In order to sell your house, you need to dominate the market. If you think you’re going to get top dollar, sell quickly, and easily make it to the closing table, you NEED your home to stand out. You NEED to dominate the market in your area. The Spring Market is quickly approaching – so you need to get ready!
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#1. Look the Best
You need to do some homework for this. Go check out nearby Open Houses, and have your Realtor show you comps to look up. See what these homes have that you don’t. Make sure your house looks better than any comps in your price range.
- Clean – like super clean. Hire someone if you need to. You should be the cleanest house on the market. Impress people with how CLEAN your house is. I’m talking scrub the walls if you need to! Scrub the backsplash, every inch of the bathrooms, the fridge, everything. A dirty house is a MAJOR turn off to buyers.
- Curb Appeal – your house better be the cutest house that buyers are going to check out that day. If you know your house isn’t the cutest, spruce it up! The walkway and entrance should be inviting and homey. Paint your shudders, clean out your gutters and power wash your siding. Mow that lawn and trim those trees. Make them beg to see more!
RELATED: 8 Simple Ways to Increase Your Curb Appeal
- Staging – every home should be staged for showings. There are different extremes to staging. If you can afford it, hire a stager – especially if you have vacated the house. Still there? Declutter, depersonalize, and take out big furniture. Swing by Target or Home Goods and grab a few things in the same theme or color scheme and set it up like a playhouse. This doesn’t need to be for your taste. It needs to appeal to the vast majority of buyers. P.S. They love gray!
#2. Be the Best Value
As buyers go about their day searching for their dream home, you want them to see yours as the best value. The best priced home in the best condition. When comparing to other homes, your house should stand out as the one that is impossible to pass up.
“It has the garage, the finished basement, a fireplace, AND a new kitchen? And these other homes were priced more and had none of the key features I want??” It’s a no brainer. “I’m going to choose this house and these other ones will sit on the market for a few more months until they realize they are over priced.“
In order to sell your house and dominate your market, make sure you know what else is listed right now in your size, price range, and style. Then price it right to get the most traffic, and the most offers – in the least amount of time. Those other homes WILL sit on the market. So, those sellers will continue to pay for a house they don’t want – mortgage, taxes, and all! Then when they finally price it right, the buyers will only be wondering why it’s been on so long…and if something is wrong with it.
#3. Have the Best Agent
Having a great agent is a key part of the Real Estate process. Is your Realtor putting time and effort into your listing? Your home should be listed on multiple sites, social media, newspapers, etc. (with amazing, professional pictures!) It should be reaching a huge audience. There should be just listed cards going around your town, along with brochures and information placed conveniently at your home for showings. Your agent should be at the Open House, giving potential buyers correct information and selling your house. They should also be pleasant and approachable, especially to other agents. There’s nothing worse than listing your house with an agent who prices it wrong and other agents don’t want to deal with. It’s a huge disservice to you.
Click here for Tips On Finding The Best Agent For You!
#4. Make it Memorable
After a day of looking at potential homes, many buyers confuse which homes had what, and which was which. Does yours already have a “wow factor”? Play it up and emphasize it! If not, you can still make yours memorable! It can be memorable for how incredibly CLEAN it was, how perfectly staged it was, the beautifully manicured lawn with the gazebo, or the big fragrant lilies on the kitchen island. You get the picture. Do something so that yours stands out and people remember it. Just don’t be the one that they remember because of the carpeting in the bathroom or the dog poop in the yard.
All in all, if your home is priced competitively for your market and is the best value, you’ll dominate the market and sell your house! Take care of your house and make it an easy job to sell it. Consider getting your own inspection before you list, so you know what to expect and can take care of any major problems ahead of time. It should only take a week or two to thoroughly clean and add a couple of memorable touches. Then, sit back and wait for the offers to come rolling in!
Next, check out The Guide to Selling Your House for 11 steps on what to expect and how to make it to that closing table!
17 thoughts on “Sell Your House – How to Dominate The Market”
Great ideas and tips! My sister is planning to sell one of her properties in the countryside and she would really want to read this post.
Great post, it’s amazing what an art form selling your house has become!
Great advice! I’m
Looking to hopefully sell my house by the end of the year and we are currently in the planning stage of remodeling the inside and the yards. There’s so much to think about
This is all so true! When we purchased our house I personally looked at how clean a place was inside and out. If the owner doesn’t respect their space, then it’s probably a sign that the house hasn’t been cared for as well as it could have been!
Not selling any time soon, but these tips are really helpful. Thanks
I will be selling my apartment soon, but before I will invest in renovating it, so that it looks amazing and the value goes up. You have some great tips here.
Good points, Megan! As a professional realtor, I think you’ll agree with me that when it comes to making a good first impression, body language can sometimes speak louder than words.
Great advice!! I know I have experienced this from both sides!!
Keeping it clean is a big one! When we were hunting for a house to rent, one or two of the houses we visited were kind of yuck inside which made us pass on them.
I am in to the real estate business, and these were some pointers I should have made notes on long ago. But anyways, better late than never, thanks for the pointers, they are of real help.
A good first impression makes for a great lasting impression! Agree with all your suggestions on this list.
Hi, Thank you for sharing this information with us. Very interesting.
Very good advice. A cluttered house is a real turn-off.
This is amazing information! I learned all of this from my sister! She has been a realtor for 20 years!
This is so interesting and informative! Anyone looking to sell their home now or in the future should read this! I love that you said how important it is to have your home super clean and staged if you’re planning to sell
You’ve got some brilliant ideas here. I really like your suggestion of having that extra “wow” feature! They really are the things that make the difference!
I agree. When it comes to buying and selling a home, aesthetics are everything.