While the spring is notoriously real estate’s busiest season, most markets tend to slow down a bit in the fall. Homes have a tendency to stay on the market a bit longer and sometimes sellers even have to offer incentives to get interested buyers in the door. However, as a seller, there are things that you can do to ensure your home becomes one that catches buyers’ eyes. Here are four tips on how to market your home effectively during the fall slowdown.
Stage your home for resale
Before you even start marketing your home, you have to take the time to ensure it looks its best. These days, buyers are more interested in turn-key homes, or homes that are considered move-in ready and don’t require much updating. Most of the time, they’re willing to pay more for turn-key homes, too.
With that in mind, here’s a few things you can do to get your home ready for showings:
- Hire a stager: A stager will give you individual feedback on how to help your home look attractive to buyers.
- Declutter: Remove any clutter or excess knick-knacks from your home’s surfaces.
- Depersonalize: Try to limit the number of personalized items, like religious items or family photos, in favor of more neutral decor.
- Clean: Homes that look clean show far better than those that don’t.
Invest in professional photos
Once your home is ready for its closeup, it’s time to take photos. In this case, it’s a good idea to have a professional do the job. Listing photos often serve as a buyer’s first impression of a home and you’ll want to ensure that your home makes the best impression possible.
Ask your real estate agent if they include professional photography as part of their marketing services. In today’s market, most agents treat it as a non-negotiable business expense. However, if your agent doesn’t, you may want to look into coordinating with a local photographer to do the job, ideally one who has experience taking real estate photos.
Be flexible for showings
Once your home is on the market, showings can begin. While it’s typically smart to accommodate as many showings as possible, flexibility becomes even more important when you’re in a slower market. After all, in order for buyers to make an offer on your home, they first have to see it to be able to fall in love with it.
Accommodating showings is all about flexibility, mainly being willing and able to leave your home on short notice so that interested buyers can come take a look. If you feel like you won’t be able to get out the door quickly when a showing comes up, it may make sense to go away for the first few days your home is on the market. That period of time is typically when your property will have the most interest.
Offer buyer incentives
If you really want to sell your home quickly, consider offering some buyer incentives. Often, these incentives may cost you a little bit of money, but they’ll also help your home to stand out from the crowd. They may help a buyer to choose your home over a similar option without an incentive attached.
Many sellers who choose to offer incentives opt to give the buyer a one-year home warranty. This also can help protect you against blame for any maintenance issues that may crop up shortly after closing. Alternatively, you could offer a seller concession, which is where you agree to pay a portion of the buyer’s closing costs.
Learn about your loan options
When you’re ready to buy, reach out to Premier Nationwide Lending. You can start the process by giving them a call today!
Premier Nationwide Lending is an Equal Housing Opportunity lender. Sponsored by NTFN, Inc. 6201 West Plano Parkway, Suite 100, Plano, TX 75093 | NTFN NMLS 75333.
