Or how much is my home worth? Or if I decide to sell, how long will it take to sell it?
Those are the million dollar questions that most sellers would love the answer to. This summer has been one of the busiest real estate seasons to date since the “crash”. The real estate market is so dynamic and home values actually depend on a multitude of factors. Most of these you can control others not so much. The consumer (buyer) is who sets the price of your home and how desirable your home is to those buyers. But there is a way around that, and that is to pay for a professional house appraiser.
If your neighbor’s house took 6 months to sell, then it would make sense that yours will take 6 months to sell also, right?
Not so much. Sometimes it can be because the neighborhood is far from town, and there are fewer buyers in that particular area. Homes that are within a city limits or county limits, usually have drastic varying days on the market. I ran the MLS solds for the TampaBay Area and 708 homes sold in the 68 day range, but 1527 homes sold in the 0-30 day range. So that goes to show you the difference.
There are 3 factors that determine the resale performance of a home: Price, Location and Condition. There are quite a few other factors that can determine the price of your home, horrible marketing being one of them.
In this article I will cover the 3 most widely known ways to get your home to sell and get the highest and best value.
The first one being “Curb Appeal”. Looks can be deceiving, but if you can’t remember the last time your yard was actually mowed, weeded or edged, most likely a buyer will not even get out of the car. This is your first point of contact, and first impressions are everything, and in order to understand the impact of landscaping, you have to put yourself in the
buyer’s shoes. Go online and look at a few homes within your price range and put them in order of your most favorite (if you’re looking in the Tampa Bay Area, you can use my site KimberlyAPerez.com). Most likely the homes on your list will have manicured and landscaped yards. I’m sure there were many homes very similar to the ones you chose, but didn’t bother to even click because the yard was not landscaped or taken care of very well. This is why it is very important to have a landscaped yard.
The second is Declutter or move out… I know this is a hard one for most, but an empty house or one that is virtually empty will show much better than one that is full of fu
rniture, gadgets and gizmos. Potential buyers are visualizing how it will look with their furniture, pictures and accessories and its hard if its cluttered with someone else’s things. Vacant homes appear to be much larger than homes that are still occupied. Yes I know, that’s easier said than done, and I get that, but if you can’t completely move out, how about moving the majority of the furniture and things that you don’t use into a storage unit? That would kill two birds with one stone. You’ll be ahead of the game, since you already have to pack everything up. Start by removing as many bookcases, personal pictures, decorations that you can stand. I know this is a huge step, but you can do it, I have faith in you J
The third is new paint and flooring. If you have to ask me “do we need to paint or replace the carpet?” then mostly likely the answer will be “yes”. When you live in a home, and walk the same floors every day, to you they seem ok, but to a new buyer, who has already seen the homes in your neighborhood and they’re offering new carpet and paint, you’ve pretty much showed that their house is better than yours. And you’ve just helped the competition to sell theirs quicker. And unfortunately yours will sit on the market, until there is nothing with new paint and carpet on the market. It’s just the nature of the beast.
If your carpet is more than 3 or 4 years old, I would suggest changing it out. The average cost of a home in the Tampa Bay Area is approximately $365,000. Most flooring will cost you anywhere from $5,000 to 30,000 depending on type of flooring, size of your home and quality of the material used. That’s roughly 2-2.5% over the price of the house. That isn’t a lot of money in comparison to the homes price, but the impact of new floors and new paint will be HUGE. Market your home with those 2 huge factors and watch the offers roll in!
And lastly, but not least hire a REALTOR that is experienced and can offer you the most bang for your buck. Pricing your home right, and offering something that no other homes in your price range are not, this increases your marketability. Don’t base your price on the homes that are currently active, base it on homes that have actually sold in the last 3-6 months. These are actual numbers that Realtors can work with, and can get the actual listing price based on amenities that you have or don’t have compared to those that sold.
All these tips can be provided by your REALTOR.
If you’re planning to sell your home in the Tampa Bay Area, (including Tampa, Brandon, Valrico, Apollo Beach, Ruskin, Riverview, Wimauma, Sun City Center, Gibsonton, Plant City,
Lithia) and you would like to know the current market value of your home, check out this Easy To Use Evaluation Tool. Input your address and it will give you a rough estimate based on listings sold in the Tampa Bay Area MLS. This tool is widely more accurate than Zillow and other national online estimators
You can also contact me directly at 813-770-5251 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to set up a time to speak directly and discuss the details involved in selling your home. I will prepare a packet for you detailing recent sold properties, and our marketing plan at no cost or obligation to you.
Provided courtesy of Kimberly Perez
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