Here’s what sellers should know before listing their home.

Today I’m joined once again by my friend and business partner Laura Jones so she can answer some important home seller questions and offer her best advice. Laura handles the buyer side of our team’s transactions, so she brings a unique perspective that can help you sell quickly and for top dollar if you’re putting your home on the market soon. 

First, what’s the most important thing a seller can do when preparing their home for the market? 

According to Laura, it’s pricing your property according to the market. None of her buyers get excited about the prospect of overpaying for a property they like and going through the uphill battle of negotiating. Testing the market and overpricing your home by $20,000 or $30,000 will never work to your advantage. 

What do buyers think if they assume a property is testing the market in this way?

First of all, Laura tries to find out whether the seller did some extra work to the home that’s not showing up in the photos. In general, though, buyers feel discouraged. They’re comparing the property to several others, and they’re definitely not thinking, “We’ll go ahead and offer $20,000 or $30,000 more for this home than the one down the street.”

“A buyer’s mindset is affected by their reaction to a home’s value package.”

They’re going through a comparative shopping experience and looking at multiple properties in a row, so the reality of this is fresh in their minds. They’ll pretty easily be able to make a strong comparison between Property A and Property B. If one home goes off the market, they turn their attention back to the same pool of listings, and the best ones always sell quickly. Condition, location, and price are the most important factors. 

A buyer’s mindset is affected by their reaction to a home’s value package. Does it have the same features other properties have, and is it priced reasonably for what’s included? When buyers look at homes online, they make all kinds of determinations and value judgments on sellers and their agents in terms of what they have and haven’t done to their listings. You can’t know what they’re looking at specifically; all you can know is who wants to see your home in person. 

Stay tuned for future videos where we’ll dive deeper into what goes on behind the scenes in real estate transactions. If you have questions about this topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to speak with you.