Top tips to remember when selling your house

Thinking of selling your home in 2023? You want the best price and a quick sale, right? The longer your home is on the market, the less interest it will get, and the price could drop.

With that in mind here are seven tips for selling your house. These are tips you can do yourself or get a professional in to help. They can save you money before the sale, and potentially make you more money at the sale.

Showing your home off in its best light

Many of the house selling tips going around are about making your home look beautiful and presentable.

Potential buyers will buy on sight, what your home looks like, and how they can see themselves in the house.

Put some elbow grease into shining up your home, and you can add a few thousand dollars to the sale price.

Declutter the house

You’re going to have to pack the house up when you move, so why not get a head start and begin decluttering?

Potential buyers want to see space and imagine what they can do with the house. If you can de-clutter and show off that space, the buyer’s imagination can fill it.

It makes such a difference when having an open house if it is tidy.

Style the house with a bit of personality

Make the house tidy, certainly, but you also want to make it look lived-in.

If a small room is a child’s bedroom, have the child’s bed there, some books, and perhaps some toys. Help someone envision the room their child would sleep in.

Hang some distinctive art on the walls, so they’re not plain.

On shelves, you can have books, but also other decorative elements.

Don’t go and re-clutter your house while staging it, but you can give the house a lived-in feel to it.

Clean up the driveway and the front door

This is the first thing buyers will see. A tidy driveway and front door adds ‘street appeal’.

A rough front yard may have people turning their noses up at the property before going inside.

Sweep away leaves and detritus. If you can, clean the concrete of your driveway and repair any cracks or gaps.

Remember to tidy up your outdoor space

This sits hand-in-hand with the driveway advice and the street appeal. If you have a tidy front yard, it is inviting.

If your backyard is also well presented, potential buyers can imagine themselves running around with a pet dog.

If the gardening seems a bit overwhelming, get some professional help. The dollars you can make on the sale of your home, with a well-presented front and backyard, will more than cover the cost of a gardener.

Professional photography

Don’t go around taking photos with your smartphone and posting them. Have professional photos taken of your home.

You will be amazed at how well your house can look with great lighting and framing in the shots.

This is another item that will cost money but think of it as an investment into the sale of your home. Good photos invite people to the open house and the walk-through.

Knowing the market

If you want to get the best price and the best result, you need to understand the market, both in general and in your local area.

Find the best time to sell your property

What time of year is the best time to sell your property?

Spring – Arguably the best time to sell. The weather is warming up but isn’t too hot. Trees and flowers are coming alive, so your garden will look bright and inviting. There are many properties listed for sale, and many buyers come out of winter hibernation to buy.

Summer – The Australian summer is a beast, and this could keep buyers away. However, if you can show off your air conditioning in your home, those who brave the weather can be easily convinced to give you an offer on your home. Summer is also good for showing off the light in your home too.

Autumn – Possibly the second best season to sell, after spring. The trees are changing colour, giving a romantic backdrop to your home. It hasn’t hit the cold and wet of winter yet, and some people may want a good new home to rug up to during the winter months, so a quick settlement could be on the cards.

Winter – Potentially the worse season to sell. If you’re having an open house, enforce a shoes-off policy, so mud isn’t dragged inside. Bad weather will drop the inspection numbers.

A good sign with winter sales, however, is those that turn out will be keen to buy if they’ve braved the elements. You will get enthusiastic buyers, which could drive your price up through competition.

Price your property accordingly

There is a fine line between wanting a good return on your property and ensuring your home sells quickly. When the market is hot, people will offer well above reserve for a property.

When the market slows, if you have yours priced too high, it can stay on the market for a long time, or you will be forced to accept a lower offer than you’d want.

Look at other houses around you to see what they sold for. Go through our catalogue and see what others are listed for in your suburb.

Engage the professionals

Don’t be afraid to engage the services of the professionals. Think of it as investing in the increased sale value of your home. What you spend now, you can more than make up for with the higher price you can ask for.

Real estate agents know gardeners and other tradies who can fix up your house and make it extremely presentable.

They will have used the services of photographers who specialise in getting the best interior and exterior shots of houses.

Spend your time doing something you enjoy, and not toiling away, repairing driveways, or pruning hedges.

– BY REALESTATEVIEW.COM.AU