What’s the Key to Getting Your Home Sold This Spring?

The key to selling your home this spring isn’t location—it’s price. Let me explain what I mean.

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The spring market is here, and it’s the best time of year to sell your home. Winter is over, the flowers and trees are in bloom, and lots of houses are on the market. Buyers are primed to buy, and they’re out in droves.

If you’re a seller, what’s the most important consideration in getting the best return on your investment? Some might say location, location, location, but that isn’t true. Of course location plays a predominant role in determining the market value of your home, but it’s price—price, price, price—that determines how much your home will sell for and how much you will ultimately net.

We’ve helped buyers and sellers buy and sell over 700 homes. Our experience has been that sellers invariably want to price their home high in the hope that it will sell at a higher price, thereby putting more money in their pocket. In many cases, homeowners feel the home is worth more than it is for a variety of reasons.

In reality, it’s the buyer who determines the value of your home. Your home is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it. A house is a commodity, and its value fluctuates based on the dynamics of the market. Buyers know value, and in today’s market with today’s technology, they have access to all the information they need to determine the market value of homes. They have access to tax records, home sale comparable statistics, crime statistics, school performance statistics, and a host of other data. The vast majority also work with real estate agents who advise them on the state of the current market.

It’s the buyer who determines the value of your home.

Most importantly, buyers have eyes. They’ve been in every home that meets their criteria, and they compare your home to every other home they see. If your home is overpriced compared to other homes on the market, they will know immediately.

The key to getting the most money out of your home sale is to price it competitively from the start. The quicker a home sells, the more money the seller nets. The longer it stays on the market, the less money a seller nets. The first question a buyer invariably asks a listing agent is, “How long has the house been on the market?” This is because they intuitively know the longer the house has been on the market, the less worth it has.

If you want to make more money on the sale of your home, bite the bullet and price it competitively. You can’t change the current market value of your home, so act accordingly.

If you have any questions about selling your home in the spring market, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you.

Is Washington D.C. in a Buyer’s or Seller’s Market?

I’m often asked about the state of our real estate market. Today, I wanted to answer that question and discuss where the market is headed.

Buying a D.C. Metro home? Get a full home search
 Selling your D.C. Metro home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

One of the questions I often get asked when people find out that I’m a real estate professional is, “How’s the market?”

It seems like an easy enough question to answer, but there are several questions I have to ask before I can even begin to do that. Some of these questions include:

• Where’s your home located?
• Is it close to public transportation?
• What is the home’s condition?
• When did you buy the home?

Once I have the answers to these questions, I can give you my answer. In a general sense, though, we’ve been in an “up” market for a little over five years, and we’re due for a little flattening out. This isn’t bad news; it just means the market is stabilizing toward normalcy.

What market you’re in depends on your location.

Another question I often get asked is, “Are we in a buyer’s market or a seller’s market?” Again, it depends primarily on location. If you live close to the D.C. metropolitan area, I would say you’re in a seller’s market. If you live 15 or more miles outside of this area, you’re in a buyer’s market.

So, what does this mean to you as a buyer or seller? Buyers want the best house for the best price, so if you want your home sold quickly, make it the prettiest house for the best price.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home or have any other real estate questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be glad to help you in any way I can!