6 Things You Can Do to Help Your Home Sell Faster
Just getting your house on the market can feel like a marathon. You might be trying to get renovations done to increase your asking price or working on staging so buyers can see the potential of your space. Once you get your home listed, it may feel like the biggest hurdle is over.
That might not always be the case, though. If your home is on the market longer than average, you’ll probably start looking for ways to attract more buyers and, ultimately, more offers.
Sometimes there are opportunities for you to improve your home, listing, or sales efforts. Other times, it’s just part of the current market conditions or a result of other factors in your local area. Together, we will get to the bottom of what to do when your home isn’t selling as quickly as you’d like.
Take Market Conditions Into Account
It can be frustrating and stressful when your home isn’t selling as quickly as you’d like or need it to. Naturally, your first instinct is to get a plan together to get things back on track, creating more exposure for your listing to attract more interested buyers.
The first thing you should do in preparing your next steps is to evaluate what’s keeping your house on the market. Is it an issue specific to your property, or is it more far-reaching? If there is a market-wide explanation, like too much inventory or high interest rates, there may be less you can do to improve the timeline compared to a property-specific issue.
Review How Your Home Listing Shows Up Online
Once you’ve eliminated local market problems or larger economic trends as contributing factors in keeping your home on the market longer, the next most common problem sellers face is managing the online listings for their home.
When you sell your home with the help of a real estate agent, they will take care of adding your home to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which is a service that only agents have access to. Your agent will be responsible for making sure the information about your home is accurately added to the MLS, as well as ensuring any photos or virtual tours are properly added.
In addition to the MLS, many buyers are browsing for homes on their own, especially when they’re just starting their home search. So, on top of the MLS listing, you’ll also want to make sure your home shows up on listing database websites like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Trulia.
If you notice any discrepancies in your home’s listing, let your agent know so that they can get it corrected. On many listing database websites, you can edit details on your own, once you verify you’re the owner of the property, which can help speed up the process.
Let Buyers See Your Home Virtually
Accurate data in your listing is just the beginning! You and your agent will want to make sure your listing is eye-catching and can stand out amongst the competition.
Top-notch photos, good home staging, and even utilizing a virtual tour can help set you apart and help reduce the time your home is on the market waiting for an offer.
It can be well worth your while to hire a real estate photographer who can help highlight your home’s best assets. This will allow you to put your best foot forward from that first impression to potential buyers.
Step Up Your Marketing Efforts
A solid online footprint is only part of the game, especially in a buyer’s market. Luckily, there are still tried-and-true marketing efforts you can utilize.
Open houses are a great way to get people to come see your home in person and generate some buzz. Even with all the technology we have today, touring a home in person is still the best way to get a feel for the property and see if it’s the right match. Agents promote open houses to one another, and even signage in the neighborhood can pique the interest of street traffic.
Review Feedback and Address It
If you’re receiving feedback from interested buyers, like that your starting price is too high or much-wanted features are missing, it might be time to consider acting on those suggestions. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to lower your price or begin home renovations. Instead, it could mean highlighting other unique aspects of your house or shifting your marketing efforts to different subsets of interested buyers that are more aligned with what your home has to offer.
Talk With Your Agent About Lowering the Asking Price
Lowering your asking price isn’t always the best strategy to help your home sell faster. There are also a lot of considerations to take into account when making that decision.
If you’re thinking about lowering your asking price, you should first talk with your listing agent. Get their thoughts on whether or not that will help move the needle. At the same time, you’ll also want to check with your spouse or any co-owners to consider your financial obligations and how settling for a lower selling price will impact you.
If you end up lowering the price, make sure to follow up with any buyers that previously expressed an interest in your home. You’ll also want to capitalize on that new, lower price point with your marketing efforts.
Following this advice to address why your home isn’t selling as quickly as you’d like, paired with the expert advice of your real estate agent, will put you back on track and ensure your listing gets in front of interested buyers. Every market is unique, so we recommend utilizing a local, expert team, including an experienced real estate agent and loan officer.
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