Patricia Beck , GRI
Sunny, and 36 ° F. Will I be able to sell my home if I put it on the market right now, should I wait?
Fortunately, the real estate market in Colorado Springs is improving for home sellers. Regardless of the market, people are always going to need to buy and sell homes. Listed below, are some of the factors that impact how long it will take for your home to sell or if it will even sell at all.
1. Pricing it correctly- If your home is overpriced, it probably will not sell. Even if a buyer agrees to pay your asking price and the appraisal comes in below the purchase price, the lender will not finance the loan. If you were a buyer and found two homes that were similar in the same area and the price of one of them was considerably lower, which home would you put an offer on? When deciding how much to list your home for, have your Realtor complete a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of other homes in the area that have sold in the past six months or less; the more recent, the better. Take a look at what other homes for sale or under contract are priced at in your neighborhood. Although, they have not sold yet, it gives you a good idea of what other people are pricing their homes for in the area and what homes are going under contract. If you cannot price the home for the current market, maybe you should wait to sell because overpriced homes do not sell.
2. Marketing and advertising your home- Listing your home in the MLS is a must and the more pictures the better. If multiple pictures of your home are posted, buyers are more likely to come see your home opposed to another that only has one picture of the front of the house. Make sure your Realtor takes high quality pictures of each room in your home. Placing a box with color flyers in your front yard is another way to market your home to potential buyers. Many home buyers go to the Internet to find homes in Colorado Springs; make sure your home is listed on websites potential buyers frequent. If you market the home properly, it will increase the likeliness that it sells.
3. Home Staging- Staging your home to sell has become popular in recent years. There are many professional stagers that can assist you with preparing your home to sell by giving you tips on removing clutter, staging the home with furniture if you have already moved, and how to use colors and decor to impress buyers. Did you know a vacant home often takes longer to sell then one that is furnished? Potential buyers like to get an idea of how to set up the furniture, window treatments, and decorations. Seeing the space furnished and decorated during a showing makes a huge difference! If you go see a model home it is always staged nicely to show well. So go ahead, make yours stand out and look like a model!
