The real estate market is a seller’s paradise right now. Inventory is low, buyers are many, and homes in just about every neighborhood in town are capable of generating multiple offers. As a seller, you’re probably interested in selling your home fast and for the most money possible.
As professional home stagers, we’ve worked on hundreds of homes that receive multiple bids. Here are our tips for sellers looking for the most – and highest! – bids for their house.
Price it Like a Deal
No, you don’t have to price your $500,000 home at $300,000 to initiate multiple offers. If you and your Realtor are confident, though, that your area is hot enough to support multiple offers, consider pricing your home just slightly below market value. Buyers love feeling like they might be getting a deal and are often incentivized to offer more than they would have otherwise.
Create a Turnkey Property
Buyers in seller’s markets are willing to bid to win a home. What they’re not willing to do is overpay for a home they feel is lacking. Staging your home is the best investment you can make in getting multiple offers. A clutter-free, contemporary home appeals to all buyers, and the more aspirational a home feels the more people will pay to live there. Especially as overconfident sellers in a seller’s market start to underwhelm buyers with messy, unfinished homes, a perfectly staged property really stands out as a true value.
Create a Marketing Blitz
Buyers will flock to a home that feels well-considered. Before listing, talk with your Realtor about creating a website specifically for your home, about social media marketing, and about how you plan to push the open house(s). Of course, professional photography is a must for getting the most eyes on your home and the most feet in the door; staged properties always photograph better.
Stack Your Showings
There’s no harm in creating a sense of urgency among buyers. One trick of the trade is to schedule back-to-back open houses, one Saturday and one Sunday. This sends a subtle hint to buyers that you’re ready to sell now…if you feel particularly confident, talk to your Realtor about setting a “bid acceptance date,” a date on which they tell other Realtors that you’re collecting bids. When buyers think bidding wars are inevitable, they start crunching their numbers. When you can, stack private showings back to back (i.e. one at 5:00pm then one at 5:30pm) so buyers have the chance to run into each other. The more people who seem interested, the more people who will be!
All sellers want the most offers and the best offers for their home. Remember, you can certainly sell in a hot market just by sticking a sign in the front yard, but what if you could sell for 10%, 20%, or even 50% more just by doing a minimal amount of legwork?
Investing in the sale of your home gets you more offers and a faster closing.
Creative Home Stagers: Charlotte Home Staging Experts
Sellers, call us today: 704.315.5802