Timely Tips To Help Sell Your Home Faster

Want to sell your home faster? Consider these timely tips

In the last twelve months or so, vendors have called the shots in home-buying negotiations. They’ve had plenty of leverage, too, thanks to surges in buyer demand, tight supply and soaring home prices.

Lately, vendors have lost their edge in many markets as slower home-price growth and home sales tip the scales more toward buyers’ favour. Although home prices are still expected to rise this year, vendors aren’t going to see the sharp increases as they have in recent years. They may not sell their homes as quickly either.

To get to the sales table successfully in the year ahead, vendors may need to adjust their expectations. Here are six key mindset shifts to make now if you want to sell your home in 2019.

1. Don’t expect multiple offers over asking price

Some vendors had buyers fighting over their homes in bidding wars, sometimes offering tens of thousands of dollars over asking price to get the house. But those days are likely gone

 “Buyers will still be in the market, but there will likely be more home to choose from,” remembering that homes may take longer to sell in 2019 than a year ago. “It’s going to be important to set realistic expectations if you’re a vendor. The market you face today is going to be different from last year, and there will be more properties available. That means vendors have to price their homes appropriately.”

2. Rely on comparable data — not emotion — to set a realistic price

Speaking of pricing, vendors will need to leave emotions at the door and take a closer look at the comparable sales data when choosing an asking price.

Real estate agents say education is critical to helping their vendors grasp the difference between what they think their home is worth versus what buyers are actually paying for similar homes in the local area.

“Sometimes, vendors need to net a certain amount from the sale of their home to buy the next property so they set a high home price”. “An agent will show you the comparable’s of the property that have sold and what’s on the market to show you what homes are worth. In reality, you may want to net a higher price that isn’t supported by the data evidence, and you might need to wait to sell your home to get a better value.”

3. Consider listing sooner rather than later

With mortgage rates falling to all-time lows, buyers are jumping into the market early this year to take advantage of the savings. That means vendors, who might have waited until April or May to list their homes, may benefit from moving up their timeline.

“It’s already busy in our market because there’s so much talk about rates going up,” “vendors usually think they need to wait until they list, but they could miss out this year since buyers are showing strong interest now.”

4. Don’t overlook buyers with lower down payments

Vendors may assume buyers with a lower deposit are somehow less reliable than a buyer with a larger deposit. In reality, most homebuyers are putting less money down at the closing table these days.

The average deposit on a house is around 10 percent for buyers overall, and 5 percent for first-time buyers, according to some studies of Home Buyers and Sellers.

“Some buyers have to put down more because it’s the only way they’ll qualify [for a mortgage],”

A low deposit doesn’t mean a buyer has poor credit or won’t be able to afford their mortgage payments. Instead of focusing on the deposit, find out if the buyer’s lender has a positive track record of closing loans on time and being responsive.

5. Get a home inspection before you list

A big spanner that gets thrown into a home sale is when a home inspection uncovers problems that buyers want addressed. Typically, buyers get a home inspection done within two weeks after a purchase agreement is signed. Waiting until then, however, can cause serious delays if multiple issues are found or, even worse, they back out of the deal because they had an inspection contingency.

Instead of waiting for nasty surprises, consider hiring a home inspector before you list your home for one of the new Fit2List? inspections. You can then decide whether to fix any problems — or account for repairs in your asking price. If your home inspection reveals major issues, you’ll have to disclose them to potential buyers. That transparency, though, can save everyone time and hassle.

“If you don’t have an inspection ahead of time, you’re waiting two weeks to see how it turns out,” “Then you have to negotiate with the buyer and wait on repairs.”

The new Fit-2-List? inspections available from Independent Property Inspectors are a sure fire way to avoid these delays and deal breaking problems

6. Catch buyers’ attention online — or lose them

Some vendors may think they can do the absolute minimum to prepare their homes and still get a flurry of interested buyers. That can be a huge mistake. Making your home look move-in ready, as well as curb appeal and professional, high-quality photos, are a must if you want your home to attract the right buyer.

“It’s more important than ever that a home looks move-in ready,” “Make sure it’s clean and all the ‘to-do list’ items are done before you list. Property Styling have proven time and time again to be a winning strategy here.

You also want to work with a Realtor who will put the time and effort into making your home stand out in marketing materials, especially the listing description and photos. Most buyers will see your home online first, and you need to make a great first impression.”