… that less houses sell in February and March when compared to April and May but the houses that sell in February and March, on average, sold for a higher price?
Exhibit A: for example, we recently completed a market report for a home in the Grapeview area of St.Catharines. Would you believe that for the last 4 years, total sales increased from Jan/Feb to Mar/Apr to May/June while average sales prices declined over the same time period? While the price decline was by no means catastrophic, there was clear, historical evidence that people sold for more money in less time in what many consider the worse months of the year to sell.
…your most serious and motivated buyer is more likely to walk through the front door of your home in the first 2 weeks of the listing.
Exhibit B: We have had 2 listings sell recently after 5 to 6 weeks on the market. They were both reduced in price (marginally) and both price adjustments nudged the buyer off of the fence to make an offer. And both of those buyers had visited the home in its first week on the market.
…that the closing date is more often than not the 2nd most important negotiable behind price.
Exhibit C: We had a perfectly able and motivated buyer for a property. It went up for sale with “Immediate” as the preferred closing date. My buyer submitted an offer, in competition with one other buyer. Our offer was accepted pending my buyer accepting a closing date of 110 days which is about 98 days later than we had anticipated. Price and conditions were all accepted and agreed upon. The closing date fiasco killed the deal and my buyer moved on. Be ready and prepared with a “what if” plan for closing. For example, what if the buyer is willing to pay “x” but wants an inconvenient closing date? Bottom line: have a back-up plan for your back-up plan just in case everything else is ideal.
…there is quite often a story behind every home sale (or home non-sale).
Exhibit D: What is a home non-sale? Well, a home goes on the market and proceeds to encounter some less than ideal buyers. For example, we had a beautiful home for sale in 2014 that received an offer conditional on the sale of the buyer’s property. Everything looked great, at least on paper. The only problem was everything that could go wrong with the buyer and their property did go wrong. So, as a result, our listing and our client were stuck in a perpetual real estate waiting room. And meanwhile, the Average Joe buyer sees the home as just not selling. Yes, sometimes homes sit on the market for reasons related to pricing or deficiencies. But sometimes you’ll see a home take longer to sell purely because of some bad luck. Moral of the story? Don’t judge a home by it’s ‘for sale’ sign.
…little things really do matter.
Exhibit E: Far too many times, we have encountered first hand, the adverse effects that a buyer experiences because of a hot pink room or 5 cats or an unmade bed or dodgy posters in the garage or banged up baseboards or musty basement or ripped window screens or any other number of small issues. Remember, you’re the seller so you’re used to them. They may not even bother you. But the fact is, you’re not the buyer. The buyer is new to your homes’ quirks. Selling your home PLUS a to-do list isn’t always ideal unless one thing is accounted for and that one thing is $$$. I’ll buy your home and take on your to-do list but I’m going to charge you for it.
So, what is the point of this little b-LOG?
First step, we would suggest you seek out the advice of an experienced and brilliant REALTOR team (…ahem, clears throat) to guide you down the path towards real estate success. These examples above only scratch the surface. There really are a huge number of little variables to navigate that can be the difference between just selling your home and selling your home for more money, in less time and with less aggravation.
That is our job, plain and simple.
To sell your home for more money, in less time and with the least possible aggravation possible for you. If we haven’t achieved that, then we haven’t done our job.
To have a simple, no-pressure meeting, contact us at your convenience and we would be glad to stop by for a visit.
Thank-you for visiting.
THEbTEAM.
and thank-you to Martin Adams for the great photo.