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There comes a moment when it’s time to sell your home, whether you’re moving to a new city to start over, pursuing a new career, or just feeling like it’s time to upsize. But we all know that the only thing more difficult than purchasing a home is selling one. Given high interest rates, how quickly the housing market changes, and other financial constraints, homeowners become desperate to sell their properties quickly but at a reasonable price.

Photo by Kostiantyn Li on Unsplash

Luckily, you don’t have to simply hope for the best. There are various proven ways to help sell a home faster and get people interested, from sprucing up your space to mastering the art of marketing. Some tips might seem pointless, but just like if you prefer casinos with a $10 deposit or less and others prefer high-stakes games, there’s more than one way to achieve great results.

Ready to make a sale? Let’s go over seven tactics that might help you along the way.

Boost that curb appeal

Curb appeal is more than keeping your driveway clear and your porch tidy—it also means taking the time to pressure wash all the surfaces to bring your exterior back to life and add a few finishing touches. After all, the first thing people see isn’t your chef’s kitchen or pretty accent wall.

Tips:

●       Give your front door a fresh coat of paint, potentially even choosing a vibrant color like yellow or red to contrast with the rest of your exterior.

●       Hire a landscaper (or get your hands dirty) to remove weeds, mow the lawn, and plant fresh flowers.

●       Add some personality with a standout mailbox or an upgraded house number.

Stage your home for buyers

Buyers want to picture their lives in their new home, and the best way you can achieve that is to stage your home. With carefully placed furniture, new decorations, proper lighting, and a depersonalized look (no beaded curtains or wall stickers), you can maximize the home’s potential and showcase it in the most appealing way possible.

Tips:

●       Highlight your home’s best features, such as a reading nook, spacious master bathroom, or a fireplace.

●       Rearrange or place furniture to create an open space.

●       Let in as much natural light as possible and add mirrors for extra brightness and a sense of spaciousness.

●       Add freshness and coziness with plants and throw blankets.

Make smart repairs and upgrades

Unless you have the budget to do so, making smaller and more intentional repairs and upgrades makes more sense. These little upgrades can increase your resale value and instantly transform your home’s look and feel. Replace faulty flooring, worn-out carpets, and badly working systems—anything that is visibly damaged or could be a deal-breaker. You don’t want your buyers to be thrown off or turned off by poor maintenance and have to think about all the repairs they have to make when they move in.

Tips:

●       Patch up holes and make other cosmetic fixes before anything else.

●       Make sure all systems are functioning properly and that the home is safe and secure.

●       Prioritize refreshing heavily used fixtures.

Set the right price

Brush up on the ins and outs of your local market, considering your home’s size, style, location, and age and comparing it to other properties. It’ll give you a much better idea of what you’re up against and what standout features make your home more appealing than others. It’s also worth getting an expert opinion, whether by consulting someone in real estate or getting a professional appraisal done.

Tips:

●       Avoid the temptation of overpricing your home.

●       Pick a good time to sell so your home isn’t on the market for too long.

●       Brush up on pricing strategies.

Use marketing to your advantage

Given that we live in a digital age, you’d be missing out immensely if you didn’t capitalize on online marketing to get your home seen. Post on social media, leverage real estate websites like Zillow, and make sure the photos, descriptions, and videos you post are valuable and of high quality. The key is showing buyers exactly what they want to see and getting creative with it. With so much competition online, you’ll want to find innovative ways to stand out.

Tips:

●       Depending on the style of your home and target audience, you can use humor or pop culture references to foster an emotional connection with buyers.

●       Take advantage of virtual tours and 360-degree floor plans to give people an accurate and realistic depiction of the property.

Provide accessible showing times

Make it easy for potential buyers to schedule in-person showings by offering showing times on weekends and evenings to accommodate busy schedules. Using a scheduling app like Calendly or ShowingTime lets you organize your appointments and avoid double-booking and will show people that you’re serious about selling. The home should always be clean and tidy for showings, and you should keep lines of communication open.

Tips:

●       Offer flexible showing times.

●       Use a showing scheduling app.

Work with an experienced real estate agent

Although the DIY approach is certainly rewarding, the real estate market isn’t always easy to navigate. Rather than going the “For Sale By Owner” route, working with a real estate agent is ultimately worth the commission fees. Real estate agents will have existing knowledge of the market, home pricing, marketing strategies, and negotiation skills needed to position your home at its best. And when it comes to handling the paperwork, you won’t be overwhelmed with all the legal jargon and have the peace of mind that all the forms—and there are many—are filled out correctly the first time.