Selling Your Home in Today's Market

Whether you’re upsizing, downsizing, moving to a new city, or pulling up stakes and sailing to a tropical island, selling your home is a life-changing event.

Unless we’re forced to move because of a new job or family situation, most of us kick around the idea for quite a while before we finally take the plunge – sell our home and move. Typically, we start by looking at open houses down the street and browsing homes for sale on Craigslist. Then, we jump on one of the big real estate sites and start poking around, looking for information.

All the while wondering: How much is my home worth? What should I do to make my home more salable? Will I net enough on the sale to make the next step? How hard will it be to sell? How long will it take? Who should I talk to?

If you’re contemplating taking the plunge, you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find basic guidelines to keep you out of hot water while selling your home.

Don’t be shy. Leave a comment or drop us an email with specific questions. We’re here to help and love the feedback. When you decide it’s time to move, we’ll help you sell your home as quickly and painlessly, with maximum return on your investment.

What’s Your Home Worth in Today’s Market?

Ultimately, your home is worth what a buyer will pay, what you the seller will accept, and how much a bank will loan, based on an appraisal. In short, your home’s value is determined by today’s marketplace. The following figure gets right to the point.

Figure 1. The art and science of pricing your home for sale.

Seller beware! 80% of buyers preview homes on the internet before they actually tour a home. If your home isn’t price-competitive and doesn’t show well on the web, there is a high probability that potential buyers will pass on it and focus on others that are priced competitively and are visually appealing. It is essential to price your home so that it will stand out in a competitive marketplace, attract buyer visits, and generate offers.

Pricing your home correctly is the most important decision we’ll help you make when selling your home. It’s part art and part science. Together, we’ll agree on a pricing strategy designed to get you the biggest return in the shortest possible time. We have the tools and expertise to position your home to sell quickly.

Is Now a Good Time to Sell Your Home?

No one can predict what the market will do in the future. Therefore, the answer is, “It depends.” It depends on your personal situation and your goals. The market has improved significantly from a few years ago and mortgage rates are still at historic lows. Inventory is lean right now, so competitively priced homes usually attract attention and generate offers.

If you’re waiting for home values to increase before you sell, bear in mind that a “rising tide raises all boats.” In other words, the new home you want to buy will probably cost more later as well. Bottom line: Now is a good time to sell if you’re ready to take the next step. The following figure shows the relationship between price and time on the market.

Figure 2. Pricing your home to sell for maximum return and shortest time on the market.

The New World of Real Estate

If you’ve been in your home for awhile, you may not realize how much has changed in the real estate market over the past decade. Buyers often scour the web for months before they set foot inside a home.

When they get serious, the vast majority of buyers work with a buyer’s agent. Serious buyers quickly discover that if they want a home in a particular neighborhood or at a competitive price point, they must have pre-approved financing and be ready to respond quickly when the right home hits the market.

Today’s buyers pounce on homes that show well on the web and are priced right, often driving the final price above asking price. However, homes that don’t show well on the web and are not competitively priced often languish on the market for months or don’t sell at all. As a seller, it’s imperative to hit the sweet spot right out of the gate.

What Difference Does Staging Make?

If you’re serious about selling your home quickly for the best possible price, get serious about staging. Staged homes photograph better than unstaged homes. Houses that dazzle on the web get more interest and more showings. When buyers visit a staged home, they see it at its best. Buyers linger longer in a staged home because they can imagine themselves in it.

Nationally, the Return on Investment (ROI) from staging is 586%. It simply doesn’t make sense not to stage your home for sale.

We are fortunate to work with one of the best real estate staging companies in Portland Metro. Check out the Transformations site for in-depth information on staging.

What Difference Do Professional Photos Make?

Forgoing professional photography is the easiest way we know of to botch your home sale. Remember, your home must compete for the attention of potential buyers on the web. Great pictures make your home stand out from the crowd. Great pictures enable potential buyers to get a feeling for what you home is like and make them want to see it in person. That’s the goal. They can’t buy your house if they don’t come and see it. We have two design pros on our team and work with the best real estate photographers in Portland.

We Get It

Let’s face it, selling a home is stressful. The way to reduce that stress is to work with a professional who listens, consistently communicates with you, knows the ropes, and places your interests foremost.

It’s all about you … your needs, dreams, concerns, questions, finances, time, and life. We’re here to partner with you to help meet your selling goals. Let’s talk. We’ll buy the lattes. 🙂

Next Steps

If you’re curious what your home is worth in today’s market, visit our automated Home Value website. This will give you an estimated value of your home based on public information about your home and current sales in your neighborhood.

If you’d like to get a full Market Study on you home, contact me at jb@skyblueportland.com and we’ll get the ball rolling.

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