The top 3 things we always tell sellers to do before listing are:
Half pack up. Since you're moving, and need to declutter the space to showcase your home anyway, packing a little lets you prepare for moving out at the same time as listing your home for sale in the best light.
Painting can go a VERY long way. From touch-ups to a complete refresh, the rule of thumb for colours when selling your home is that neutrals are best.
Clean, clean and clean some more. Giving your home a good scrub, inside and out, is a huge pull for buyers. Pressure wash the driveway. Scrub your blinds. Make sure those bathrooms glisten!
Yes! You want your home to sell for top dollar, so don't keep the fact that it's for sale a secret!
This completely depends on your comfort level. If you want to host an open house, your Realtor should do it. They normally happen on Saturdays or Sundays, but keep in mind most open houses do not often produce a buyer. They really just help your Realtor build out their book of business, which may eventually result in the sale of your house in the near future.
If your home is vacant we would suggest doing some staging to create that cozy, poignant, "home-y" feeling. Most buyers make their purchase choice based off the emotional pull of a property–it has less to do with logic. This can even apply to investors, so making your home warm and inviting really goes a long way.
Yes, we will walk through your home and make suggestions for changes you could make. If you've already implemented our top 3 tips for pre-sale, then this process will be easy and quick.
Yes, we have a professional photographer that we like to work with. He offers a full photography package for each of our listings.
Yes, we believe in having a floor plan for every listing.
We prefer to have a week or more before listing a property as this allows time to get professional photos and video taken, floor plans drafted, signage installed, etc. Our biggest challenge is usually picking a great day on which to get those all-important photos! If need be, we can get your home listed on the market in 48 hours, but we sincerely recommend taking the time to put your best foot forward–you only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Yes, you can be home, however we do not recommend it. Buyers coming in always prefer when the sellers aren't home. The feel that they can speak freely with their Realtor, and that there's no pressure.
Yes, of course. We completely understand that keeping your home sparkling clean while having people come in and out of your home can be a lot of work. We're always happy to work with you and make a schedule that requires 24 hours notice.
We like keeping a listing contract in place for a minimum of three months when trying to sell your home. That said, we craft all our contracts so that they may be cancelled at any time as sometimes unprecedented changes and life events occur.
Yes, we are quite happy to pass along references from past clients but we must always check to ensure our client is okay with us sharing their information before doing so.
In sellers’ markets, increasing demand for homes drives up the prices. Here are some key drivers of that demand:
A buyer’s market is characterized by declining property prices and reduced demand. Several factors may affect long-term and short-term buyer demand, including:
A stratified market exists where the characteristics of supply and demand differ by price point in the same area (typically, by city). For example, home sales for properties above $1.5M may be brisk (seller’s market) while home sales under $750k may be sluggish (buyer’s market).
This scenario comes along every so often in West Coast cities where international investors buy expensive real estate as a way to park their money in North America. At the same time, sales activity for mid-priced homes could be entirely different.