A Tale of Two Semi’s (Semi-detached's)
What would make a difference in a seller’s market to get the most for your home?
Guelph has been in a seller’s market for over 20 years. I often hear sellers say, if it’s a strong market, we don’t feel the realtor really needs to do anything to sell my home. I have always strongly disagreed with this opinion and have seen time and time again that preparing a home properly, pricing it properly, and marketing it properly makes a huge difference, even in a hot market.
Recently, I had an opportunity to market a semi-detached home in Guelph’s south end, which was occupied by renting tenants. I visited the home a month before we put it on the market and advised the property owner to:
Repair things that would distract buyers or make them think the home had problems.
Paint the home in a light neutral color.
Declutter the home of excess furniture and unnecessary boxes.
Have the home professionally cleaned.
Ensure the home is tidy, all lights are on, and all curtains are open for showings.
While the owner was getting the home ready for market, I did my research to find the best listing price and came up with this proposed strategy for the sellers:
Have a pre-listing home inspection done so that no valuable showing time would be lost to buyers doing a lengthy inspection. This gave any buyer putting in an offer the comfort to put in their highest offer and not be afraid of unknown repairs.
Have professional pictures taken the day after the cleaning.
Give the tenants somewhere to stay during the showing hours so that we wouldn’t need 24 hours’ notice and didn’t have to worry about tenants refusing access.
Have the tenants sign the proper forms to ensure that, before closing, they would empty the home of their possessions, so the buyer had reassurance of a clutter and garbage free home.
A week before listing, announce to prospective buyers that the listing was ‘Coming Soon’ via email and social media, and a lawn sign.
Set an effective and realistic market price and hold offers for 5 days.
The result was 28 showings, 4 offers, and a sale price $70,000 over the list price.
Did what we do make a difference? An identical semi with tenants in the same area was on the market 2 weeks before and sold 1 week before we launched. That home was messy, cluttered, and sold for $38,000 less than my clients’ property.
In short, yes; using a realtor who can help you prepare and market your home before listing will make a difference—for your bank account and your peace of mind.