Selling real estate should not be taken lightly. For most people your house is the most valuable asset. When selling your property, you want to make sure that you sell it for the highest price. Typically, the faster you sell, the higher the price that you will get. Your house will get the most attention when the listing is new. Therefore, you need to make sure that you put your best foot forward from the moment your property is coming onto the market.
Spoiled by HGTV’s real estate shows nowadays buyers have very high expectations. Home sellers are expected to have their property look top notch to even be considered by buyers. Here are the top mistakes that home sellers make that will ruin the sale of their homes. These are easy fixes and yield in high returns of investment.
1. Selling your listing empty.
Many home sellers do not understand the benefits of staging. Many realtors miss their opportunity of educating home sellers about the benefits of staging. They may fear losing the listing. However, this is not in the interest of the realtors’ clients. Empty listings are on the market much longer than staged ones.
Staged homes statistically sell 87% faster than non-staged homes. A non-staged home can potentially go through being on the market for more than 7 months and go through numerous price reductions. If your client is not interested in staging their property, it is wise for a realtor to help them understand that it is a marketing investment and not just decorating.
It’s very important to realize that home staging does not cost as much as the first price reduction of a property on the market for too long. An empty home will sell for less than a staged home. The most successful agents recognize the benefit of staging and will not take on a listing without having it staged.
2. Selecting a home stager based on price
Choosing a home stager because they are the cheapest will eventually cost you more money. Staging is all about creating a positive feeling, enhancing the property’s features, increasing the perceived value of a property and making the online photos stand out. Cheap stagers will cut corners. They may move a staging out of one property and bring it directly to your property. There is no thought process behind it on how to make your listing look unique, how to enhance the listings features, or how to create emotional connection points.
The scale of furniture, artwork and accessories of one house does not transfer to the next property. The staging will look “off” and this is how buyers will FEEL when walking through the property – they will feel “off”. Hiring the cheapest stager can potentially cost home sellers tens of thousands of dollars in lost equity, stress, and potentially the sale of your house.
Home sellers look to real estate agents to let them know what their best possible options are in order to sell their home quickly and for the top market price. When choosing your home staging professional, you should always look at their portfolio and expertise, not for the cheapest service. Your clients don’t want to hear you recommend a $10,000, to $50,000 price reduction because that’s money right out of their pockets!
3. Using low quality photography
92% of home buyers use the internet as a part of their home search. Low quality photos have always been considered a distracting factor because nobody likes to look through them, let alone use them. Listing photos is a deciding factor on whether you get potential buyers. Studies have found that good photography helps to get a home sold faster and is a quicker way to get a home buyer through the door.
The first impression is essential to the selling process because it affects their perception of the home prior to physically being in it. But a photo is only as good as what goes into the camera. Again, staging will increase the appeal of these photos.
It is imperative that homes are staged if your client wants it to be sold quickly and for the best price. Evoking emotion is very important throughout the selling process. Potential buyers need to envision themselves physically living in the property. A home’s presentation is crucial to today’s buyers who tend to value quality over price. The emerging buyer today places considerable value on look and feel and will pay MORE money for a home which reflects the lifestyle they aspire.
If you aren’t staging your listings, then you are blindly helping to sell the staged homes in your area. Sellers are aware of these changes and are seeking out realtors who offer home staging as part of their listing services. They know they need to impress the new generation of buyers. Offering staging to your clients will give you more of a competitive edge against other agents.
