9 Tips For Selling Your Knoxville Home…
Here are 9 quick tips to keep in mind if you’re selling a Knoxville Area Home
- First impressions matter – The single biggest marketing event for a property is when it first comes on the market. You will receive the highest number of website views and in-person showings during the first few weeks that a property is on the market, so make it shine! Make sure the exterior appearance and yard is neat and tidy. The interior should be well-organized, free of clutter and clean, clean, clean. Strongly consider staging, particularly if your home is vacant. Home stager also can help to rearrange and de-clutter your home if you are still living there. Seek the advice of your real estate agent on the appearance of your home. Swallow your pride and allow them to be critical. They see homes every day and know what helps to sell a home more quickly.
- Price it to sell – Everyone wants to sell their home quickly, but to achieve this in today’s market, you must price your home accurately. A home should be priced based on a recent market analysis on homes that have sold in your neighborhood. Comparable sales should never be older than six months and you should always give the most weight to homes that have actually sold. Don’t try to “test the market” with a higher price, which will simply increase your time on market. Be honest and analytical in your approach, and don’t set your price based on the proceeds you would like to receive at the end of the process.
- Go and see your competitors – There is no better way to gauge your competition and to set your price than to see similar homes for sale near you. At a minimum, your agent should see competitors in person, but it is even better if you can go along. Pick an afternoon and ask your agent to take you through 5 or so homes that you think are competitors. Take notes and make direct comparisons to your own home.
- Acknowledge your property’s weaknesses – All real estate is unique and every property has certain weaknesses. Some homes have more obvious weaknesses that need to be addressed with your price. Whether it is an ugly view, a noisy location, messy neighbors, or an odd floor plan, buyers have choices and will simply pass on such a property unless the weakness is reflected by a lower price.
- Patience is a virtue – Marketing a home takes time. This is often one of the toughest things to go through as a seller, but you should mentally prepare yourself that it could take a while. The time from listing until you receive an offer is often measured in months, not days. This is normal, and consider yourself lucky if you have an offer in hand during the first month.
- Be willing to change the price – If no one is showing your property or if you have had no offers after a long time on the market, you need to lower your price. Price is the single largest motivator to change the behavior of buyers, and no amount of advertising or open houses will be as effective as a lower price. Make your price decrease a substantial, meaningful amount and be sure to give them time to take hold in the market (4-6 weeks, typically).
- Negotiate all offers you receive – A buyer’s market will bring out lowball offers, which sometimes feel insulting. Don’t be offended and don’t bet deterred. Everyone wants to buy for a lower price and buyers feel empowered right now. Inevitably buyers are willing to come up in price, sometimes far enough to make it acceptable to the seller. The only way to find out is to continue the negotiation with formal written counter-offers.
- Maintain your home during the listing – Your home may be on the market for a number of months. Keep the yard maintained and make sure that the interior is neat and clean at all times. If a property is vacant, enlist the help of your real estate agent to keep an eye on the condition of the home when they visit for showings. Consider hiring a yard service or maid service to keep things in top condition.
- Hire A Realtor Who Knows How To Market Your Home– Over 90% of today’s buyers are using the internet to research their housing needs. Don’t hire someone who put’s a sign in the yard, ad in the paper and prays for a buyer to come along and buy your home. Talk with several different Realtors and ask them to show you exactly what they do to market your home on the web. Do they just have one website or more than one? What kind of virtual tours or video tours do they offer? How much business are they generating off their websites? How many websites will they get your home on
Today’s market has changed in selling home and I pride myself in having a very detailed internet marketing program for my sellers. So if you are thinking of selling your home let’s talk..let me share with you a new and exciting approach to selling your home. Call me at 865-696-9002 or email me [email protected]
