Strategies to sell your home can vary, but there’s one tried-and-true method that used to be the golden ticket to selling quickly and making a lot of money—until it became less appealing than ever before. If you’re considering this once-crucial strategy to selling your home, think again. Here’s why it may be the worst thing you can do right now if you want to get top dollar for your house in today’s hot real estate market.
The previous standard
The process of selling a home has changed significantly in recent years, and many homeowners are unaware of the new rules. In the past, it was essential to stage your home before putting it on the market. This involved hiring a professional stager to come in and arrange your furniture and decor in a way that would appeal to buyers. However, this is no longer necessary. In fact, it could actually hurt your chances of selling your home.
The current reality
It’s no secret that the housing market has been struggling for the past few years. If you’re thinking of selling your home, you may be wondering what the best strategy is. Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. In fact, what was once considered a crucial selling strategy may now be the worst thing you can do. Back in 2008, it was common practice to sell your home at an inflated price.
There were more buyers than sellers, and homeowners would list their homes at an asking price higher than they wanted because they knew they could negotiate down when it came time to make an offer. The problem with this strategy? We are currently in the midst of a seller’s market and most buyers don’t want to negotiate on prices.
So if you decide to sell your home for $200,000 (even though it might actually be worth $180,000) then you’ll likely have trouble finding a buyer who will pay the full amount–meaning that negotiating tactics won’t work either!
What your agent should be doing now
If you’re thinking of selling your home, you may be wondering what your agent should be doing to help you get the most money for your property. Unfortunately, the answer may not be what you want to hear. Agents are still representing buyers and sellers in spite of economic conditions, but the advice they give is significantly different than it was a year ago.
Here’s why: When a buyer doesn’t have enough money or can’t qualify for a loan to buy a house in this tough economy, agents usually advise sellers to sell their home at an affordable price and offer terms that are favorable to the buyer.
When there are plenty of buyers with cash who can afford mortgages and buy homes at market value, agents will recommend taking advantage of low interest rates by offering flexible terms and pricing aggressively because buyers won’t be scared off by higher prices.
What you should do instead
If you’re thinking of selling your home, you may want to reconsider using the common strategy of pricing it low to generate interest. In today’s market, this could actually do more harm than good. With a price that is lower than others in the area, buyers will be put off by the fact that they’ll have to negotiate with you on price.
Buyers will assume there must be something wrong with your house and they’ll move on to look at other properties. In addition, when people see that a house has been priced lower than other comparable homes in the area, they often think it must not be worth much because it was so cheap. But remember: now is not the time for a fire sale; if anything, your property should be priced higher because people are willing to pay a premium for foreclosures.