Part 3 When it Comes to Selling Your Home…

Part 3 When it Comes to Selling Your Home…

Drilling down on the details. Getting your house ready to sell in 2025 when the best window opens up. That window closes quickly, so don’t procrastinate like so many folks did this past year, circle March 1st on the calendar as your target date.

All of this is based on a simple premise: If you want to sell your house for the most money possible, you have to do everything right. And everything right means: Right timing. Right preparation. Right presentation. Right pricing. Your house will still sell even if you don’t do everything right. It just won’t sell for as much.

If you actually put March 1st down in your calendar, you’re already off to a great start!  No matter what anyone else tells you, that’s unequivocally the best time to hit the market. If you blow it on timing, it’ll be hard to make it up later.

Next, you should wipe away any preconceptions about how the sale process works while you also let new information sink in with a healthy dose of Beginner’s Mind.  Wipe the slate clean and push the reset button because a lot has changed since you last sold a house.

As prices have hit record highs, so has the average buyer’s expectations about what they are getting. The level of scrutiny buyers engage in these days is way more exacting than it used to be. Their  attention to detail is magnified to the nth degree. And yes, they’ll pay more but only after they’ve looked harder. 

Also, the speed that houses sell at has increased dramatically in recent years (helped by digital technology) Maximum buyer interest on any new listing comes in the first few days and weeks after it goes on market. Faster timelines create more multiple offers with fewer contingencies and higher prices – at a pace that is dizzying to many.

The downside is, that if your property doesn’t sell in the first few weeks, the pressure for buyers to step-up to make offers, dissipates rather quickly. And almost always, the longer a property is on the market, the less it will eventually sell for. No offers in the first few weeks is de facto proof that a house isn’t worth what the seller is asking.

For those that missed my recent free talk for homeowners who are considering selling in the next few years, I’ll be offering a make-up session at my office on Thursday,  December 12th from 2-4pm.  If you are interested in coming, call me at 831-818-1431 or email getreal@sereno.com to reserve a spot.

Next week: Inspections – which ones, when to get them and why….