How to Sell Your Home in a Seller's Market?

Planning to sell your home soon? This is good news, because it is very likely that you are trying to move your home into a seller’s market, a market in which the demand for homes exceeds the supply.

But just because demand may be higher this spring doesn’t mean there aren’t any challenges to sell just yet. The price you set is still of crucial importance. The same goes for staging your home to make it look its best.

Selling a home on a seller’s market means you may be lucky enough to receive multiple offers. It also means that you will have to decide which deal is the best, it is not always an easy task, and you may need to act quickly. You may even need to rent a living space while you search for your next home.

Yes, it is better to sell a home in a seller’s market than in a buyer’s market. But there are some steps you will need to take to be successful.

Organize your disclosures and other documents

Because properties in a hot market tend to sell quickly and have shorter contract terms, you should be prepared to present all relevant documentation to potential buyers immediately. Consider doing an inspection before listing your property so that you can present an accurate picture to buyers in advance.

Prepare and have all your disclosure documents ready before the home goes on the market. If, as a seller, you appear completely ready to sell, the buyer will feel more confident to make a quick close offer.

Also, depending on your market, you or your agent may want to establish a title company before putting the home on the market. While many contracts allow a buyer to designate the title company, having a reliable and efficient title company already “on hold” for the buyer can be helpful and allow the process to move more quickly toward closing. A buyer may still want to change the title company, but most of the time, they will proceed with the title company chosen by the seller for convenience only.

Set the right price

Listing your home at the correct price is always the key to selling quickly, even in a seller’s market. Just because the market is hot doesn’t mean buyers are rushing to pay more than fair value for your home. Too high a price could mean that your home will stay on the market for months, even if your neighbors’ properties are purchased.

A real estate agent will study comparables or comps; These are similar home sales in your neighborhood. Your agent will show you these comparable sales, as well as the price range for which these homes were sold.

Maybe five houses similar to yours sold last month. The lowest price obtained for these homes could have been $ 200,000, while the highest price could have been $ 285,000. From this information, you can determine that the sale price of your home should be in the same range.

The exact place where it falls depends on several factors: How old is your house? Have you upgraded and renovated your kitchen and bathrooms? Is there a bigger patio? Are you on a busy street or a quiet avenue? How well have you kept your house over the years?

Pricing at the higher end of the scale can work in a seller’s market because buyers don’t have as many options. You may be able to make a few extra dollars in profit.

Market your home: don’t neglect the professionals

Many sellers in a hot market will consider selling by owner (FSBO). The impression in a hot market is that buyers are ready to go to the first house on the market and no marketing is needed. So why pay a commission to someone if the house essentially sells itself? While it is true that there are many buyers, sellers still do not have to give up the experience of a professional.

If the inventory is low, buyers are more likely to hire an agent to locate homes for sale before they go on the market or immediately after they are listed. Most of the time, agents search for MLS or chat with other agents to find new listings for their buyers. Some real estate agents may search on Craigslist or look for ads, but it’s highly unlikely For optimal exposure for your sale, you always want to hire an agent to list your home in order to take advantage of the multiple buyers they are looking for.

Review and make a decision on the purchase offers

Schedule your home’s market placement wisely. Make sure you are present or able to review all offers within a short period of time after listing the property. It may be a good idea to announce a date and time before all offers are submitted. This will let you know when you should be available to review and take into account all the offers reviewed (this may take some time, so don’t be taken by surprise!).

Plan to respond to offers within 24 hours. As a courtesy, if you know you won’t be accepting certain offers, please let those buyers know as soon as possible so they can continue their investigation. If you plan to counter offer, please do so in a timely manner. It is not uncommon for the negotiation process to take between 24 and 48 hours.

Also, watch out for the “perfect” offer. Buyers under pressure sometimes make promises in their offers that they may not be able to keep just so they can “capture” your home and put it under contract. If this sounds too good to be true, keep in mind that the buyer may encounter unforeseen difficulties in honoring contractual agreements as the contract progresses.

The best way to avoid this is to maintain an open dialogue between the agents of the parties. A good seller’s agent should be able to familiarize himself with the buyer’s ability and strength by talking to the buyer’s agent. It can also require the buyer to be pre-approved and approved by a lender. Some sellers in a hot market might require the buyers to get pre-approved by a lender of their own choice, even if the buyers have already been pre-approved by another lender.

Stage your Home

Staging a home :

• removing excessive clutter,
• rearranging furniture to make rooms appear bright and spacious

This will give buyers the best first impression. You may think it’s not important in a hot market, but bad first impressions hurt, even when sellers don’t have many options.

You can organize your home yourself or you can work with a professional. Your real estate agent can even offer you professional staging. Whatever you do, don’t ignore this important step in a home sale. Don’t let all these buyers put you to sleep thinking that you don’t have to show off your home in the best light.

Prepare yourself to face any problems with House Appraisal

Hot markets often emerge quickly. Appraisers can compare your property to properties sold at least a year ago. If no property has recently been sold, an appraiser may have to look back to find comparable sales; sales that will likely be much lower than your current bid.

It can hurt you as a seller. If a property does not value the offer price, it will be very difficult for the buyer to obtain a loan at the current offer price. You may be forced to lower your sales price or look for buyers who pay cash and don’t need the appraiser’s approval to complete the deal. Most of the time, if a property is not appraised and the seller does not lower the price, the deal is dead because the buyer has no other option than the traditional lender to cover the property’s purchase price.

Take advantage of the hot market

If you have any unusual circumstances surrounding your sale; For example, you want to find another house to move in before you move; use the warm market to your advantage. Buyers are more willing to meet sellers’ needs when stocks are low. Once offers reach your property, you have more bargaining power to meet specific moving needs. Don’t be afraid to negotiate. Your buyer is as aware of the limited options on the market as you are.

Get ready to move quickly

You could sell your home faster than you expect in a seller’s market. This means that you may need to move faster than you had actually planned.

You may be able to negotiate a later move-in date, but some buyers must be in your new home on a certain day. If you don’t want to lose those buyers, prepare to move earlier than expected. This means paying short-term rent while you are looking for your new home or staying with friends or family. You will need to decide whether the disadvantages of the lease outweigh the possibility of losing a potential sale.