Here are 9 Reasons Why Some Homes Sell Faster and what you can do about it. The residential real estate market is all about location, location, location, and you can’t change that. This list is a great starting point to self assess your situation.
Are you in a good position to sell your home for top dollar and in the shortest amount of time? Don’t rely on those Zillow calculations to distract you from the facts and realistic expectations.
While we base the majority of our reporting around the Cape Coral and Fort Myers MSA, (Metropolitan Statistical Area), these 9 reasons are tried and true factors in selling your home quickly.
Some Homes Sell Faster
It takes effort.
A LOT OF EFFORT.
Long gone are the days of simply sticking a sign in the ground and waiting for offers. That thought process still exists in some real estate agents to this day.
It’s almost as bad as using ForSaleByOwner.com. Just hear me out, I appreciate the ambition to do it yourself, but I have an entirely separate blog post to why the For Sale By Owner experiment will net you less money in your pocket once you get through the sale process.
It’s actually well documented.
With that in mind, let’s jump to the modern-day, age of the internet.
I can get Uber Everything at the snap of my fingers and people still complain it took to long. Share on XYou hear the housing inventory is low, yet there sits your house on the market without offers… maybe not even showings… which is even worse.
I can log onto a computer and search properties from here to Alaska to Italy to Sweeden if I so choose. I like Florida though. The palms trees and lack of snow top my reasons for staying put.
So how do you make your house stand out in this real estate market of computerized short attention spans? A plan. Use a Marketing Professional that sells real estate!
So How do I Sell My House Faster?
1. CURB APPEAL
We start our list with the obvious. First impressions are everything to everyone.
Realtors named curb appeal the number 1 factor affecting the amount of time a home is on the market. – Zillow study.
Regardless of my professional issues with Zillow’s game plan. I frequently watch the Zillow Cape Coral and Zillow Fort Myers pages to see how they interpret the data.
I’ve yet to see them step foot in a single house though.
Read the fine print on their site. It’s alarming.
2. LOCAL SCHOOL RATINGS
Homes linked to good schools sell faster and at a premium. In one study, one in five buyers said they’d pay 6% to 10% above their budget for the right school. – Realtor.com survey.
The latest school reports dive into test scores by grade, teacher ratings, and just about everything you could want to know about the school system in the area you’re looking to move into.
Our standard practice is to include these school reports in all our marketing material so it’s all available on your address specific website that we create.
We don’t want the buyer getting distracted by any other homes. The buyer needs to focus completely on your home by having all the answers for their home buying needs in one place.
You may not think it’s relevant if you don’t have kids, but you must constantly be thinking about the resale value. Should you need to sell in the future, other buyers may consider this high on their priority list and you don’t want to reduce your buyer pool the day you buy.
We’ll help you BUY smart. We’ll help you SELL smart.
The Homes Sell Faster Video was created for those on the go… Enjoy, please 👍 and comment. We’d love to know your input.
3. DO MOVE-IN CONDITION HOMES SELL FASTER?
You bet! Nobody wants a to-do list on day one. Homes that can be marketed as move-in condition sell 12 percent faster. -The Wall Street Journal.
The disclaimer on this one. FOR THE RIGHT PRICE. If your home is for sale and in move-in condition with adequate kitchen cabinets, a nice looking countertop yet is priced the same as your neighbors, who has hardwood cabinets and brand new countertops, which one do you think will sell first?
We discuss pricing the house later with number 8 in the list.
To place your home in the best position for “Move-in-ready”, simply deep clean everything, and fix the blatantly obvious issues.
If the front door handle lock is tricky, change it, fix it, just do something. Think again about those first impressions, before it costs you more money or potentially the sale of your home.
Imagine this, the showing agent is struggling to get through your front door because of a tricky lock.
The buyers’ excitement for your house will quickly fade, or even worse, after walking through your house they still want it, but submit a low-ball offer over what would have been a bunch of $10 fixes that you didn’t get to.
Perception of value is everything. Share on X4. QUALITY REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY
Homes that were marketed with professional real estate photos sold faster in one study, and for $3,400 to $11,200 more than homes presented through amateur photos. – Redfin study.
