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How to be a Seller in the Current Market
As the current pandemic looms, parts of the economy are still moving. One of those is the real estate market.
Buyers are still researching, viewing, and buying homes. However, given the uncertainty, fewer sellers are listing, which according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is creating a greater inventory shortage.
This puts savvy sellers in a good position because buyers are still looking and there’s less inventory so less selling competition. More importantly, according to the NAR, in a recent survey, 74% of agents reported that sellers have not been dropping prices.
I believe that, given the lower inventory, if you’re a seller you have a good opportunity to cater to the buyers out there in need of the right property.
How do you cater to these buyers?
Below are some tips that can put you in a good selling position in today’s environment.
Increase screen appeal
As you know, things look different on camera, and with buyers now viewing homes virtually it’s important to stage your home properly to ensure the camera effectively captures the space and dimensions.
On virtual tours, it’s extremely important to remove clutter so the space comes through clearly.
Additionally, you’ll want to arrange the furniture to show the maximum space on video as well as accurately depicting the dimensions.
I recommend taking some pictures as you’re staging your home so you can see what potential buyers will be seeing.
I’ve been giving virtual tours with my properties and I always ensure the rooms look great on camera before any showings.
Highlight the “new premium” spaces in your listing
Coming out of the pandemic, I believe that buyers will start placing a premium on spaces that were sometimes overlooked in the past. Here are three that I believe you should emphasize in your listing.
Home office space
I think the work from home trend is going to continue into the future. While I don’t think we’ll go to a complete work from home environment, I think more companies will start opening to the change, given the grand work from home experiment during the pandemic.
For this reason, a premium will be placed on home office space. So if you have space for a home office make sure it is emphasized.
If you don’t have a dedicated room for an office, consider staging the home to showcase how the space you have could be utilized as a small workspace setup.
Home gym space
During the pandemic people have become more accustomed to working out at home, thus learning how to and becoming accustomed to at-home workouts. This puts a premium on home gym space.
Do you have a nice gym in your condo or a nice dedicated space in your house with workout equipment? If so make sure it’s highlighted as buyers will be considering this as they are searching for homes.
Outdoor space
Personal outdoor space will also become even a greater premium. As people have become more and more restricted indoors personal green space and fresh air has become coveted. Do you have a terrace, patio, yard, balcony? If so, highlight it and stage it, this will be an advantage as buyers will start moving outdoor space up on the list of “must-haves”.
Are you considering selling your home virtually? Please contact me if you are in need of an agent to show you how to maximize the value of your home.
