Over the past year, the housing market in the United States has been red hot because of a perfect storm caused by historically low mortgage rates, pent up demand for new homes, and an ongoing shortage of inventory.
If you’ve been thinking of putting your home on the market, HomeLight notes in their Top Agent Insights For Summer/Fall 2021 report that the popularity of hybrid home/office work arrangements mean buyers in all age groups are looking for a home office. They also want space to socialize. Despite 70% of buyers being open to dining at a restaurant, 49.9% of agents cite outdoor living areas as a top priority in their markets post-vaccine.
Another selling point for buyers is installing a home gym in the home. HomeLight also reports that the value of a home gym has risen 69.0% from $3,635 pre-COVID to $6,127 post-vaccine. Now that you know what goes into making a home attractive to buyers, let’s explore how to make selling your home simpler, especially if it’s your first time.
Know what your home is worth
Before you put your home on the market, you’ll want to determine what your home is worth since price is everything in the real estate space. For their initial price estimates, many homeowners get a free home appraisal to determine their home’s worth.
These home appraisal tools use automated valuation models (AVMs) to analyze data from various sources (comparable home sales in the area, tax records, and more) and provide a ballpark property estimate in a matter of minutes. With this information in hand you can make a decision on whether to continue exploring putting your home on the market, or holding off.
Although the estimates are a great starting point, you will still need a more in-depth evaluation because AVMs don’t account for interior customizations and specific room square footage figures.
Speak with a real estate agent
After getting a ballpark estimate of your home’s worth, you’ll then want to hire a realtor to help with selling your home. Realtors are professionals that know the ins and outs of the markets they work in, and they know how to negotiate favorable offers for clients, and they also provide assistance from listing to handing over the keys. Since they’re paid on commission, realtors are only successful when their clients are successful.
Thanks to the popularity of agent-matching platforms, you can leverage technology to provide you with relevant real estate agent recommendations at no cost to you. When you’re using the matching-platforms, you’ll want to evaluate whether the agent has experience listing properties like yours – for example single family homes, condominiums, town homes, and so on.
You also should look into the agent’s certifications in different niches. Examples include the “RRC Digital Marketing” certification which indicates the agent is savvy in social media, while an MRP (“Military Relocation Professional”) is equipped to find housing solutions for military service members.
After creating your agent shortlist, you can then begin contacting agents, and proceeding with next steps. From your end, there’s not much else to worry about as your agent will take care of the heavy lifting.