Hey, we get it — when it’s time to put your home on the market, you want to sell it quickly for the most money possible. The key to a fast and successful sale is pricing it correctly and setting your home apart from other listings in your area.
Our proven, five-step plan will help you win over buyers and get top dollar when selling your home.
STEP 1: Stage Your Home to Show Its Full Potential and Get Top Dollar
The power of staging your home to net maximum profit cannot be overstated—because it works! According to the Real Estate Staging Association, homes that are professionally staged spend 73% less time on the market.1 Impressive, right?
That’s because today’s buyer wants more than just a clean house and tidy yard. When picturing their new home, buyers envision a designer house with modern finishes. Therefore, staging your home is the absolute best way to help them see your property’s full potential.
So, what exactly is staging?
Simply put, staging is the act of highlighting your home’s strengths and minimizing any deficiencies. This ultimately helps buyers envision themselves living in the space. Staging can be as simple as rearranging the furniture to make a room feel larger or removing heavy curtains to make it appear brighter.
Some sellers choose to hire a professional stager to maximize the appeal of their home to the largest number of potential buyers. However others may opt to do it themselves, using guidance from their agent.
The KC Homes 365 team is experienced and knowledgeable on how to best stage your home. We want to help you push it ahead of neighborhood competition and earn you top dollar on closing day.
As a matter of fact, we’re so confident in the importance of staging to garner top buyer bids that we offer complimentary staging with our listing services. Consequently, this time investment pays off – a 2018 survey found that 85% of staged homes sold for 6-25% more than homes that had not been staged!2
STEP 2: Grab Buyers’ Attention with Professional Listing Photos
We all know you only have one chance to make a good first impression. Similarly, this rule applies in order to get top dollar when selling your home. Since potential buyers often have busy schedules, they’ll view listing photos to determine which homes to see in person. In fact, 87% of buyers find photos “very useful” in their home search.3 Poor quality or amateur listing photos can keep buyers from ever stepping through your door.
As with our staging services, KC Homes 365 includes professional photography with our listings. In addition to the stunning images themselves, we’re always on site during the shoot to ensure our photographer captures the best angles and lighting. We also want to make sure they capture unique or compelling selling features that will help your home rise to the top.
Essentially, we go the extra mile to ensure your listing photos showcase the true essence of your home. This extra effort pays off, as listings with high-quality photography sell 32% faster than the competition … and often for more money!4
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STEP 3: Price a Home Properly … From the Start to Get Top Dollar
It’s a fact: totally brilliant marketing won’t help sell a home that has been priced too high. Even in a strong real estate market, an overpriced home cannot properly compete with houses priced correctly.
The result is a home that will sit unsold for weeks or months on end. And that can be the “kiss of death” in real estate, as buyers tend to think something is wrong with the property. Eventually, you’re forced to drop the price.
Alternatively, if you price your home aggressively – within what the market will bear – it can be among the nicest homes that buyers see within their budget. That can lead to emotionally-attached buyers who are often willing to pay a premium or settle for fewer seller concessions. And that can get you top dollar when selling your home.
In certain markets, a correctly-priced home can lead to a multiple-offer situation or bidding war. That will mean more money in your pocket.
With years of experience selling Kansas City homes, we know the market. Our expert knowledge of location value, amenities, and market trends means your home will be priced correctly. And, pricing it properly in the beginning is the very best way to ensure a fast, profitable sale.
STEP 4: Use a Proven Marketing Plan
93% of buyers search for real estate listings online.3
That’s why we invest in the latest training and technology to ensure your listing appears in the places where buyers look. Our dual-level promotion strategy includes both pre-launch activities, designed to seed the marketplace, and post-listing activities. These strategies ensure your home stays top-of-mind with potential buyers.
We’ll also promote your home to our database, as well as network with the best buyers’ agents in the area. Additionally, we’ll tap into our Nationwide Referral Network with Keller Williams Partners, Inc.
By utilizing online and social marketing platforms to connect with consumers, and offline channels to connect with local real estate agents, we become your megaphone to the marketplace. The result will be your property getting maximum exposure to prospective buyers … and netting top dollar in your pocket.
STEP 5: Value Each Showing
Once buyers are interested enough to schedule a visit, it’s important to make your home readily available — often on short notice — for them to see. A missed showing is a missed opportunity to sell your home. Plus, if you set too many restrictions on when it’s available to view, busy buyers may simply skip over it.
Part of making your home available means keeping it relatively show-ready during the time that it’s on the market. Most of us don’t live picture-perfect lives. Our homes can reflect the day-to-day reality of our busy (and sometimes messy) families. But a little extra effort spent keeping your home clean, fresh-smelling, and ready for buyers will help it sell faster … which means you can get back to your regular routine as quickly as possible.
Let’s Get Moving!
Are you thinking about listing your home soon, or even within the next year? Get a head start on your competition! Contact us to schedule a free no-commitment consultation. We’d love to put together a custom plan and help you maximize the sales potential of your property and get top dollar when selling your home.
Sources:
1. Real Estate Staging Association
3. National Association of Realtors
4. RIS Media