The Lower North Shore Real Estate Market is Competitive; Little Things Make a Big Difference
Preparing your home for sale is an exceptionally important aspect of the sales process. It’s important to have your home looking its best, not just for when it’s being photographed, but also for each inspection, when buyers will be come to view your home. I’ve posted before about what not to do when selling your home, so I thought it was about time to write about what you should be doing to boost the value of your home.
Buyers Will Be Looking at Many Properties
With such a competitive market place, particularly in Sydney’s Lower North Shore, and people viewing so many different open homes, what can you do to help people really remember your property at the end of the day? What sort of things will people remember about your home when they’re discussing with their partners and spouses all the properties they viewed? The emphasis here is on the word ‘all’, because when you have something like 45 groups through a single open, as I did with a property in Cammeray recently, buyers know that the demand for property is high.
This means buyers are usually viewing countless properties over the course of a Saturday morning — in some cases, where two properties are open at once, couples will split up; each going to a different open. Doing all you can to ensure your home stands out, has become exceptionally important.
My Top 3 Secrets to Boost the Value of Your Home
- Accent the Attractive: Draw attention to your home’s best or most unique features by making them the focal point of each inspection. For example, if your home utilises state-of-the-art cooling and heating technology, have your agent speak to buyers about it as they arrive.
- Smell to Sell: Home staging has moved away from the smell of freshly brewing coffee and scented candles; sometimes these smells can be perceived as ‘masking’ something and may detract from your home. The best smells are simply clean and fresh — have the agent open the doors and windows prior to the home inspection, and before the inspection make sure you get rid of any food smells from the bins or wet towels which may leave a damp smell. If you do want to leave a discrete odour, opt for simple scents like lemon, cedar or vanilla.
- Refresh and Remember: Consult with your agent on this one, but sometimes a light refreshment, be it some chilled water on a hot summer’s day or perhaps a warm scone or some biscuits on a winter’s one, can help encourage buyers to spend more time inspecting your property (particularly the kitchen if it’s a strong point). These treats are usually an unexpected surprise (let’s face it, with buyers often not having a chance to grab a snack between hectic open home appointments) and can also aid with recall later.
The more time buyers spend in your home and the more they get an uninhibited feel for it, the more they’ll be able to imagine themselves living there. And the more buyers imagining themselves living in your home, the greater demand for your property there will be.
If you’re thinking of selling your home, contact me for a confidential appraisal of your home. Alternatively, to learn more about the sales process, subscribe to receive access to my series of educational videos or continue reading my blog.
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