gone are the days when the ability to sign your name guaranteed a mortgage approval and new buyers are no longer looking for the fixer-upper since it's now tough to get the financing to make improvements. It's a grim outlook, but it doesn't have to be if sellers start thinking like marketing executives!
Selling a home is no different than selling a product on the store shelf. Take a stroll down the office supply section of your local store. Have you ever noticed how many pens are for sale? They come in every size, shape and color of ink imaginable. Many have features like cushioned grips or safety features like indelible ink. Every one of those pens has been designed, packaged and priced to compete with the other pens on the shelf. You wouldn't take a cheap looking pen with no features and sell it for $10 when the one right next to it is full of features, looks great, and sells for $5. Who would buy the $10 pen when they get a better value for less with the $5 one? Just like the marketers who promote those pens, you have to consider 5 P's when selling your home: Packaging, Placement, Pricing and Profit, and Publicity. And all these decisions must be made in light of what the competition is doing. So how do you, the inexperienced marketer, make these choices? Let's examine each "P" in terms of your home.
Packaging
This is how your home looks, inside and out. Did you know that most buyers determine their interest in the inside of a home after viewing the outside for only 15 seconds? If you don't impress them before they get to the front door, they may never even open the door! So make sure your lawn is in good shape, your bushes and trees are trimmed and the exterior of your house is looking fresh and maintained. Do you need to clean, replace, add or paint your shutters? How about that front door - could it use a new coat of paint as well? Check all of your exterior light fixtures and make sure they are working. Take down seasonal decorations and flags and prepare to plant colorful flowers as soon as possible.
Take a look at the interior of your home. It has qualities and features that you found desirable so make a list of the things you liked about your home when you first bought it. Unfortunately, every home has a few blemishes so make a list of those too. You have time before Spring to fix the problems and freshen up the features so take advantage of that. Take a look at paint colors, furniture, art and accessories. Ask yourself: Are these things helping my home appeal to most people or are they very personal? If your personal feelings don't want to paint over those neon green walls your finances may suffer as those walls turn off potential buyers and leave your home sitting on the market far longer than you had planned. It's also time to get rid of clutter. A good rule of thumb? If you haven't used it in the last year then it's time to get rid of it. Also, take down family photos, awards, name plaques and anything else that identifies the residents of your home. You want buyers to be able to picture themselves in the home and not feel that they are trespassing upon your territory. Additionally, as you begin to have strangers walk through your home at open houses and showings, do you really want them to know your daughter's name or your son's position on the high school football team? Sadly, we must think of safety in this day and age. Arrange furniture in a way that makes your rooms feel large but cozy and get rid of any extra pieces that are just wasting square footage. Finally, clean, clean, clean!!! Pull out the mops and buckets, dust rags and even Q-tips! That's right, Q-tips! Your house needs to sparkle as if it were brand new. Once you've done all of this work to make your home beautiful you must keep it this way. It would be shame to do all of that hard work and then have a buyer walk in to see socks on the floor and dirty dishes in the sink. Presentation is everything so make the most of your presentation!
If all of this seems overwhelming or you can't seem to take an unbiased view of your home, then call an Accredited Staging Professional like the ones at Tribeca Design Studio to help you make the most of your home. ASPs are trained to view your home through the buyers eyes and offer a variety of services to help you prepare your home. Whether giving clear directions so you know where to put your energies, working alongside you to keep you motivated, or bringing in rental furnishings to update and round-out occupied or vacant homes, ASPs get the job done in just about any budget. And statistics show that Staged homes really do sell faster. In a recent study, 94.6% of Staged homes sold in an average of 35 days while non-staged homes sat on the market an average of 175 days! Think of all those mortgage payments they made while waiting for their homes to sell!
Placement
Placement is how a product is positioned among it's competition. Is it the bargain basement version or the high end one? Most likely it falls somewhere in the middle. Take a look at the houses in your neighborhood and how your home compares to them in lot size, square footage, and upgrades. Is your home well maintained or does it need a little work? Does it make a great first impression or is it rather average? Think of ways you can increase the placement of your home while spending as little money as possible. On the other hand, if your home is the best in the neighborhood you may need to realize that its value could be greater than what the neighborhood can handle. Don't expect to sell a $500,000 home in a $300,000 neighborhood. In this case you have a few options. First, don't sell if you don't have to! Consider waiting until the economy improves, you have more equity to work with, and buyers are willing to spend more. Second, if you must sell then realize that you may have to make less profit, or in some cases break even, in order to sell the house. Your home will most likely take longer to sell so be prepared and don't fight your Real Estate Agent regarding the price. They want you to make the most money possible too but the longer your home sits on the market, the less likely you are to sell it. This is not the time to price it high and consider a reduction later. Your best chances of selling are in the first 30 days so you really have to put the best product with the best pricing out there from the start.
Pricing and Profit
What is the first step to setting your price? Look at your competition! Take a look at the other houses that are listed for sale in your neighborhood. It doesn't matter what homes have sold for in the last 6 months as things are changing on a monthly basis in this economy. If a buyer can purchase a home similar to yours with similar features and an appealing decor then why would they pay more for yours? Also look at new developments in your area. What are they offering? Many builders have reduced their prices and are offering free or reduced rate upgrades. Most buyers would prefer to build a home with all the features they desire than have to fix-up an existing home, so new construction is definitely part of your competition. Remember also that the buyers don't really care about how much you want or need to make on this sale. If you can't price your home competitively then don't try to sell it! Don't be the $10 pen on a shelf of $5 bargains!
Publicity
You can't sell a product that no one knows about so get the word out! Hire a Real Estate Agent with a good marketing plan, but even more importantly, with a good standing among the network of local agents. When people respect your agent they will be more interested in taking their buyers to see that agent's listings. Tell all of your neighbors, friends and family that you are selling your house. Who knows? They may know someone who is looking to buy. Ask your agent for some of his/her business cards and write your address on the back of them. Whenever you meet someone who is looking to buy a home you will have the information about yours ready to hand them. Make your home available for showings as much as you possibly can. After all, we can't buy that pen if the store is closed! And be sure you keep your home clean and clutter free the whole time it is listed so you can make the most of those showings. One of the advantages of Staging your home with Tribeca Design Studio is the additional publicity every one of our listings receive as part of our services. We list your home on our website and StagedHomes.com and we even put a sign in the yard advertising your home as a Staged Home with our web address. Buyers love to view Staged homes because they know they are in good repair and look great!
So enjoy the holidays! Have fun with your loved ones and make lots of memories. Eat the cookies and drink the eggnog. When the holidays are over, as you put the decorations back in the basement or attic, start thinking about what you can do now to sell your home in the Spring. If you need help, call on the ASPs at Tribeca Design Studio. You can reach us by phone at 302.526.4268 or email info@TribecaDesignStudio.com.
