Tips to Sell Your House Before the End of the Year

If you've been having trouble selling your home this holiday season, it may have a bit to do with your strategy.  The only way to sell your house before the new year is to make sure you're doing everything in your power to get that home sold.  

Thankfully, we at The CAZA Group have gathered together some of the top strategies we encourage all of our clients to implement when they need to sell fast.  

Here are our top 5 tips to sell your house before the end of the year - let's get into it. 

Set Your Asking Price Based on Comps, Not Emotion

This is non-negotiable - you want to hop into the market with a realistic asking price that will stick.  Many sellers want to "test the market" by asking for a slightly higher price and dropping it later when they don't get an offer that they like.  This is a poor way to go about it for a few reasons. 

If you price your house too high, that puts out a specific image of you as a seller and it can be hard to overcome, even after you lower the price later. 

If a buyer doesn't think your home is worth that higher price and they're looking to buy as quickly as you're looking to sell, they won't think twice about moving on.  No negotiation will happen. 

Your agent will be a huge resource to you in this part of the process as they'll run a complete and thorough comparative market analysis and advise you on the best price to list your home at.  

Hire a Professional Stager?

There's no question about it anymore - staging works.  Staging your home well allows any potential buyers to envision themselves living in your home quickly and easily, and some homes that are staged well have sold before they're even put on the market. 

Home stagers have furniture, art, and decor that they use to show off your home in the best possible way for the current market.  There's no better way to present your home if you're looking to sell fast than with professional staging. 

Ask your realtor if they have a stager that they work with on a regular basis - but if not, find someone local with extremely good reviews to come and help you get your house sold. 

Get a Pre-Sale Home Inspection Done

Never assume your home is in perfect physical condition - get a pre-sale home inspection to make sure.

A pre-sale home inspection is always a safe bet.  You'll become aware of every minuscule detail and issue that your home has so you can take care of them before putting your home on the market.  

This way, you can avoid any issues with your buyer and cut down on unnecessary time in the selling process.  If you take the time to fix big problems before a sale process has begun, the negotiation could be a walk in the park. 

Spend a Few Days on Cleaning and De-Cluttering 

You should be doing everything in your budget and capabilities to get your home in better condition than it was the day you bought it. 

This means a deep clean on the exterior and interior, fresh coats of paint where they're needed, update to landscaping, and anything else you can think of.  

Take care of the larger cleaning tasks, and then make a "daily list" of things to take care of before any last-minute showings.  Wiping down countertops, sweeping, and bathroom attendance should be happening daily or every other day so you can be prepared for any and all opportunities.  

Get a Professional Photo Shoot and Listing Video

Pretty much all home marketing is done online these days.  High quality, professional photos are essential if you want to sell your home with any sort of efficiency.  

Look for someone who specializes in Real Estate photography and have them photograph your home.  These photos are typically the first time any buyers will see your house, so you don't want quick cell phone snapshots to be representing your home. 

A professional listing video is also essential to a quick sale - think of it as a personal advertisement for your house.  A videographer will come and show off the best aspects of your home, and once that listing video is up online it'll draw buyers like moths to a flame. 

Nobody needs to sit on the market longer than they have to, especially in this hot seller's market we're experiencing in Northern Virginia. 

There are so many little things you can do to sell your home quickly, so if you're in a serious time-crunch reach out to us and let's have a conversation about your home and your selling goals. 

The CAZA Group