Selling your home can be a challenge, especially if you decide to handle the proceedings yourself without the aid of a realtor. While there are advantages of having an agent promote your property, a knowledgeable seller who doesn’t mind taking care of details involved in the selling process can save thousands in the long run at closing! When putting your home on the market, it’s important to do some homework first regarding the best way to price and market your home to attract buyers. Following are some tips to consider and keep in mind before you plant that FSBO Albany sign in your yard:
- Know your market. Determining how to reasonably price your home depends on if you’re in a buyer’s or seller’s market. This can vary from town to town, county to county, and even between zones orneighborhoods in the same town. If buyers are quickly snapping up comparable homes around you, chances are you’re in a seller’s market due to high volume demand in your area. However, areas where homes sit longer before selling are most likely situate where buyers have the most negotiating power. Check the average ‘sold’ prices of homes sold in your area and see how many days they were on the market prior to selling. List prices that are within the average median price of those sold attract more buyers than properties priced considerably more.
- Be realistic when pricing. Keeping emotions at bay is often the hardest thing for homeowners. Your memories will go with you when you move; however, your recollections of warm, cozy evenings spent with family by the fire do not monetarily increase the value of your home as would an actual new heat system. Remind yourself that this is a business transaction. Check local realtor sites and look at info and photos of homes listed in your neighborhood both for sale and recently sold to compare square footage, size of lot/acreage, improvements such as kitchen/bath upgrades, new furnace, Your home may be in a sought after neighborhood, but if the kitchen and baths are still 1980’s style and your roof needs replaced, prospective buyers may not want the additional expense of upgrading unless your price point is below those already improved properties nearby.
- Take advantage of marketing connections. Since you’re not using an agent, thereby forfeiting your home showing up in the realtor’s MLS program, you’ll need to market your home yourself. Make use of technology as well as some interpersonal contact, or word of mouth. It can go a long way in making buyers aware of your property. Social networking, such as Facebook, is a great place to publicize your home through discussion and use of photos. Placing ads in your local paper or on Craigslist is another way to market your property. Emails to your current or former workplace is also a good way to make colleagues and co-workers aware of your listing. Letting the HR teams at workplaces know you are selling can be helpful if they are assisting new employees with their relocation needs.
One of the very best ways to get your listing out there is to sign up with a website that promotes your property on the larger real estate sites used by agents themselves!