How to Sell Your Home for a Record High Sales Price

Our local real estate market is one of the hottest I have experienced in my 35 years of selling real estate. The current real estate “Seller’s Market” trend is driven by a lack of supply of available homes for sale, low home loan interest rates and strong buyer demand for homes in our area.

How long will this trend last? Most likely through the remainder of 2020 and into the first quarter of 2021. Beyond then requires a crystal ball.

Here is the formula for selling your home at 10 to over 20 percent above the fair market value list price…Preparation. Presentation. Pricing.

Preparation prior to offering for sale. Obtain property inspection reports. Complete recommended repairs related to systems operation (appliances, mechanical, etc.) and safety hazards.

Obtain a proposal from a professional home staging company. The proposal should include recommendations for interior and exterior paint colors, landscaping, light fixtures, flooring, plumbing fixtures, and cabinet hardware. Beware of Realtors who “self-stage” homes. Hire a professional with liability and workman’s comp insurance and controls their own inventory of staging furniture and accessories.

Follow the recommendations of the staging proposal to update your home. Have your home professionally cleaned including windows and tune up your landscaping.

Presentation preparation. Have your Realtor hire a professional photographer and videographer to capture the essence of your home. Home buyers scan for homes online and your home must present well with a high level of emotional appeal or most buyers will not make the effort to visit your home.

No showings equal no sale.

Price your home strategically. Review recent Sold Properties that are nearby and “like-kind” in size, location, and condition characteristics. This data will set the current “fair market value” of your home.

Review Pending Properties of similar homes that recently went into escrow. Focus on the List Price of these properties to provide insight of the price point that attracted buyers to make an offer.

Review Active Properties currently for sale in your targeted price range. Determine how well your home will compete with homes priced 10 percent above and below your target List Price.

Buyers base their decision to buy a home driven by its emotional appeal and supported by a perception of fair market value of the List Price when compared to other available homes for sale with similar intrinsic qualities.

Set an Offer Date to review purchase offers 7 to 10 days from your MLS debut date. The offer date strategy ensures that all buyers currently in the market will have a chance to view and bid to purchase your home. It sets the stage for multiple offers with offer prices above your List Price.

Hire a skilled negotiator. Your Realtor should have a proven track record.

We have been selling homes in your area since 1985 with over 1000 successful sales.

Call us to win with us! Pete Sabine & Leslie Whitney. 925.297.5335.

Compass. #01866771