I am sure you have heard this before: What is the difference between being interested and being committed?
It has been said that “when you are interested, you do whatever is most convenient. When you are committed, you do whatever it takes.”
Are YOU interested or committed to selling your house? This should be your first question when deciding to put your house on the market. YES, you are hiring a real estate agent to help with your home sale (you might have used something like Sell My House to help you), but NO, your agent cannot do this on his/her own. The Real Estate Agent needs your commitment. There are certain aspects in the house selling process that he/she will need your help with, as these can have a big impact on how quickly your house will sell and for how much. To make it a little easier for them, before you meet up with your real estate agent, why not find out what your home’s value is. At least this way, they will be able to give you a better estimation on how much your home could be worth. The process of moving is stressful enough, so anything that can make it easier for the whole family is worth looking into. It is not just houses that you can sell. If you are looking to buy or sell other properties, you could look into something like a property management company, to help you deal with the day-to-day operations, from collecting rent, advertising, preparing leases, and many more management services with the highest efficiency and reliability. These aspects will influence the tools that will be available to your real estate agent for most efficiently and successfully selling your single most valuable asset.
Once a house is on the market it is no longer your home, but a house, a PRODUCT that needs to be sold. Therefore, it needs to be marketed as such, it needs to be merchandised. After all, you are in competition now with all those other home sellers in your area. Products that we purchase on a daily basis are being merchandised and marketed – look at cars, beauty product, fashion, food products.,,,,, A house should not be an exception. So what are the marketing tools that are available to you and your real estate agent?
1. Location – you have no control over this factor. You cannot change the location of the house that you are selling.
2. Condition and Showcasing – how well your house has been maintained and the presentation of the home for promotions and showings.
Committed home sellers take this part of preparing the home for sale very seriously. The best, most efficient way to get this step of the home selling process done is by getting advice from a professional home stager. Real estate stagers have extensive knowledge about what buyers are looking for and how to set your house up that these buyers are being attracted. This includes deep knowledge and experience in which home repairs, home upgrades, paint colors, furniture placement,… will give you the highest return on investment and will sell your house faster. As Kris Berg from HGTV’s FrontDoor.com states: “Staging is not a do-it-yourself sport, and only a third party specialist can bring the neutrality and objectivity needed to accomplish the goal.” According to a research conducted by the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) professionally staged homes sell on average 67% faster.
3. Price – the price is greatly influenced by the Location and the Condition/Showcasing as well as market value. If the listing price is set right, real estate home staging can influence the price buyers are willing to pay. According to several sources such as Barbara Corcoran, National Association of Realtors and others professionally staged homes sell on average for a 5% to 10% higher price.
4. Promotion – Did you know that over 94% of home buyers look online first, before visiting a listing? So, your online presentation is the best marketing tool that you have to get traffic into your house. If buyers do not like the online pictures they will not even take a look at your property – your house will be off the list before even being on the “to visit” list for home buyers. Therefore, it is critical that these pictures look awesome! Having your house staged BEFORE these MLS pictures are being taken will ensure that your house is being presented at its best and will stand out from the competition. Keep in mind that you can loose the sale by ONE click of the mouse. It is all about first impressions and immediate connection with the home buyers within the first 2 to 5 seconds.
Barbara Corcoran, one of the most successful real estate agents in the country, emphasizes the importance of staging: “Staging is no longer an option, but a must if you want to sell your home”. Staging a home for sale is the key to success. Most successful real estate agents across the country will not even accept a listing if the seller does not at least have a home staging consultation and act on the recommendations. These agents know that their marketing strategy would be solely limited to PRICE (see graph below). Yes, at one point the price of your home, after sitting on the market for a long time and having one price drop after another, there will be a buyer eventually. Is this your goal when selling your home? So, are you an interested or a committed home seller?
