Market is Different-5 Steps for Sellers to Succeed

Even though the market is becoming more balanced, California housing market is still competitive. Inventory based on last month's data is tight. Homes are being sold in between two weeks to averagely thirty days. From data about two weeks ago, half of the buyers paid over the asking price in order to get into their dream home. Yet median price has decreased from roughly the same time last year. The interest rate, while dipped, continues being much higher than what people are used to.

The market is challenging to both sellers and buyers. Sellers, here are 5 steps for you to take with NO COST so your home can convince the buyer this is the right move to make.

1. Talk to the expert. Most important step to get your home sold is to price it right. You can easily access Zillow, Redfin, and so on, however, you already see your home is valued differently. And the difference sometimes is tens of thousands of dollars. Have a free consultation with a Realtor to analyze where your home valuation comes from, know how much homes truly similar to yours is sold and how quickly it is sold, and more importantly what strategies you and your Realtor can use in this market. A little hint: a home that is similar to yours goes beyond the number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Little details count such as the distance to your home and if the sold home is considered in the same neighborhood.

2. Know about your home. Can you imagine the color of your carpet might be something buyers hate? Talk to a Realtor about what features in your home attracts buyers and what features you can change or minimize so the true value of your home will not be affected.

3. Understand the payoff of improvements. Let's continue with the story of the carpet. Changing the carpet can be the right move. But what new flooring you should put in your home? The return of the change can be wildly different. Another example is whether to paint the exterior of your house. Curb appeal (the look of the exterior) does matter, but will a full paint job make you more profit? You might be surprised what other cheaper alternatives can bring you the same value.

4. Use professional photos and stage strategically. Just like you look at homes on Zillow and Redfin, your buyers too. The iPhone photos don't cut it anymore. And please don't hire that real estate agent who takes photos with a phone, and then put them online to "help" sell your home. Staging helps amplify the good, minimize the bad, and more importantly, enable buyers to imagine how they will live in the house. What happens if the inside of your home is not that appealing? Let's talk; there's still a story that professionally curated images can tell to bring you buyers.

5. Embrace contingencies. The era of buyers waiving contingencies such as inspection and loan contingencies is gone. It is ever more crucial to discuss with a Realtor how to disclose the information that can affect these conditions of sales.