It’s a Seller’s Market
The Seattle housing market is booming! Houses are selling within a week and options are limited!
Top 10 things you can do as a seller to get top dollar:
- De-clutter your home
- Minimal is always better. Keeping a tidy home showcases the home’s potential. Too much clutter will make the buyer think there isn’t enough storage! Have all closets and shelves 75% or less full,which shows that there’s space without looking over crowded!
- De-personalize your home
- You love your home, and you want the buyer to love it too but the honest reality is that you need to separate yourself from your home. Make the mental move from “your home” to a house. It’s now a product that is on the market. You want the buyer to envision themself living there, not focusing on how you live there!
- Plant seasonal color
- A nice pop of color can do wonders for your curb appeal. If you don’t want to do full beds, consider adding a nice potted plant for color and interest. Studies show that yellow flowers make people feel good.
- Consider professionally staging your home
- Whether you have someone come in to rearrange your furniture, or in the case of a vacant home, have a staging company bring in furniture, a professional will help showcase the house’s best features and give the buyer something to remember other than an empty room!
- Get it professionally cleaned
- This seems like an obvious one, I know, but having all the nooks and crannies—which let’s face it, is probably not a part of your daily routine—spotless for the potential new buyers who will be inspecting everything (come on, you know you’d look!) will show that you are serious and took good care of your home.
- Do your homework
- Pricing right, and making sure you know your area will help set you apart from the crowd. Yes this is your real estate agent’s job, but having a solid understanding will help you work well with your agent which will allow them to do a good job for you.
- Find the right agent
- Speaking of your agent’s job—make sure you find someone that you are not only compatible with but who knows the area and has a good brokerage backing them!
- Small jobs around the house
- After the major cleaning, you’ll want to make sure all the paint is touched up, all of the plumbing is working (not leaking!), doors open without creaking, windows open all the way, and fencing is in good shape.
- PAINT!
- Paint can be your friend! Consider neutralizing your house with a pop. Skip boring old white and beige—although some houses can ROCK a white or beige—and go with more “fun” neutrals. Blues and grays work great for this!
- Replace old light bulbs and clean all fixtures
- Cleaning or replacing light bulbs can help increase light output by 20%. Making your house look great does nothing if the lighting is poor. Lighting can drastically change the feeling of a room.