Listing Triangle™ - Front Street Brokers | Page 13

Preparing Your Home For Sale
By: Monica Murphy and Front Street Brokers
Common knowledge has it that staging your home prior to putting it on
the market is a wise investment. What is less understood by home sellers is
what staging entails for the current real estate environment. Unless you
understand buyers’ requirements today, your home will take longer to sell and
may sell for less than its potential. This means thousands – or tens of
thousands of dollars – lost!
So, what is different today than even just 5 years ago? First, buyers are
VERY selective. Second, the vast majority of buyers are two-income families.
These buyers do not have the leisure to repaint, have new carpeting installed,
or remove wallpaper. They want their new home to be in move-in condition.
Here’s the Evidence
Before we begin the home preparation discussion, let’s take a look at some
evidence:
*Properly preparing a home for sale can provide a 586% return on investment
HomeGain
*Prepared homes sell 4 times faster Kiplinger
*When a home is prepared, it spends 50% less time on the market Quicken
*Home preparation results in a faster sale USA Today
*Few shoppers get beyond their first impression Money
*Prospective home buyers form an opinion about your home in 15 seconds MSN
Approach the Process from the Buyer’s Perspective
When a buyer enters a home, they need to be able to imagine how they
would live in the home. Many homes on the market today have too many
personal elements and overcrowded rooms to allow a potential buyers’
imagination to wander.
Simply put, if the buyer cannot picture themselves in the home,
they will not buy it!
One of the hardest things a home seller needs to do is put themselves in
the right frame of mind. When you decide to sell your house, the house really
becomes a product to be marketed to appeal to the consumer. It really isn’t
your “home” anymore; your new home is waiting for you in your new
neighborhood! It’s very important to be objective when it comes to your
house, as you’ll need to take a step back and look at it with a critical eye in
order to prepare it properly for sale.
The Listing Triangle™
Page 12