Dress Your Home For Success
The preparation you put into getting your property ready for sale can be the difference between getting a standard price and a great price. The best part is, it's not hard, time consuming or expensive. Whatever your motive for selling, the process can either be stress free or tense and disappointing. The good news is that you have the ability to choose.
First impressions count. Many homes are sold even before prospective buyers open your door and it is often the little things which make the biggest impact. It is a fact that superior presentation can add value to your home. So here is a checklist to prepare your home for showing:
- An inviting exterior ensures inspection of the interior. Keep the lawns trimmed and edged, flower beds weeded and the yard tidy. Remove garden rubbish.
- The street number and a tidy letterbox in an easy to see position.
- Spouting clean and in good repair.
- Cracked or broken windows repaired. Clean windows.
- Sweep paths and porches.
- Repair any broken fence palings, paint or wash steps and doors, repair door screens.
- Ensure the entrance way is clean and tidy and that the door bell works.
- Kitchens - all appliances should be spotless and working surfaces clean and uncluttered with tidy pantry and cupboards. Create extra bench space by clearing away appliances.
- Bathrooms should be spotless and fresh.
- Wardrobes and cupboards - neat, well ordered cupboards show the space is sufficient for the prospective buyer's needs.
- Electrical - replace/repair old bulbs and faulty switches.
- Plumbing - repair faulty taps (inside and outside) and toilets.
- Hardware - oil door hinges, repair loose door handles, sticking doors and windows.
- Garage - Ensure doors (manual and automatic) function properly.
- Create a feeling of spaciousness, store unnecessary items to enlarge rooms. Consider having a garage sale in advance of marketing your home or consider renting a storage unit short term.
- Make sure the temperature inside is comfortable. On cold days turn on heaters or light the fire. Buyers will feel more comfortable. On hot days turn on the air conditioning / ceiling fan or simply have ample doors and windows open.
- Turn on sufficient lighting when showing, particularly on dull days or for evening inspections. Exterior lighting is a must for evening inspections.
- Open drapes during the day to let in natural light.
- Ensure pets are secured so they do not pose a threat or annoy visitors.
- Interesting art works, photographs, books or knick knacks in feature areas around your home can encourage visitors to stay longer.
- Freshly cut flowers, the smell of freshly brewed coffee or baking, potpourri or a dish of scented soaps placed in the appropriate areas will all help show your property to advantage.
Pricing Your Home
It is very important that you realise it is not your consultant, yourself, or the valuer that determines the value of your home, but the market.
The Market is the people out there looking to buy who will establish a fair market price for your home today.
What will they take into account as they do that?
Recent Area Sales of Similar Properties
The open home style of viewing today allows easy access to properties. Buyers get very good at establishing a market price as they are able to see and compare both recent sales and the ones presently for sale. They will choose by comparing.
- Condition of the property. Does it need anything spent on it straight away? General presentation to the market.
- Terms of the sale. Is it available for early possession?
- Locaton This is the most important factor for many buyers. Is the location suitable for their own needs and requirements, and will it be in demand as an area for resale?
The initial marketing period is crucial for several reasons.
- The very best buyers will be brought to your home in the first few days through an open home or by appointment.
- It is crucial that your price is in touch with the market indication of its value. We must have a price that will attract interest and generate offers. Overpricing can reduce advertising response and help sell your competitors property.
- Houses sell quickly and for the most money when they are priced correctly in the beginning.
Who Prices Your Home?
(You may start with four prices.)
- Rateable Value
Previously known as Government Valuation, your property is assessed by Valuation New Zealand on a three yearly basis and is primarily used by local councils for assessing rates. - Your Expectation
You may take into account what you paid for it, what you spent on it. Also, of course what you would like for it. - Your Crest Realty Consultant's Opinion
Recent sales in your area will be looked at (sometimes one has to go out of the area for comparable homes) and try to assess the things the market will take into account as they view your home to buy...- Size
- Sun
- Layout
- Access
- Location
- Condition
- Potential
- Resale Value
- A Registered Valuer
You may decide to get a valuation done. This gives you another opinion.
However, the market - the people out there looking to buy will be the ones who determine the property's value.
The Most Important Thing You will Do To Get Your home Sold Is To Price It Correctly Before It Goes On The Market
The Right Asking Price Attracts The Right Buyer
Experience shows that you attract the best quality, and greatest number of these people in the first stages of marketing. This is the most important reason to have your home priced correctly when it goes onto the market.
If your price is too high they will simply reject it out of hand - these people are ready to buy NOW - they may not wait for you to become realistic.
The worst thing about a price that is too high, is that your property may end up like dozens of listings that are still on the market after many months, gaining a reputation for being "hard to sell" or having "something wrong with them".
Overpricing
It is tempting to listen to a consultant who suggests a higher price. The comparative sales that your Crest Realty consultant will use will enable you to price your home correctly for the current market. Statistics show that buyers look at 15 houses on average before they purchase. They buy the one that represents the best value to them.
I want your home to be this one!
The real estate market is no different from any other commercial market. It responds to supply and demand and numerous factors effect it, such as interest rates, the economy, business confidence, the level of employment, political stability and immigration.
Sellers Market
Periods of high buyer demand are called a seller's market. Values increase, houses sell more quickly, and buyers have fewer homes to choose from. The negotiating power rests more with the seller in the market.
Buyers Market
In a buyer's market, there is less demand for properties. Buyers have more properties to choose from, values are stable or may even decline, and sellers have to compete with each other to attract buyers. In this market homes will often take longer to sell and the negotiating power usually rests with the buyer.
Balanced Market
In a balanced market, neither buyers nor sellers have a noticeable advantage.
