WHAT EVERY HOME SELLER SHOULD KNOW
PRICE AND CURB APPEAL ARE A WINNING COMBINATION BY FRED CARVER P.R.E.C.
So many home sellers in Victoria ask me “What does it take to sell my home for the most money and quickly?”
Pricing a home is not something to take lightly..1st Pricing a home for Sale is not about home much you want or need. Getting Top Dollar simply means listing your home based on the current market values (price range) of similar homes that are selling for in your neighbourhood, Be sure your Realtor does an up todate Current Market Analysis known as a CMA.
Tip: If Your Home is not getting any showings and your curb appeal is Good, then in Victoria we know you need to adjust you asking price about 10%, Getting Showings.. Yet No Offers? Talk to your Realtor about the showing feedback, it maybe just a simple correction to curb appeal will help. Usually by adjusting the asking price 3-5% you’ll soon see an offer ( Have your Realtor keep you up to date with recent neighbourhood sales).
Curb Appeal starts with the neighbourhood appeal..then your house outside appearence and yard appeal. If you have a junk collector next door, no matter home nice your home is, this next door property will cause most home buyers to not stop and look at your home…
When I first started in Real Estate I found it frustrating when people would call and want to drive by first. I asked one gentleman “why, it’s the inside where you live, why not schedule an appointment to see the home/”, His reply “if I don’t like outside or neighborhood I’m not interested”
Curb appeal is a simple phrase yet a big part of selling your home and it goes hand in hand with pricing your home correctly. Starting with the outside curb appeal like tidying up the yard, keeping the lawn green and cut, Planting Flowers and weeding the garden plus fixing and painting the outside of the home (fixing anything the eye ball sees on the outside).
From the moment you step inside your home…you want a prospective buyer to say to themselves “I like this house!” Make sure your home is spick and span and smells good, Fix anything that’s broken, Once again anything the eye ball sees such replacing burnt out lights, broken switches etc, Even Polish the furnace and clean the windows inside and out. Give the impression the home is well maintained and cared for. Paint is one of best returns preparing a home for sale, everyone likes a freshly painted house.
The Whole Idea of Fixing and making your home look great inside and outside is to take away any doubt about the condition of your home to a Buyer. When a buyer don’t see anything needing repaired or even cleaning they are sure the things they don’t see must be looked after too.
Many Staggers will tell you they’ll get you more money for your home by staging it professionally, Yes it certainly makes a good first impression however if the home is not priced right and all the other curb appeal is not great Staging alone wouldn’t help you sell your home.
There are no silver bullets like Staging, the best way to assure a quick sale and to get the market value is to have Curb appeal and Pricing working together. Together they are a winning Combination
Note on Pricing: Home Buyers are Competitive Shoppers, aren’t we all? So Be Careful to not over price your home, or you’ll just drive away serious buyers thinking you are not serious about selling. Home Buyer in Victoria will not make offers until your home is priced competitively.
April Prinz Personal Real Estate Corporation is a Associate Broker with RE/MAX Camosun in Victoria BC and April has been selling real estate in Victoria, BC for over 40 years.