Strategic Selling Plan for Your Home

Getting the Best Value for Your Home in the Shortest Time

Consult with an expert, local real estate agent to ensure your house is priced competitively and well-staged. Why? Because while there are always three factors to getting a home sold—location, price, and condition—only two are under your control: price and condition. Of the two, which is more significant? Price. Remember that price will correct bad condition, but condition will never overcome a bad price.

Act fast. You’re in a race against time—the best price you’ll get in today’s market is the one you get now. If you wait, it will be lower. And every month the price on your home decreases, your costs remain the same. For example, Keller Williams research shows that sellers who listed their home at the price the agent originally recommended, sold the home 38 days faster. This is over a month of mortgage and tax payments! For a home that cost $200,000 at time of purchase, with 20 percent down and an interest rate of 6.5 percent, selling a month sooner results in a savings of $1101.31 for the mortgage alone, not including the taxes and insurance that the homeowner would be paying during this time.

Don’t think about where the market has been, keep your focus on where it is going. The price your neighbour down the street got six months ago is not relevant in a market where your house is competing with others from all across town. Again, a local real estate agent will have the kind of long-term, wide-ranging data that will help you decide how to pinpoint your price with precision.

Choosing a REALTOR

As a seller, your relationship with a REALTOR is vital so meet with several before making a final decision. A good place to start is right in your neighbourhood. Check FOR SALE signs to see which REALTORS are doing business in your area. Ask them about their track record, their knowledge of neighbourhood selling prices and other reasons why you should list with them. Choose a REALTOR you feel comfortable with; one who will handle the sale of your home as if it were his or her own.

What to Expect

Your REALTOR will help you understand the selling process. He or she will provide you with a full explanation of what to expect so you are not faced with any surprises along the way.

Getting to know you

One of the first things your REALTOR will ask is, why are you selling your house? Your REALTOR will also explore any time constraints you may have, your financial situation and any future plans. It’s all part of getting to know you so the sale will be handled to your complete satisfaction.

Setting the Price

Arriving at an accurate estimate of value for your home is one of your Realtor’s prime tasks. It involves analyzing your home and comparing it to other, similar houses for sale or recently sold in the neighbourhood. It may also include a broader market survey, using sales statistics available only to qualified REALTORS. In the end, you will be sure the price you set reflects the true value of your home under current market conditions.