Is 2022 the Year to Sell Your Home? How to Sell While the Demand is Hot | Sound Listings

As things continue to unfold in Europe and Ukraine, many people are wondering about all kinds of possible uncertainties. Given the almost-international hard hitting sanctions on Russia and the repercussions of this given Russia's near-global dominance in the energy field, people are wondering what impacts it may have here back at home. Given the unsure direction of the times, 2022 might be just the year to sell your home. Below we will list the top tips for selling your home fast and at a great price.

1. Start by Decluttering

The first step you should do is to declutter your home. This is one of the most underrated tips. Showing your house with boxes and clutter will make it difficult for the buyer to imagine themselves living there. For instance, showing your house has spacious rooms will reassure the buyer that the house can accommodate multiple people and furnishings. This may include renting a storage unit for a short period of time if some of your belongings do not fit in the attic, basement, garage, or closet, or if they are too bulky, like furniture.

It is also important to not overstuff storage areas, if this happens, you may need to put the extra belongings in a storage unit. Other things to keep in mind is to make sure areas do not look small, messy, or dirty. If you have pets, consider using some light incense, or opening up windows. Make sure the home doesn't smell. Make sure countertops look clean and are uncluttered as well. If you do not have time to deep clean your home, consider hiring a cleaning service. This may add some extra costs, but it will give you more time to focus on other priorities. Which brings us to our next step.

2. Saving Time with the Right Selling Strategy

Pick a selling strategy that saves time. There are normally two options for selling a home. For sale by owner (FSBO) or with a real-estate agent. Picking which one is best will depend on a variety of factors. If you are good at paperwork, closing sales, and feel you can drum up interest in your home independently and quickly, then consider FSBO. It will also save you agent commission fees, but you may still need to pay commission to the buyer's agent.

The other alternative is hiring an agent. This may be a better bet if you do not have any potential buyers in mind. You could also spend some time researching agents and let them know you need to sell your home fast, and ask what kind of strategies they implement to achieve time goals. Also inquire into real-estate agents that can meet your specific time deadline. There are also a few common options that include auctioning off your home, or selling to a developer or investor. These have tradeoffs, however. For instance, an auction might get the home sold quickly, but it may not be at a competitive price.

3. Price Your Home Right

Even if there is a seller's market, pricing your home in a reasonable and competitive range is key.

In the current Puget Sound market, most areas are seeing higher prices and a lot of bidding wars driving up costs even further. However, if you are not in one of these prime Puget Sound areas, you may have less demand in your market.

If you price too high, it may be on the market for longer, and this may lead to a price cut to help make up for wasted time. With that being said, consider looking at other homes in the area and see how much they sold for. You may even want to price your home a little lower compared to the area, to help encourage buyers to look at your home and increase the chances of possible bids.

However, this selling strategy may depend on how well your local real-estate market is doing. If no homes or very few homes are being sold, consider keeping the price competitive. Also keep in mind the price number you put for your home. Many buyers use the internet and use a filter to select which homes to look at. If you price your home at 498,000, but people are looking at homes 500,000 and up, this may exclude you from their search results. Also consider adding in price timelines. If the home doesn't sell by a certain date, reduce the price. You may also want to keep in mind about unusual features your home has that may deter buyers.

Broken concrete in the backyard, slow market, etc. Consider offering incentives to the buyer to help with these possible hindrances. Such as paying the buyers closing costs, or including some of your appliances with their purchase, like a refrigerator.

4. Get All Needed Home Repairs Fixed Beforehand

Handle any repairs. Perhaps this should be one of the first steps you do depending on the severity of the repairs and time constraint. A few touch ups and upgrades may help your home sell faster. Consider fixing leaky faucets, broken pantry doors, squeaky doors, and the like. Also keep in mind that adding in new hardware for the kitchen, buying newer appliances, painting the inside with fresh paint are also recommended options to sell your home faster. Although these options may take time and money, in the long run buyers will enjoy seeing these improvements, and may help with their buying decision if they're choosing between multiple homes.

5. Stage Your Home and Give it Curb Appeal

The next step is to stage your house and add some curb appeal. Curb appeal includes cleaning windows, trimming trees, grass and bushes, cleaning the front porch, freshening up paint on the front door if need be, and planting some flowers. Although it may take a weekend to do, consider hiring a stager. This will give a great first impression, especially if you are not sure how to stage your home's layout to create the best look.

6. Professional Photography and Eye-Catching Description

Other tips include: hiring a professional photographer, writing an eye-catching ad listing, time the sale, and be flexible with showings.

It is important to hire a photographer, because they know the best angles to use and also have the camera and IT tools to help your home look very desirable to a buyer. After all, the majority of people who first see your home will most likely be through an online ad listing. Unless you have a camera and know how to spruce up images, we recommend outsourcing the photography.

Next is to write a great ad description for selling your home. Make sure to add in action words, highlight the home's unique and best features, and mention what it is close to in the area. Such as shopping, schools, amenities, etc.

When it comes to timing the sale, you may also want to express a deadline to submit applications, just make sure it is not too soon in the future to give the buyer a time frame to schedule a tour and look it over. Also make sure to time the sale right. Ideally, the first part of May is the best period to sell a home. According to Zillow.com, homes in this time range sold 6 days sooner compared to other times on the housing market.

Finally, make sure to be accommodating for showings. While it's an open house or private showing, give people space to schedule appointments. Conversely, you may also have people making appointments or showing up at the last minute. Try to be patient if possible and just remember that the people who show up at the last minute could very well be the people who purchase your home.

With these tips in mind, you will be well on your way to not only moving in an affordable and efficient manner, but will have created a lasting impression on you and your home

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