In the lightning-fast real estate market of now, recent data suggest homes often move in 30 days or less! So for a buyer, if a house has been on the market for 25 days, it raises questions. That’s a fast-moving market. This article will provide valuable study insights into, ‘Okay, how can I sell my house quickly?’ Strategies that get your house sold fast all focus on… Selling your house fast provides out-of-pocket savings. Sell it slower, and your carrying cost, a concept we will explore next, will be much higher. Every 30 days that pass require another one or two mortgage payments. That’s $2,000 to $4,000 for most families that are passed to someone else once a house sale is completed.
Understanding the Market
A critical part of selling your home quickly is researching local market trends. What is the general dynamic, who is currently buying, and what is the demand for homes? If you notice, for instance, that homes in your neighborhood are selling ABOVE asking price, maybe you can price your house a bit more competitively to get more buyers to come through the door. This knowledge can greatly influence how to sell your house quickly.
With the help of market trends, you’ll be able to better understand how to price and time your housing sale. If you find specific seasons where the local market does better (or worse), or you find that the current market (i.e., buyer’s or seller’s) isn’t doing enough to get your house sold, this information could prove vital for your sale. Keep an eye on local economics as they can very much affect your housing process. Overall, with market research, you’ll understand how and why you’ll need to use these tips.
Preparing Your Home for Sale
Two huge things to consider when pondering “how do I sell my house fast” are decluttering and staging. When your house is clean and decluttered, it makes it much easier for potential buyers to picture their lives there. Thus helping them to emotionally connect to the house. And when you go through and get rid of everything you don’t absolutely need, it makes the house feel lived in (people do need to live there after all), but it also makes the house feel much bigger. The realtor can then come in and stage the house to show off all the best features of the house and further “increase” the square footage of the house. Because even though the square footage of the house won’t actually increase, the perception of the square footage will have.
Even after you’ve decluttered and staged your house, you may still feel like there are some other, bigger things that need addressing or repairing. If this is the case, you might want to repair those things. Now don’t go overboard here; you don’t want to completely renovate your house and exhaust yourself to the point where the house is sucking the life out of you (and your wallet)– but if some “minor” repairs need to be tackled, then go for it. Especially if they’re outdated. Go through and update light fixtures, paint the walls a fresh coat of “Agreeable Grey”– home buyers tend to “freak out” (for lack of a better term) at the thought of having maintenance issues on top of the mortgage payments, so if you’re unsure about the coolant leak, fixing it will definitely be easier on the home buyer. But make sure whatever it is that needs addressing is within your means and your budget. If it stretches you too much, don’t worry about it and instead, focus on feeling content and happy with where you’re at and all the progress you’ve made.
Pricing Your Home Competitively
To reduce the time to sell, it will be essential to price your home to sell and become attractive to buyers without delay by:
- Setting the price at or slightly below the comparables.
- Setup and formatting of your property.
- Condition of your property.
- Justify the price by the unique value proposition of your home. Don’t price yourself out of the game at the start. Engage your professional realtor to help you price your property. The realtor will provide you with a comparative market analysis to report based on a specific marketing time.
Your realtor can help you to develop a pricing strategy that fits your individual goals and strategy, and your market situation will dictate. Pricing at the right point will help to increase your bottom line results and save you precious time.
Marketing Your Home Effectively
If you’re saying, “sell my house fast, homeowners,” you need to jump on the marketing bandwagon. The real estate market is highly competitive these days, so you need to employ some simple strategies to get your house seen. Online listings on sites like Zillow and Realtor.com are great for those “accidental” visitors—those people who are scrolling through, bored at work. Sure, most of those visitors aren’t going to be potential buyers, but it’s essential to cast a wide net. And the same holds for platforms like Facebook and Instagram. You never know who in your friends and family network might be interested in owning a new property.
Another side benefit to good house marketing is having good pictures and a virtual tour. Specifically, pictures are an effective way to get people to click through to your website or online listing. Having professional pictures will make your house seem more luxurious. And a virtual tour will allow people to explore more of your house at their own pace. So, pictures and a virtual tour should increase your website or online listing traffic (and also your average visitor’s time on site).
Working with Real Estate Professionals
Through their expertise and knowledge of the industry, a real estate agent can streamline the home selling process. They have a deep understanding of how to price a home, the essential role that staging plays, and the impact an online listing can make. Agents act as professional marketers and photographers, showcasing homes efficiently and effectively for optimal results.
But the hassle of sprucing up for open houses and repaying your mortgage may not be of any interest to you, in which case, keeping an eye out for a cash buyer or other real estate investors can yield a larger return. These kinds of buyers, often large-scale real estate organizations, can have cash in hand and ready to throw your way, while a “traditional” buyer will have the Federal National Mortgage Association ( “Fannie Mae”) backing a home loan for them.
The perks of cash buyers are exactly what you’d expect:
Negotiating Offers
If you want to sell your home quickly, you must negotiate effectively.
Flexibility and responsiveness during negotiations can help. If you are rigid about your asking price or the terms of the deal, you are unlikely to reach an agreement with a potential buyer. If a buyer gives feedback that they are uncomfortable with the condition of the house, make the necessary repairs, renewals, or replacements to put the buyer more at ease.
Good negotiators list “communication” as an essential part of the negotiation process. If a buyer asks questions about the house or expresses an interest in buying, a quick response will be appreciated. If the buyer can see that you are willing to do whatever it takes to make the “sale,” they are more likely to agree to the deal. A non-threatening, open sales space (and seller) helps the buyer commit to the decision to buy the house.
Want to sell your home fast? It’s entirely possible if you use the right strategies:
• Make sure your home has curb appeal
• Price it to sell
• Stage it effectively
These few tips will make the difference in increasing interest (and hopefully pushing up the price!). I would argue you want to implement all the tips on this list right away because it will create a broader pool of potential buyers—which is all about statistics. The larger the population size, the more likely you’ll be getting offers fast and making cash fast. If you need help, consider reaching out to a trusted real estate team or professional to help guide you.