We’re going to keep beating this drum. The marketing MUST BE top-notch, widespread, and effective. It is a disservice to yourself to not be using a marketing professional especially considering the fees are the same as a typical good agent will charge.
A buyer will decide on seeing your house by the quality of the representation they find online.
If you have dark, shadow-filled, or overly bright sun spots blurring out the details of the picture, then they’ll never even give your house a chance for a walk thru, even if its the best looking house in town.
This is especially an issue for Florida Real Estate where there are more than 1,000 people per day (according to the last state commerce department report) that move INTO Florida.
Will they consider looking at your house?
I doubt anyone of them flew into town and looked at EVERY house for sale in the local real estate market.
They filtered their search for the best bang for the buck then narrowed it down further. AFTER looking at the professional real estate photography, they had the local real estate agent schedule showings for the selected few.
They didn’t make several trips back and forth so they could see everything available, and who would?
The purpose of professional real estate photography is to put your best foot forward.
Win those showing requests over your competition. Drive the perceived value upward simply by the spectacular display showcased by a professional that does this day in and day out.
Keep in mind, it’s not just taking a technically correct photo, it’s capturing the correct angle of the room to connect with the buyer on an emotional level. Showcase the best use of the space.
Architectural photographers are in a class by themselves. The skill, techniques, and equipment are higher caliber.
You can not compare them to the portrait studio doing houses on the side and they don’t use their iPhones for pictures!
Unless you can produce photos you see in the latest home magazines, don’t attempt it.
It will cost you time on the market and again, perceived value.
The real estate market is very unforgiving and keeps a history of all the times your home was on the market, for how much and how long.
Not flattering if you’re using subpar real estate photos.
5. STAGING
Staged homes spend 73% less time on the market than non-staged homes. – The Real Estate Staging Association
I’m really not surprised at this statistic. There’s a reason furniture stores coordinate their sales floors into room configurations with all the decor to properly display a room.
It lures you in, and you want to buy the entire room, just the way they have it set up in the showroom. We’ve actually had clients who would place offers on the vacant house (with staging, not personal belongings) that wanted to buy it as is, the decor and all.
That’s when you know you’ve hooked a buyer.
Does it take a professional staging company with expensive furniture to do the job?
No, in fact, we spent many hours getting educated on the psychology of rooms design. Chris got his certification, as a real estate ASP: Accredited Staging Professional.
Staging is a career of its own.
While that could be a career all it’s own, we use the skills learned to rearrange a clients furniture, tweaking and editing the layout to best represent the room.
Have we used rented or purchased furniture to stage, yes.
Have we used only the decor of the existing homeowner, yes.
If you have a budget to go bigger and better, great, but not always necessary. We can run the numbers to see if it’s really worth it.
It comes down to putting the most money in your pocket at the end of the day. We educate you on the scenarios and options. You choose how you’d like to proceed.
We execute the plan and communicate with you every step of the way.
We even bring a few small pieces with us if there is a void or a particular look we are trying to accomplish. The biggest step is usually just the decluttering and depersonalizing. You’re moving anyway, box up the tchotchkes now.
Some Homes Sell Faster for a Reason
Home staging resulted in 37% sold above list price and 51% sold at list price.- The International Association of Home Staging Professionals Share on X6. VIRTUAL TOURS
Adding a virtual tour to marketing decreases sales time by 20% and increases the price by 2%. –Paul Carrillo, George Washington University Study
We’ve always used a Matterport tour on all of our listings.
You’d know it if you saw one. It’s a cool 3-D model of your home that the buyer can explore at their own pace while spinning the room around to look at the ceiling moldings or better details about the appliances.
They can walk-thru the rooms a few feet at a time as if they were really there. This technology can be viewed on phones, laptops, and even virtual reality headsets!
We add “pins” throughout the model designating sales features (details) to anything, anywhere in the home, inside and out. If done correctly, it makes a sales presentation all on its own.
Once again, ideal for the WOW factor when trying to win over those out of state buyers.
