In today’s radio segment, Melissa discusses what you should look for in a realtor and how staging can help you even when the market is great. Let’s dive in!
Even in a good market, having the help of a stager will enable you to stand out and bring in a bigger check at the closing table. Don’t wait until you’re desperate. At that point, a stager can still help, but you won’t get the ROI you would have had you started strong right off the bat. Every day your home sits on the market it loses a bit of perceived value, i.e. the longer it’s on the market, the less money buyers will offer for it.
Fun fact: Homeowners spend an average of 11 minutes in a home before moving on to the next one. That means that you have 11 minutes to stand out from over a dozen homes. What will you do to stand out? Once a house meets the basic qualifications, like a school district, the main seller is the way the buyer feels in it. When buyers have an emotional connection, they are willing to pay more money because they can envision their family building a life there.
Price reduction signs don’t look good to potential buyers. Instead, they give the buyer the idea that there might be something wrong with the home. Home stagers are trying to fight a decade-long way of thinking that it’s fine to just reduce the price of a home over and over until it sells. Instead, stagers want to sell it for top dollar as soon as it hits the market. Today, 99% of buyers are watching television shows about homes and looking at sites like Houzz and Pinterest to imagine their dream homes. Because of this, they’re expecting to see it when they look at homes to buy. If you’ve staged your home, they’ll see in person what they’ve been dreaming about online and will be more likely and excited to buy.
When looking for a realtor, ask what they think about staging, ask what they’ll do to market your home, and take a look at their social media. Do they have beautiful photos of the homes they’re selling– both inside and outside? Or do they simply have exterior shots with a lot of price reduction notifications? At the end of the day, you want someone who will actively market and sell your house. The average agent only makes about 1% from your home; so, whether they sell it for $285,000 or $350,000, it’s only a couple of dollars difference for them. For you, however, it’s thousands.
Don’t forget to check out the video here, and be sure to follow us on YouTube and Facebook for more tips and tricks!
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