It also serves as a great buyer screening tool. When a buyer or agent asks to see a property we point them to the 3-D virtual tour first.
Nothing is worse than having us kick you out of your house for a showing while you’re running around last minute to clean, prep, and get everything in “show ready” form, just to have the buyer walk thru and say the flow or layout doesn’t work for them.
Does this reduce the showings of your property, absolutely.
The goal isn’t how many showings we can have on your property, it’s bringing in THE SINGLE BUYER, willing to pay for your home.
If they view the Matterport tour and still want to see your house, they’re already falling in love with it before they even get there. That’s when we seal the deal.
The buyer is buying on their emotions versus pros/cons leading to higher initial offers. That means more money in the sellers pocket at the end of the deal.
That is why you hired the best real estate agents!
7. DESIGN FEATURES
This gets down to those last-minute upgrades you were considering. Always think of the resale especially if selling your home has even crossed your mind.
If you make a change that’s too trendy, you might reduce your buyer pool right out of the gate. Not sure what the impact of your design will have on your value. Go ahead and run the idea by us.
We can even help from the start if you’re not sure what you should do to maximize the value of your home.
We will always guide you to spending your money wisely, by evaluating how much your home is worth now and how much your home value will be when you’re done.
According to one study, homes marketed with the following features sell anywhere from 38 to 63 days faster: farmhouse sink, subway tile, quartz, barn door, shaker cabinets, pendant light, exposed brick, frameless shower, stainless steel, tankless water heater. – Zillow Diggs study
8. PROPER PRICING HOMES SELL FASTER
So how much is my house worth? This goes for your Florida Condos for sale as well. If its residential real estate, we have a fact proven method for calculating the market value of your home or condo.
While the electronic evaluations do have some merit, they don’t hold any weight when it comes to the bank. We look at it the same way they calculate the home value.
Keep in mind there’s the home value and a pricing strategy. They go hand in hand but are not the same.
A good home pricing strategy will vary by price point, location, home market value, and the current home market conditions.
While the location doesn’t change, the other factors do.
If you’ve been on the fence about selling and ran the numbers a few months ago while you prepped the house, it’s best you get an updated home valuation completed right before you’re ready to list your home for sale.
Homes priced around or slightly below market value are almost 50 percent more likely to sell within 60 days than those priced 12 percent or more above the market value. – Zillow study
9. THE RIGHT REAL ESTATE AGENT
This is not the time for For Sale By Owner and it’s more than the Google search for a real estate agent near me.
You need someone with experience, who will work 7-days a week to get your home sold, not the agent who has a license but sells 2 homes a year.
How do they even stay on top of the latest laws, nevermind marketing techniques, or buyers they should be working with. This doesn’t make them a professional.
Even a blind squirrel can find a nut.
In this day and age, you need an experienced real estate agent that’s digitally connected, marketing savvy, and has a communication style to meet your needs.
A communication style that keeps you two steps ahead of the process so you can be at ease that the best outcome is inevitable. You’ll be working with this agent for a while and they better be on the same page as you or it’s going to be a long process filled with heartache and sleepless nights.
An experienced real estate agent, who knows the local market conditions and has a network of potential buyers can help sell a home 32 percent more quickly than an inexperienced agent. – Study by Bennie D Waller, Longwood University
In Conclusion.
We see this day in and day out in the Florida Real Estate market. Whether your goal is to buy or sell your primary Florida home, condo, or vacation home, we stress over the details so you don’t have to.
You need to feel comfortable that the professional real estate agent you choose is a marketing professional, sales professional, and communication specialist.
Market reports will only get you so far and we can help you circle the wagons about the latest real estate market trends, facts, and figures.
Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed in the process?
Not sure where to start?
Schedule a complimentary walk-thru of your home. We educate you on all your options and when you’re ready to sell we guide you through the process.
We’ll customize your “todo” list to getting your home on the market to make the biggest impact resulting in homes selling faster.
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Sellers who have performed their due diligence and hired an experienced Realtor will definitely have the advantage in the sale of their home.
Great insight Gabe. It really gives the Seller the peace of mind having that expert in their corner making sure it goes as smoothly as possible.